'It's like Eastenders' - West Ham's boardroom battle on eve of Championship season

West Ham head into their first Championship campaign for 14 years with fresh hope on the pitch but there remain significant questions off it, as a complex battle for control of the club continues. Hammers fans have had plenty of good news this summer - manager Nuno Espirito Santo committed his future to the club along with captain Jarrod Bowen, while new arrivals Manor Solomon and Joel Veltman have added experience to the squad. They have lost Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham and Crysencio Summerville to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, but supporters have reacted positively despite relegation, with 50,000 season tickets sold.

Yet uncertainty continues to swirl around the club's future ownership, two months after David Sullivan resigned from his position as co-chair after seven women accused him of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour - allegations he categorically denies. Fellow co-chairs Vanessa Gold and Daniel Kretinsky vowed to protect the club, which appeared to be a straightforward agreement that would increase Czech billionaire Kretinsky's stake and make him the club's dominant shareholder. It has since turned into a complicated corporate struggle after Gold's decision to sell her shares to a consortium led by former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley.

Kretinsky's subsequent move - selling 2% of his share to countryman Jakub Havrlant - raised fresh questions about how any takeover can be completed within the club's existing shareholder agreements. How will relegated trio fare in the Championship? On 13 June - a week after West Ham co-chair and director Sullivan stood down to fight what he described as "false allegations" against him following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times - Gold and Kretinsky released a joint statement.

"We were deeply concerned by the revelations, and our thoughts go out to those women who have fought so hard to make their voices heard," it said. "Any abuse of power is abhorrent, and it takes great courage and determination to speak up against it. "Our focus is now firmly on protecting the future of this football club." Despite his resignation, Sullivan remains the club's largest shareholder with 38.8%.

He ignored the advice of London Stadium officials and requests from fan groups to stay away from their EFL Cup match against Portsmouth. They won that match 3-1 in front of a crowd of 53,369 that smashed the record for the first round of the competition by over 18,000. But the statement of reassurance from Gold and Kretinsky seems a long time ago as the Hammers prepare to begin their league season with a trip to Burnley.

Sullivan has been the subject of long-standing criticism from West Ham fans for his running of the club. Together with former business partner and co-chair David Gold, who died in 2023, and Baroness Karren Brady, Sullivan has never been forgiven by some supporters for the decision to leave Upton Park in 2016 and move into the former Olympic Stadium. Brady stood down as vice-chair on 21 April to focus on her other business interests.