Katie Zelem and Laia Codina from West Ham Women surprised the WHUFC Foundation’s Female Player Pathway squad to celebrate their accomplishments from last season.
The U11s-U16s enjoyed an incredibly successful 2025/26 campaign, bringing home six Junior Premier League titles, as well as two national successes and two cup competitions – and they were brought together on Tuesday to be presented with their hard-earned trophies.
With the silverware standing proudly on display, Lioness Zelem and World Cup winner Codina made the day even more special by visiting The Foundry to congratulate the players, while also joining in with a training session and taking part in a Q&A.
“I love coming to events like this, it was so nice to see the smiles on the girls’ faces,” said Zelem. “The success they’ve had is amazing and the trophies they’ve won speak for themselves. The quality I saw from the players was really high!
“When I was younger, I was the only girl playing in an all-boys league. Now, looking at all these girls, it makes me so happy to see how far the game has come. It’s so nice that they have this access and opportunity, not just for football but in life. They’ve got amazing coaches here and it’s a great environment.”
Codina insisted how much her and Zelem also benefitted from the visit.
“You can see how much they love to play football,” she said. “Sometimes as a professional, you just see it as your job, but it’s nice to go back and remember when you were playing with your friends.
“I could see their ambition. It was really nice to see in their eyes how much they love to be here and be with each other.
“They’re really proud of everything that they won last season, and they deserve to be because they’ve worked so hard. But I also told them it’s about who you win with, and the most important thing is to have fun.”
Two of the young players revelling in their achievements at The Foundry were Freya and Molly, who have enjoyed playing in a winning Hammers team and learned a lot from Zelem and Codina’s visit.
“It’s been an amazing season to play with the girls and win all these trophies,” said Freya, who plays for the U14s. “I’ve really enjoyed today and seeing the players was really good! I look up to them a lot, so to see them here was a really good opportunity for us.”
Meanwhile, Molly, who plays for the U12s, said: “It was very inspirational to see professional players in the position I want to be in when I’m older. It was such a nice surprise to see them here. I’ve learnt what it means to be a footballer and I think it was beneficial for the future.”
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