West Ham could be booted out of London Stadium in middle of Prem season

West Ham may be forced to play a number of matches away from the London Stadium in the future. London are set to launch a bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, and the timing of the competition would overlap with the Premier League campaign.

The Hammers moved into the London Stadium in the summer of 2016, just a few years after it hosted the 2012 Olympics. Although a football pitch occupies the ground for the majority of the year, the stadium can still host other events.

With the running track still intact within the ground, athletics events can take place with relative ease - and the London Stadium could therefore host the 2029 World Athletics Championships pretty seamlessly if the capital's bid is successful.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the bid for London to host the event last Saturday, which would require £45million of investment funding to ensure that the stage is truly set for the biggest track-and-field event in the athletics calendar.

World Athletics will decide on who will host the coveted competition next year, but president Seb Coe has talked up London's chances at a time when other cities will be looking to bid for future events as well. The facilities on offer will also be a key part of the bid.

If London are successful, West Ham may have to start putting some plans into place for the 2029/30 campaign. World Athletics prefer to host the Championships when the outdoor athletics season is drawing to a close, meaning the event would take place in either August or September.

As such, it would likely overlap with the football season and they would therefore need to decide how they would cope with the calendar reshuffle as their home ground would be inaccessible.

Speaking about the UK Athletics bid previously, Jack Buckner talked up the prospect of London hosting the competition, saying: "There's a ton of work. But to get to the start line, it feels great. And that level of backing and support is massive really. London has the crowd, the energy, the passion for the sport. This place touches a real deep emotional chord, people remember 2012 and 2017. It kind of feels like a home of the sport really."