A football team comprised of Hammers fans has won a national competition to pit their wits against a team of former England legends.
Essex-based Ivory FC were recently announced as winners of Nivea For Men's Great Football Experiment - a competition cheekily described as 'Football's X Factor'. As winners they will now receive coaching from Terry Venables, Ray Wilkins and Ray Clemence in order to get them in shape for their big day.Simon Lang of Ivory FC - who lists team mates Kieran McCarthy, Peter Harlow, Andrew Dray and James Eastman as fellow Hammers - told KUMB.com: "Our manager entered the team into this competition two months ago on the off-chance.
"Over six hundred teams entered the competition from all over the UK, and the competition organizers were looking for the most passionate team in the country. In an effort to prove our passion we produced a series of YouTube videos. We were prepared to do anything to win; the boys even went one step further by getting vajazzled!
"We won a public vote on Facebook and since then our lives have been turned upside down. We had a press launch at Wembley with Terry Venables and Ray Wilkins, there have been interviews and photos for the national press and a film crew have been documenting our daily lives, even following us on nights out. On top of that we are now training four hours a week!"

Since being announced as winners of the competition, the lads' exploits have been recorded for posterity by Nivea For Men who are producing a series of videos documenting their progress - the first two episodes of which are already available to view: www.niveaformen.co.uk/...footballexperimenthome.html
"We have a strong West Ham contingent in the team and this has gone some way to cheering us up after a dismal season for the Irons," added Lang. "Instead of COYI meaning 'Come On You Irons' we now have 'Ivory' - and something to cheer!"
Ivory FC on SkySports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8gb-4Iwl3w
The Reem Team vs. Celebrity Dream Team
On Saturday week (9th July) Ivory FC will be taking on a team of celebs at the brand new Basildon Sporting Village in order to raise funds for the team's two favourite charities, Help For Heroes and Always A Chance.
The celebrity team - aka the Northern AllStars - will include players such as Will Mellor, Ralph Little, Jeff Brazier, James Nesbit, Chris Fountain, Dennis Irwin plus a host of additional cast members from Hollyoaks, Coronation St, and Emmerdale.
The game kicks off at 4pm with advanced tickets priced at just £5 for adults and £2 for children. Tickets - which also available on the day - can be purchased in advance from Ivory FC's website: www.ivoryfc.co.uk/Buy_Tickets.html
Ivory FC vs Northern All Star Celebrities
Saturday July 9th 2011
Basildon Sporting Village Complex
Gloucester Park North, Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, Essex SS14 3GR
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