West Ham’s move from [Upton Park](https://www.claretandhugh.info/upton-park/) to the London Stadium in 2016 came along with a host of promises to take the club to a new level: European football and a sixty thousand capacity stadium almost full each home game is certainly a big change from days of old. The ECL trophy after 43 years of waiting was indeed a level above anything that had come before.
Now the club is looking to break a new market using the popularity of some of the higher profile players – Lucas Paquetá and Luis Guilherme’s appeal in their home country of Brazil – to help spearhead the Hammers’ push to grow their brand in that part of South America. [Sportwitness.co.uk](https://sportwitness.co.uk/everton-and-west-ham-sign-agreement-to-put-themselves-alongside-european-giants-in-brazil/) report that West Ham, along with Everton: _“have signed an agreement with Destra Brand Licensing to increase their presence in the Brazilian market._ _The main target of the agreement is to connect with more fans in that area of the world._
_They’re the latest in a growing list of clubs to move into the Brazilian market, with Destra’s portfolio already including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Newcastle United.”_
A huge market, Brazil’s football-crazy population of 212 million people – three times that of the United Kingdom – explains the move. West Ham’s Brazilian stars will no doubt be featuring heavily in that marketing campaign as the Hammers seek to increase their global brand reach. If the Hammers cannot match the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona on the pitch, at least they’re being mentioned in the same sentences as Europe’s finest. It’s a start.