 The club promotes the popular idea of West Ham being " The Academy of Football , " with the moniker adorning the ground 's new stadium façade . The comment predominantly refers to the club 's youth development system which was established by manager Ted Fenton during the 1950s , that has seen a number of international players emerge through the ranks . Most notably the club contributed three players to the World Cup winning England side of 1966 including club icon Bobby Moore , as well as Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst who between them scored all of England 's goals in the eventual 4 – 2 victory . Other academy players that have gone on to play for England have included Trevor Brooking , Alvin Martin , Tony Cottee and Paul Ince . 
