Obama The Hammer

West Ham United may soon have a fan in the West Wing — White House contender Barack Obama. Writing in The Sun, Bizarre Editor Gordon Smart claims US Presidential hopeful Mr Obama, 46, has been following the Hammers ever since a visit to Britain five years ago. He keeps in touch with the fortunes of his team through his relatives in England — who are all Hammers fanatics. The Kent-based clan now hope Mr Obama will be singing the club’s anthem 'I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles' all the way to the President's office.

The US senator, whose sister married an Englishman, scored a crucial weekend victory when he trounced Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina Democratic primary. His campaign team recently revealed he is a massive soccer fan and a nifty player himself while a student at Harvard Law School. Mr Obama watches Premier League games whenever his schedule allows. A campaign source said last night: "Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer. He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives. He’s always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on." Rival Hillary, 60, has been linked with Man Utd after hubby Bill, the ex-President, revealed the Reds were his favourite team.

West Ham shirt sponsors XL.com have been quick to grab a little free publicity by exploiting the news that the Democrat nominee has links to the club. They have offered to fly Obama to West Ham's next home game, give him a free ticket and provide him with free hospitality. "We send thousands of West Ham fans to Florida every summer so we'd be delighted to bring the Senator over to the UK," said XL.com managing director Martin Lock.