“If I were West Ham, I would knock on Olivia Dean’s management door and ask her how she wanted to be involved with the club,” says Al Greenwood, drummer for British band Sport Team.

On Sunday, Dean, the singer-songwriter behind global chart-topping hits such as “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall In Love),” won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. “I’m here as the granddaughter of immigrants. I’m a product of courage, and I think people like that deserve to be celebrated,” she said forcefully in her acceptance speech.

The 26-year-old has been releasing music since 2019, and her soulful, pop-sounding second album, The Art of Loving, cemented her status as one of the most exciting artists of her generation.

The weekend before her triumphant performance at the music industry’s most glamorous event, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, she was at the London Stadium cheering on her beloved West Ham United as they beat Sunderland 3-1 in the Premier League.

Given that Dean is one of the world’s most famous artists – she joins the likes of Amy Winehouse and Adele in winning the Breakthrough Award – the question is how West Ham can and will capitalize on Dean’s global appeal.

Dean was a lifelong fan and mentioned them and sometimes shouted the word “Iron!” — in multiple interviews.

Growing up in Hyams Park, north-east London, Dean regularly attended West Ham games at Upton Park, the team’s former stadium, with his father and brother. Dean, who was a student at the prestigious Brit School of Performing Arts, has said in previous interviews that he remembered going to the Black Lion pub before every game, how close his seat was to the corner flag and how he stood throughout the game to cheer on his team.

during an interview with apple music 1, Dean excitedly received a message from men’s team captain Jarrod Bowen congratulating him on his new album, and was invited to Chadwell Heath training ground by women’s players Fionn Morgan and Shelina Zadorski. But other than personalized messages and passionate mentions, Dean has yet to collaborate with the team.

Greenwood, a Manchester United fan who has been photographed at the team’s shirt launches in the past, is not alone in hoping Dean will be at West Ham’s home game soon to show off his Grammy. The Athletic asked if West Ham were planning to invite Dean, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Greenwood is also one of the founders of InMotion Collective, the creative group that produced the Lionesses team announcement video for the European Championship 2022, which features cameos from singer Joy Crooks, presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg and former England players including Alex Scott, Ian Wright and David Beckham.

The drummer, who interviewed Dean in 2022 for Glorious Sports, a digital media brand focused on women’s sports, said: Athletic: “I wrote that article[for Glorious]four years ago and at the time I thought West Ham needed to jump on this issue because she speaks so eloquently and has a very genuine connection with the club.”

“Obviously, she just won a Grammy. Her rise to stardom has been stratospheric and she’s not just a great artist, she’s such a great representative of the women’s game as a whole. The way she speaks, the number of brands she’s involved with. She’s a really impressive person.”

“But it’s not about saying, ‘Do you want to come to the kit launch?’ That’s great, too, but we need to find a way to actually engage with the artists in a way that’s meaningful to them.”

Last year, Dean played alongside Newcastle United fan Sam Fender, collaborating on the song ‘Rein Me In’ at a sold-out London Stadium headline show. At the show, Dean told the crowd he was happy to be performing on his ‘home ground’, and Newcastle’s strong side were booed. Although it wasn’t the homecoming she had planned, she took it as a good joke.

Fender is working with Newcastle in several creative ways. To promote her Mercury Prize-winning third album People Watching, the singer has sponsored the team on the back of their shirts for the 2024-25 Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford. The shirt was subsequently released as a limited edition by Adidas, and the match-worn shirt was auctioned for charity. Fender have also played multiple sold-out shows at Newcastle’s home ground, St James’s Park, and truly remain at the forefront when it comes to high-profile fan collaborations.

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) represents the Dean. Ellen Topley works on the sports side of the business as a senior creative marketing director at Brand Consulting. She has no crossover with Dean or her team, and the collaboration “really depends on the person themselves and what they want from it.”

“Smart partnerships[between sports teams and artists]can bring new fans, new revenue to clubs, and new cultural relevance,” Topley said.

“A lot of them probably don’t want to do a big kit launch with their club, right? They just want to go to the club and have a good time with their friends and family. But I think that’s where relationships and conversations start. It’s important to understand if there’s an opportunity to do more.”

Take a look at the Hollywood effect in Wrexham. When actors Rob Mack and Ryan Reynolds bought the Welsh club in 2021, they used not only their fortune but also their fame to transform a non-league side, then competing in the fifth tier of England’s pyramid, into a team currently knocking on the door of the Premier League. Another promotion would take them into the world’s richest football league.

Eva Longoria, Will Ferrell, Hugh Jackman and Channing Tatum were just some of the celebrities who attended the Wrexham game, adding to the social media likes and headlines that celebrities tend to get. Season 5 of Welcome to Wrexham, the documentary that has captivated audiences around the world over the past five years, is currently being filmed. Wrexham have been successful on the pitch, but they have also been successful off it, with their revenues reaching another stratosphere thanks to deals with some big brands.

Other teams, such as Birmingham City, who count NFL great Tom Brady as one of their minority owners, have taken cues from Wrexham’s strategy by using star power as the basis for success on and off the field.

No one is saying Dean should become an investor. But for Greenwood, who has experience directing and being on set, the partnership between artists and sports teams is important for many reasons. She can’t quantify whether her work with Manchester United and the Lionesses brought more listeners to her Mercury Prize-nominated band, but it would be surprising if these collaborations didn’t at least raise their profile.

“One of the things we always talk about as a band is the fact that all six of us are different people, and I think the more we can express ourselves as individuals, the more our fans will support us,” says Greenwood, the only woman in the group.

“It has always been key for the sport to grow, for more women to participate, for more people to have access to and enjoy women’s sport.

“Culture is the key to unlocking it. Throughout our career as drummers and through our work as a creative collective, we have always sought to blur the increasingly permeable walls between culture, music, art and sport.”

Ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Dean wrote a song called ‘Call Me A Lioness’ and performed it with a talented group of artists who call themselves Hope FC, including Self-Esteem and former Spice Girl Melanie C. “I feel like she has her own creative pursuits and endeavors,” says Greenwood, who was the drummer on the song. “If I were to work with her, I would try to open the door for her to express herself in a way that is comfortable and meaningful to her.”

A photo of Dean, wearing claret and a blue scarf draped over his shoulders, applauding at the London Stadium was shared by West Ham on X, where it received 1.5 million views and more than 10,000 likes. There was also a collaborative post on Instagram between the club and the Premier League using the same image, which received more than 59,000 likes. In contrast, West Ham’s 3-1 win at Sunderland at Full Time received nearly 40,000 likes on Instagram.

Found on the stand: Olivia Dean ✨ pic.twitter.com/QxmGhG6jDi

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 25, 2026

“With any kind of brand partnership, it’s very easy to cross the line if someone is excited about the brand or the team. If you have to force something from the beginning, it just becomes harder.

“Whether it’s the way the partnership is made or the actual partnership itself, if you can tap into the talent’s passion, it makes negotiating and even starting the initial conversation that much easier.”

Could we see Dean and Lionesses captain and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson collaborating creatively on future projects? The two-time European Championship winner will now be represented by FiveThree, the agency co-founded by Emily Braham, Dean’s manager for 10 years and who gave a speech of thanks on stage last Sunday. Williamson’s partnership with Five Three is just one example of the already deep connections between football, music, fashion, art and film.

And if West Ham and Dean want to work together, there is clearly an opportunity. But for now, they seem content to borrow half from Dean’s most viral songs and be kind to each other.