West Ham United announced Ludek Miklosko’s death on Monday, 14 September 2026.
“Rest in peace, Luděk, our beloved, inspirational goalkeeper and gentle giant of a man,” the club said.
The news was confirmed in a statement by his son.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of my Dad Luděk, following a brave and courageous battle with cancer,” Martin Miklosko said.
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The chant that never faded
Miklosko signed for West Ham from Baník Ostrava in February 1990, one of the first Czech players to move to English football after the Velvet Revolution. He made 373 appearances across eight seasons and was voted the club’s Player of the Year in his first campaign, as West Ham won promotion back to the top flight.
Supporters wrote him a chant that stayed on the terraces long after his 1998 move to Queens Park Rangers.
“My name is Luděk Mikloško, I come from near Moscow, I play in goal for West Ham.”
He added 57 appearances at Loftus Road before retiring in 2001, then returned to West Ham as goalkeeping coach until 2010. He later joined Baník Ostrava as sporting director, a role he kept through his illness.
He won 42 caps for Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, and was in goal for Czechoslovakia at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
‘I want to live a normal life’
Miklosko disclosed in December 2024 that he had stopped chemotherapy.
“I decided not to take the chemotherapy, because I want to live a normal life. I have very good people around me, and I have my work and my football, which is my life,” he said at the time.
He carried on working for Baník Ostrava after that decision.
West Ham will hold a period of appreciation before their Carabao Cup tie against Fulham on Tuesday. Queens Park Rangers are set to dedicate their Championship fixture on 9 October to his memory.
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