West Ham reschedule opening home game against Southampton

Britain Football Soccer - Burnley v West Ham United - Premier League - Turf Moor - 21/5/17 West Ham United's Sofiane Feghouli celebrates scoring their first goal with Andre Ayew and team mates Reuters / Anthony Devlin/ Livepic/ Files

REUTERS - West Ham United's first home game of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign against Southampton will be rescheduled as the London Stadium undergoes renovation following the conclusion of the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships on Aug. 13.

Next season's fixtures were released on Wednesday and West Ham start their campaign at Manchester United followed by a home fixture against Southampton on Aug. 19.

However, the London club believe their stadium will not be ready in time as seats and branding material will be modified for the Athletics Championships and need to be restored.

"Our opening fixtures in August will be played away from home as London Stadium welcomes the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships for a once-in-a-generation occasion," the club said on their website.

"Supporters are therefore advised that our second fixture of the campaign, against Southampton, will be rescheduled, with further details to follow."

"Our first home match at London Stadium next season is set to be the visit of Huddersfield Town on the weekend of September 9."

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)