Ledley joins the Raiders in the community

Ahead of Sunday’s first NFL Gameday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Club and NFL today (Friday) hosted a community flag football session for over 100 children from the local area.

The event, supported by Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and Oakland Raiders, held at New River Sports Centre on White Hart Lane, was attended by pupils from Lancastrian Primary School, Park View Secondary School and The Vale School, who all had the chance to try out NFL for the first time.

The session was led by students from the NFL’s Academy – a programme run in a partnership between the NFL, Tottenham Hotspur, Barnet and Southgate College and Nike. The Academy offers student athletes the chance to combine full-time education with intense American football training in order to create pathways into further education and employment and even the opportunity of playing college football in the US.

Ledley King joined former Raiders players Jim Plunkett, George Atkinson, Lincoln Kennedy, Marcel Reece and Maek Van Eeghen to help deliver the session and offer his words of encouragement to the children.

This is the latest in a number of community activations that NFL teams have delivered in Tottenham, alongside the Club, since the NFL London Games began in 2007, with San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys all visiting.

Ledley said: “It’s fantastic to see the NFL embracing our local community and creating long-term opportunities to support young people. The NFL Academy is set to provide employment and further education for people from underprivileged backgrounds, while grassroots flag football events such as today’s give children the chance to try out a new sport while having fun.”

Alistair Kirkwood, NFL UK Managing Director, said: “This was a special day for the children who took part and we are very proud to have worked with Tottenham Hotspur and the Oakland Raiders to make it happen. We have always seen our partnership with Tottenham Hotspur as a way to become more involved in the local community and to use our sport to create opportunities for young people. This event was a prime example of that in action.”

History will be made this Sunday (6 October) when Tottenham Hotspur hosts its first ever NFL Game at the new stadium as part of a 10-year partnership. Chicago Bears meet Oakland Raiders in the NFL London Games, with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to clash in Tottenham a week later (Sunday 13 October).

Excitement for the games is building among NFL’s growing London fanbase and the local community in Tottenham. Many of the activations that fans will be able to experience in and around the stadium on Gameday will be delivered by local people as NFL embraces the community on its official arrival in N17.

Next week, the Club will, for the first time, deliver unique Guided Stadium Tours of the NFL facilities, with visitors able to step inside the home and away locker rooms, try on player equipment and visit the Commissioner’s Suite where the iconic Vince Lombardi Trophy – awarded every year to the winners of the Super Bowl – will be on display.

For further information on the NFL’s arrival in Tottenham, visit www.tottenhamhotspur.com/nfl