Tottenham Hotspur celebrates Black History Month

• Campaign will cover the past, present and future of the Club creating opportunities within the black community, with a key focus on education and coaching.
• Ledley King and Chris Powell will feature in a panel discussion aimed at inspiring the next generation of black football coaches.
• Jose Mourinho to conduct virtual press conference with students from the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS) initiative.
• Tottenham Hotspur Foundation will deliver educational sessions for young people based on key figures within the Club and local area’s black history.
• Dele to appear in an upcoming ITV documentary celebrating the legacy of Walter Tull.

Throughout October, the Club is celebrating Black History Month, the annual celebration of the UK’s black history and heritage, as part of our commitment to promoting equality and diversity for all.

Our campaign will look at the past, present and future of the Club creating opportunities within the black community, with a key focus on education and coaching.

The past

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation will be delivering educational sessions for young people within the Club’s local community throughout Black History Month.

The sessions will focus on the history of the Club’s black players and key black figures within the history of the local area, with involvement from men’s and women’s First Team players.

There are few more important figures in the Club’s black history than Walter Tull – the first black outfield player to appear in the Football League, making 10 appearances for Spurs between 1909-11. He was also the first British-born black combat officer in the British Army, posthumously awarded the British War and Victoria Medal.

Walter will be the subject of an ITV documentary, Alison Hammond: Back To School, airing on ITV at 9pm on Tuesday 6 October.

The programme will see Alison Hammond uncover black figures throughout the ages with a visit to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to meet Dele and Club Historian, John Fennelly, providing insight into Tull’s life and career.

During filming, there was an emotional visit to the Club by Walter’s surviving great nephew, Ed Finlayson, who will be interviewed exclusively for Club channels during Black History Month.

The present

The Club is proud of its strong track record in creating opportunities for black coaches within the game at the highest level.

Chris Hughton, Chris Ramsey, Les Ferdinand and the late Ugo Ehiogu are among several examples of prominent black coaches that have crafted their trade at Spurs.

This tradition continues into the present day with Ledley King appointed First Team Assistant and Chris Powell appointed Head of Coaching (Under-17 to Under-23) during the summer. Former Academy players Troy Archibald-Henville, Sam Cox, Chris Riley and Anton Blackwood also perform coaching roles within the Club.

We shall be holding a panel discussion during Black History Month, hosted by Leon Mann, featuring Ledley and Chris among others, speaking about their pathways into coaching.

The session will be attended by young people taking part in the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s Passion 4 Coaching programme, inspiring a future generation of black coaches.

The future

For a second year running, the Club will be providing exclusive access to students from the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS) initiative.

BCOMS aims to be the first port of call both for black professionals in the sports media and talented newcomers looking to develop their careers, creating greater diversity within the sports media.

Students will this year be given the unique opportunity to conduct a virtual press conference with our Head Coach, Jose Mourinho.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur, said: “Equality and diversity is at the heart of everything we do as a Club.

“We are proud of our rich history of black players and the development of black coaches and staff within the Spurs family – this is in our DNA and always will be.

“It is important that we celebrate Black History Month as a way of not only reflecting on what has been achieved, but striving to create further opportunities and continue to push the boundaries for our black community within education, the media and the game itself.”

The Club’s home Premier League fixture against West Ham United on Sunday 18 October will be dedicated to Black History Month, with a special edition matchday programme and content featuring in our N17 Live pre-match broadcast.