Micky drops in on school football session

Micky van de Ven this week made a special guest appearance at a school football session hosted by the Club’s Foundation at N17 Arena – the community hub located on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium campus.

Students from Lea Valley Primary School in Tottenham had a day to remember as they took part in a behind-the-scenes stadium tour before being joined by the Dutch defender for a fun session aimed at developing ball control and confidence.

Since opening the stadium, the Club has ensured that local school children have the opportunity to visit and experience the world-class venue that exists on their doorstep by accommodating stadium tours free of charge for school groups that are most local to them.

Located at the south-east of the stadium campus, N17 Arena consists of two first-class Mini-Pitch System™ modular sports solutions, with accompanying floodlighting, provided by Musco, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s Official Field of Play Lighting Supplier.

An Astroturf pitch is used as an inner-city football talent ID centre by the Club’s Academy and Global Football Development team, with a revolutionary playing surface made from over 18,000 recycled trainers, delivered by Nike Grind, hosting a range of free sporting activities for the local community.

N17 Arena enables the most talented young male and female footballers from the area to access a local training facility that provides a pathway through to elite level, right on their doorstep.

Speaking during his visit, Micky said: “For me, everything was about football when I was young – before school, after school, when we had a break from school – so when you see these little kids playing and also how much fun they’re having while playing football, it’s a similar feeling. When I was a young kid, you saw the stadium next to your training ground and were always thinking, ‘wow, I’ve trained next to the stadium of the senior team’ and I think these kids will have the same feeling now. Many of the kids here will have a dream to play in that stadium one day, so when you train next to the stadium at a great facility like this, you get the feeling that you have to keep working hard and improving so that one day, you might have an opportunity to play there.

“Of course, when you’re young, having fun while playing is also really important. When I saw the kids here, it reminded me of when I was younger where the fun element is so important – as you get older and you start to play professionally, you know it’s going to become more serious and you want to make it your job but when you’re at an age like these kids are, it’s having fun that’s going to help you in the long run. If you love football, like these kids, you want to play it every day and you keep improving yourself, getting better at the small things and then, as you get older and with more training, you get better and better.”