Foundation to feature on Europa League shirts

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s logo will feature on the back of our players’ shirts throughout our UEFA Europa League campaign this season.

The Club’s official charitable body inspires and empowers thousands of people living within our local communities to thrive through a wide range of free, innovative programmes.

Harnessing the unique power of the Club’s brand, our Foundation is able to engage some of society’s most vulnerable groups including children in care, those leaving the criminal justice system, students at risk of exclusion and residents recovering from serious illness.

To understand more about the Foundation and the difference it makes, here are five stories of success from this year:

1. Launch of cerebral palsy (CP) football team

Inclusivity is a guiding principle of the Foundation and it recently held a first training session for its new CP football team. The session at Mulberry Academy Woodside, off White Hart Lane, preceded games in the CP Development League to begin in November.

Among players was versatile defender Christian McDonald, 31, who first got into football through the Foundation at the age of six and is returning to captain the team.

He said: “People with CP and disabled people in general need a place where they can express themselves and their talent, no matter what that talent is. I wanted to be a footballer from a very young age, but I’d never in a million years have thought I could play this wonderful game, let alone represent Tottenham Hotspur, the club I hold dearly and have always supported.”

Read more about the launch of the CP football team here or in the Qarabağ matchday programme.

2. “Healthy. Safe. Brilliant!” Children and parents delighted with holiday activities

Local youngsters are able to take part in an array of multi-sports camps provided by the Foundation during school holidays.

These help to alleviate some of the challenges children and parents can face in an area that is one of the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England, with high levels of crime and poverty.

During this year’s summer holidays, in addition to its camps, the Foundation ran a football league, two stagings of the Spurred 2 Coach coaching course and various other special events. One of them was an open training session for girls and among participants was 12-year-old Alice.

Her mum, Hannah Liptrot, explained: “Alice plays at a football school, but it’s the off-season now, so she’s been really missing it and is delighted to have found this. To have this healthy, safe, brilliant provision, something Alice loves, is fantastic. We live on an estate, with about 30 metres of dirt and a goal. She goes out there, goes round her cones and practices her shooting, so this is amazing for her – luxurious! Alice would come every day if she could, so I’ll be looking out for more sessions.”

Watch this video to see how much children enjoyed the Foundation’s summer activities...

3. Cancer exercise programme hailed as “transformational” nominated for awards

The Foundation creates healthier and happier lifestyles for residents through physical activity and health education programmes.

These include Move4You, a series of 12 tailored physical activity sessions for those who have had a cancer diagnosis in the last five years.

Move4You is life-changing and has been acknowledged as such through the London Football Awards, in which it was a finalist in the community project of the year category, and the Sports Business Awards, in which it has recently been announced as a finalist in the best sports community scheme category for UK football clubs.

Participant Emily Candler said: “Finding Move4You, with it being Spurs, my people, was transformational for me. It’s genuinely felt like the only upside to getting diagnosed with cancer, helping my physical and mental health. I don’t know where I’d be without it.”

See more here from when Bethany England visited a Move4You session ahead of the London Football Awards earlier this year.

4. Residents with disabilities among thousands to benefit from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium jobs fairs

The Foundation helps drive local employment, with new mentoring and entrepreneurship programmes recently added to its offering of career skills training, supported internships and Stadium jobs fairs.

Over the last year, three jobs fairs have been attended by 2,744 people, with hundreds of those receiving a positive outcome - in the form of a job offer, interview or invite to trial shift - on the day.

The most recent fair included a dedicated period for those with disabilities and impairments. Ibrahim Mohamed, through a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, said: “I think it’s incredibly important BSL interpreters have been included in this event, making it accessible for me. It’s meant I’ve been able to communicate in my first language to recruiters. Previously, at other events, it’s been difficult because I’ve had to use the written word.”

Read more about the jobs fair here...

5. Local school student turns around his education thanks to Foundation mentoring

In the last school year, the Foundation’s delivery of the Premier League Primary Stars and Premier League Inspires education programmes reached 469 children across 38 primaries and secondaries.

Thanks to mentoring through Premier League Inspires, 13-year-old Dwayne opened up about developing alopecia – a trigger for behaviour change teachers had initially struggled to identify – and went from not wanting to take part in lessons to excelling in his work and behaviour.

He said: “I was distant at home and I wasn’t really communicating, and in school I wasn’t being focused or participating. I liked the mentoring, though. It showed me how to identify things, open up and communicate with people. This has helped me out a lot – I’ve been able to get myself some awards at school and stopped being distant with my mum and nan.”

Read more about Dwayne’s turnaround here...

Alongside support from the Club, all the Foundation’s programmes are provided thanks to the backing of funders like the Premier League Charitable Fund and People’s Postcode Lottery, and the generosity of voluntary donors. If you would like to make a donation to the Foundation click here.