Club helps inspire the next generation of female players in Brent

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation hosted its second girls’ football tournament in Brent as part of the Club’s community engagement work in the Borough during our season at Wembley.

Over 70 girls aged 9-11 from nine schools in Brent took part in the tournament which was held at the Ark Academy on Friday 23rd March.

The Foundation has been working with the participants since September 2017 through its after-school football club for girls which has been delivered as part of the Club’s Primary School Sports programme in Brent. The initiative sees two specialist Development coaches based full-time in the Borough supporting 24 schools with football and sports activities in-line with the PE curriculum.

Below: Young footballers at the tournament in Brent

Spurs Ladies First Team player Ronnell Humes and Foundation apprentice Portia Walker joined the tournament to help develop the young players’ skills on the pitch and offer them advice.

As part of its wider women and girls work, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is the delivery partner of the FA’s ground-breaking new girls football scheme, the London Leopards. The project aims to recruit and train 100 new female coaches who will then deliver fun football introduction sessions to 1,000 7-11-year-old girls. The Foundation will deliver an eight-week introduction to football programme outside of school hours, as well as school roadshows. The Club will also identify pathways after the initial eight-weeks to offer girls the chance to transition into Spurs Ladies junior teams.

Below: Celebration time at the tournament in Brent

Spurs Ladies First Team player Ronnell Humes said, “Female football is a growing sport and community events such as these act as a catalyst in driving increased female participation in football across London. It’s important for young girls to have strong, successful female role models that they can look up to from a young age. I am honoured to be one of those role models and I hope the girls are inspired to keep playing and pursue a career in either coaching or playing football.”

Nikki Kelly, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: “Our School Sports Programme in Brent is one of the many ways in which the Club is actively working with the local community during the Club’s season at Wembley. We’ve already witnessed the positive impact that this provision has among the schools we have been supporting across North London for many years, and we hope that our work will inspire more young people to actively get involved in sport.”