Tottenham Hotspur Women meet USWNT ahead of World Cup

The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), who are currently using our player accommodation Lodge at Hotspur Way as their training base ahead of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, took time out of their busy schedule to meet players from Tottenham Hotspur Women and a local Under-11 girls football team.

Tottenham Hotspur Women’s Manager Karen Hills, forwards Rianna Dean and Jessica Naz and midfielder Anna Filbey were joined by eight girls from Greenleaf Primary School, who recently represented Tottenham Hotspur at the Premier League Primary Stars National Tournament.

They watched the reigning world champions train before meeting the players and their Head Coach Jill Ellis. After training, Karen and the Spurs players discussed tactics and techniques with the USWNT squad, and asked them about their final preparations for the World Cup.

After an excellent season, Tottenham Hotspur Women have successfully been promoted to the Football Association Women's Super League after finishing runners-up in the FA Women’s Championship this year, and are now preparing to compete at the top level for the first time in 2019/20.

Club Ambassador Ledley King joined Karen to present a Spurs shirt to the USWNT before they depart for the tournament on 7 June to defend their crown.

Karen said: “It’s been a great experience meeting the players and coaching staff from the USWNT, having the opportunity to speak to them about their preparations for the World Cup, and sharing ideas and ways of working. We have had a fantastic season, and we are looking forward to competing at the highest level next season.”

Inaaya Malik, pupil at Greenleaf Primary School said: “It’s not every day that you get to meet players from the best ladies football team in the world. I love playing football, and one day I would like to play in the World Cup just like these women.”

Jill Ellis said: “We have been really impressed with the facilitates here at Tottenham Hotspur’s Training Centre. It’s the perfect place for us to focus on our on-field preparations, as well as being a beautiful environment to spend time in. The combination of providing for the players’ bodies and minds is like nothing I have seen before. It’s a footballer’s paradise. We are delighted to take time out of our day to meet Tottenham Hotspur Women and local schoolgirls – they are a real inspiration and it’s great to hear how well the team have done and to see the strength of the female grassroots game in the UK.”

USWNT begin the defence of their world crown against Thailand in Reims on Tuesday. The three times world champions won the inaugural World Cup in 1991, won again on home soil in 1999 and completed the hat-trick in Canada in 2015.

Last summer, the Brazil men’s national team used our accommodation Lodge as their pre-World Cup training base before heading to Russia.