Ledley King: “Fans will lift our U18s - just like they did me”

Ledley King has walked the path. It’s a path that started by catching a bus - with Peter Crouch - to train in the old ballcourt at White Hart Lane in the mid-1990s and led to the very top, captaining the team to Wembley glory and into the Champions League and playing in the World Cup finals for England.

One-club man Ledley progressed through our Academy to represent the first team with distinction on 323 occasions between 1999-2012. He now expects the Class of 2019 to feel as inspired as he did over 20 years ago when the youngsters - many of whom have been with the Club for years - play the first match at our new stadium.

The stage is set. Our title-chasing, unbeaten Under-18s take on Southampton in the Under-18 Premier League at the new stadium on Sunday (3pm). Tickets are still available...

The event has taken Ledley on a stroll down memory lane to the first time he played at our famous old stadium in the FA Youth Cup, a 1-0 win against Reading on 10 December, 1997. He played three matches at the Lane that season but it wasn’t until May, 2000 that he made his home debut in the Premier League against Sunderland. The rest is history...

“I remember the feeling of stepping out in front of our fans having already watched so many first teams there as I was growing up,” he said. “It was our chance to show what we could do and we were all looking ahead, we all wanted to be part of the first team one day and that was part of it, playing at White Hart Lane.

“I remember feeling excitement and a few nerves but once I was out there and the game started, I felt at home straight away.

“For these young players, this new stadium will be the same as White Hart Lane was to me. I watched great players grace the pitch and dreamed of being out there. These lads will do the same. They will dream of playing here in the future.

“The support we all received from the Spurs fans back then and the support our fans will now give these Academy players is fantastic and will give them an extra step on the day.

“Just think, the first match at the new stadium, playing in front of all those fans...wow. It’s an unbelievable occasion and something the players will remember for the rest of their lives, no matter what they do in their careers."

The second Test Event sees our legends take on their counterparts from Inter - ‘Inter Forever’ - at the new stadium on Saturday 30 March (5.30pm).

Ledley will be following both events from afar - he will be in Australia with our Global Football Development team promoting our new partnership with the University of Wollongong.