Football legends launch new project which will deliver opportunities to North London’s children in care

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation has secured a substantial grant over a three-year period from a new partnership between BT Sport’s The Supporters Club and the Premier League, which will see The Supporters Club match-fund club projects with the Premier League. The new grant will enable Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to launch a comprehensive programme for looked-after children and care leavers, called, To Care Is To Do. Supporting the announcement made at Bruce Grove Youth Centre in North London was legendary former Tottenham Hotspur captain and current Ambassador, Ledley King, alongside former Spurs team-mate David Ginola, now a BT Sport football analyst.

To Care Is To Do, designed to engage and inspire looked-after children and care leavers within the local community, will see Tottenham Hotspur Foundation provide a range of support services to help improve educational attainment, increase employability, develop life skills and promote healthy and active lifestyles to all ages.

To Care Is To Do is part of Tottenham Hotspur’s on-going commitment to delivering initiatives that help overcome issues facing children in care, and will be delivered in partnership with Haringey Council’s Virtual School.
Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, the charitable arm of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, has a proven track record of working with looked after children and care leavers through its existing projects. The new funding will enable Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to support and guide participants on to education and employment pathways. This will include one-to-one mentoring, life-skills workshops and study assistance, work experience opportunities, and pre and post-employment support.

The Supporters Club and the Premier League are forming a partnership that aims to provide funding to strong, innovative, social change programmes focussed on improving the lives of young people.

The Supporters Club is BT Sport’s charitable initiative that aims to create a better future for young people facing tough challenges, raising money for UK and International projects that change young lives. Funds are raised thanks to BT Sport customers choosing to add an additional £1, £3 or £5 to their monthly BT bill as a donation.

The Supporters Club recently revealed that £2.5 million has been raised from BT Sport customers and BT in its first year. This has so far been used to fund 18 sport-inspired community projects – ten in the UK and eight overseas, with over 82,000 people now signed up to the initiative.

Speaking at the launch, Ledley King said: “Speaking to young people here today who have participated in existing Foundation projects for children in care, it’s clear to see why they are so important. To Care Is To Do will enable more young people in the local community to benefit from the opportunities and support delivered through Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, helping to change their lives for the better.”

David Ginola said: “Playing for Spurs was one of the most special times in my football career. The fans and the wider community hold a special place in my heart and having the chance to meet everyone at the launch was a way for me to give something back to the club and the supporters.”

Pete Oliver, Managing Director, Commercial & Marketing, BT Consumer, said: “The Supporters Club plans for this to be the start of a funding partnership with the Premier League that will result in more young lives being improved thanks to the excellent work of club foundations. The Supporters Club is all about making the most of the unique combination of BT Sport viewers, BT staff, our TV broadcast reach and BT’s partnerships to help bring change for good. To Care is To Do is the latest example of how BT is using the power of sport to improve the prospects of youngsters around the world.”

Grant Cornwell, Chief Executive, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation said: “We are thrilled to announce this new funding. A huge thank you goes to The Supporters Club and Premier League for recognising both the importance of a project like To Care Is To Do and the need for it in Haringey. We’re committed to delivering opportunities that change lives and know that through the support of our partners, we will provide the looked-after children in our community with the network, tools and guidance they need to build a positive, stable future.”

Simon Morgan, Head of Community Development at the Premier League said: “The Premier League are proud to be part of this exciting new partnership with BT Sport’s The Supporters Club, supporting projects that are designed to positively impact on young people’s lives. The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is a model of best practice in its field and this funding will further demonstrate the importance of local club-led community programmes.”
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About Tottenham Hotspur Foundation
Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is committed to providing the best sports, health, training, and education programmes for the Club’s local community; creating opportunities, encouraging enterprise and innovation, promoting social cohesion and enhancing life skills. The Foundation uses sport, and in particular football, as a vehicle to create life changing opportunities for children, groups and individuals within the community. This is achieved by working with a wide range of partners including central and local government departments, schools, colleges, businesses and charitable trusts to design programmes that engage with all sections of the community. Activities are based on a belief that engagement through sport can result in far more than developing sports skills. It can harness a sense of mutual respect and trust, widen horizons, raise aspirations and provide opportunities to young people regardless of race, sex or age. Tottenham Hotspur Foundation was established as a Registered Charity in 2006 with significant investment from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The Foundation has created 2.4 million life-changing opportunities for people in the local community since then, providing 6,500 hours of activity with 8,000 participants every week. The Foundation has provided over 13,000 sporting opportunities per year for disabled people

About Barclays Premier League
The Barclays Premier League is the most watched continuous annual global sporting event in the world. Last season 13.9 million fans attended matches with record average stadium occupancy of 95.9%. Across nine months of the year, 380 matches are viewed in 175 countries with coverage available in over 650 million households. The quality of Premier League football and the interest that it generates allows us to support all areas of the sport. This season we will invest in more than 50 new artificial grass roots pitches in communities across the UK and deliver hundreds of projects that focus on improving sports coaching in schools and inspiring young people to play sport. The financial investment in this important area of our work will be £56m. On top of this, the Premier League also invests in the Football League, the Football Conference and other football bodies. Premier League football provides in excess of £1.3bn per season to the UK Government in tax revenue.

About The Supporters Club
The Supporters Club aims to build a better world by bringing people together through sport. Donations from BT and our customers are invested into projects selected in partnership with Comic Relief. When customers sign up to BT Sport, they are able to make a recurring £1, £3 or £5 monthly subscription to The Supporters Club to help support these and other similar projects.