Tuesday 12 March: Tottenham Hotspur hosted representatives of the NFL’s Chicago Bears at a girls-only session of The Huddle Project to celebrate International Women’s Day.

 

Club legends Ledley King and Jenna Schillaci joined the Bears’ linebacker Tremaine Edmunds for the session held at Duke’s Aldridge Academy, next to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Huddle Project is a joint-funded programme between Tottenham Hotspur, the NFL and Nike, delivered by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, to provide increased access to free sporting activity and employment opportunities in the local area.

 

Through a £1 million investment over three years, the project delivers a dual sport programme for boys and girls aged 11-18, bringing together football and NFL FLAG alongside wellbeing activities to help transform the lives of young people in the local community.

 

Twenty girls from the local area were in attendance at the session, which was delivered via a split of NFL flag activities as well as stations for football activations. King, Schillaci and Edmunds took part in the session and offered advice to the participants through their own experience as professional athletes.

Jenna Schillaci said: “Programmes like the Huddle Project are vital in transforming the lives of local communities, giving them access to sport that is free and accessible. You learn so much from team sports, I did and it moulded the person I am today. It is only right every young person in the country gets the opportunity to fall in love with a sport.”

Andre Thomas, Project Coordinator at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: “Young people see the Huddle Project as a place where they can let their personalities be free. This enables them to enjoy the many opportunities this programme has to offer.

“The Club envisaged that building the Stadium would drive uplift of the area and the Huddle Project is a great example of bringing in partners such as NFL and Nike for the benefit of our community.”

 

Tia, 15, added: “I’ve 100% gained more confidence, whether it’s doing sports or interacting with other people in life. My communication skills are a bit better. I feel more comfortable talking to people I don’t know and, for example, if we’re doing a group activity, I can get involved instead of just sitting at the side.”

 

Tottenham Hotspur and the NFL recently announced the expansion of their partnership through the 2029 – 2030 NFL season. As part of the agreement, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been given official status as the Home of the NFL in the UK.

 

Under terms of the expanded partnership, a minimum of two regular season NFL games a year will continue to be played at the world-class, multi-use stadium – the only stadium purpose-built for NFL games outside of the US, with bespoke facilities including its own playing surface, locker rooms and media areas.

 

The Chicago Bears will be playing a regular season game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this year.

 

As part of their trip to London ahead of that game, the Bears undertook an exclusive tour of the Stadium prior to the session, which included a visit to F1 DRIVE – London, the world’s first official Formula 1 karting experience located below the Stadium’s South Stand.

 

Tremaine Edmunds said: “This has been such a cool day, seeing where we will play later in the year as well as interacting with the kids here at the Huddle Project session. The stadium looks amazing, and we got to see a lot of its amazing features, including the F1 karting track. I am thankful for my time here for sure.

 

“I am counting down the days until we get to play here to be honest! Being able to go back and tell my teammates what we have to look forward to is nothing short of special. I can’t wait for it.”

 

Huddle Project sessions currently run between 4.30pm and 6.30pm every Wednesday at Duke’s Aldridge Academy, with girls’ only sessions at the school between the same times every Friday.