Huddle Project participants visit Nike HQ

Local youngsters who take part in Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s delivery of the Huddle Project took a day off scoring goals and throwing touchdowns to go behind the scenes of the sports industry at Nike’s London HQ.

The Huddle Project is a dual football and flag football programme funded by the Club, the NFL, through its NFL Foundation UK charitable arm, and Nike. It was launched to provide increased access to free sporting activity, but also employment opportunities and wellbeing activities.

This special event at Nike’s offices in King’s Cross saw 21 participants enjoy masterclasses in sports marketing and collaborations from Nike, content and partnerships from the Club and PR and marketing strategy from the NFL. These were followed by a tour of Nike’s research lab and a yoga session.

Lucie, 17, said: “I learnt about positions in the sports industry I wasn’t aware of and we were given lots of advice about how to achieve these careers. I’m definitely more interested to go into the industry now.”

Jaheim, 22, said: “I was really intrigued. Today touched on a lot of topics I was interested in. The biggest takeaway for me was to network as much as possible because you never know where it can take you and the doors it can open.”

Andre Thomas, Foundation project coordinator who leads on delivering the Huddle Project, said: “The speakers were brilliantly insightful and impactful, and it was an overall top-class experience that has left the group feeling very inspired.

“The Club envisaged building the Stadium would drive uplift of the local area and the Huddle Project continues to be a shining example of bringing in partners such as Nike and the NFL for the benefit of our community.”

The Huddle Project was launched in October 2023 through a £1 million investment over three years. It has since delivered more than 150 sessions to over 700 young people.

Among other unique opportunities participants have experienced, some got to meet and design cleats for Chicago Bears’ Tremaine Edmunds last year, whilst the programme was showcased in front of His Majesty King Charles III in February.

Huddle Project sessions run in school term time, between 4.30pm and 6.30pm every Wednesday at Duke’s Aldridge Academy, opposite the Stadium, with a girls-only session at the school between the same times every Friday.