Tottenham Independent

The annual donation by Tottenham Hotspur was part of the Local Buyers Club’s Winter Toy Appeal to help young people and families in Haringey.

Players from the men's first team personally visited several youth centres across the borough to hand out the toys and spend time with the kids.

The club’s initiative marks a shift from their traditional Christmas toy deliveries, which were typically made to hospitals.

James Maddison and Brandon Austin were among the players who visited Project 2020, an off-road hub in Northumberland Park.

The pair joined in some light-hearted games with the children and toured the music studio, where regular workshops are held.

Maddison said: "It always brings me so much satisfaction and joy to see the smiles on kids' faces when we come down to local youth centres like these.

"I love Christmas and doing these events, meeting the kids, and being able to share in moments of joy during such a busy time of year."

Brennan Johnson and Alfie Whiteman attended the annual Christmas party at Somerford Grove Adventure Playground, an activity space designed by children from Tottenham.

Mr Johnson said: "Community is such an important part of the club so it’s really important we do stuff like this.

"The kids were so excited but we were really excited to see them too.

"They’re great kids and I’m just so happy to be involved."

Broadwater Farm Children’s Centre was also on the players' itinerary, with Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall participating in an arts and crafts session and a table tennis competition before handing out toys to the children.

Kulusevski added: "Spending time with the kids is so important, it is a big honour for me.

"Things like this are what really matter, putting smiles on faces before Christmas, it means something for us players too."

Archie Gray and Djed Spence visited Bruce Grove Youth Centre, engaging in activities such as pool, music, football, and table tennis before giving out surprise gifts to the attendees.

Mr Spence said: "It’s really good to be here and help those less fortunate.

"Christmas is a special time of year when you’re young and it’s great we can put some smiles on faces.

"What the youth centre does is really important, keeping kids off the streets and providing them with positive activities – it brings the whole community together."

Cllr Ajda Ovat, Haringey Council’s cabinet member for communities, who represents Northumberland Park, said: "I’d like to thank the Spurs players for taking time out of their busy schedules to support our young people, as well as Tottenham Hotspur for their generous donations to the Local Buyers Club’s Winter Toy Appeal.

"With the cost-of-living crisis affecting so many families across Haringey, this kind act of generosity will mean so much to our young people."

As part of its wider Christmas community support programme, Tottenham Hotspur has also made foodbank donations and delivered hampers to hospital staff.

The club is also the inaugural sporting partner of the Multibank Christmas Campaign, with players, staff and fans donating essential products to help tackle hygiene poverty in the community.

Sure thing - the buzz of the crowd, the throngs of people entering the stadium.

The thrill of the match, the joy of victory or the despair of defeat. Yes no problem!!

But for many grounds, match days are the only time you can spend a large chunk of your day at the stadium.

The magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is different.

We were going on a Friday to this modern icon of sporting arenas, which has been Spurs’ home since 2019.

It’s easily reachable on public transport, with our choice being the London Overground from Liverpool Street to White Hart Lane.

Our day’s schedule began with a unique experience - The Dare Skywalk.

This gives visitors the opportunity to walk up to the roof of the stadium for some spectacular views of the pitch and London skyline.

Myself and my wife were both a bit nervous about this aspect of the day but it turned out we had no reason to be.

You’re kitted up in safety harnesses and attached to a rail during the ascent to the golden cockerel on the roof.

We felt completely safe in our harnesses and you’re led in a group by an expert guide, who helps you into your safety gear and gives you some interesting facts at the top.

The views from the roof are special and although walking onto the semi circular platform by the cockerel is nerve wracking, it’s well worth it.

Admittedly we went on a very calm day weatherwise - it may be more anxiety-inducing when windy - but we absolutely loved it.

Thrill seekers can even add an abseil experience from the roof for an extra fee, though we didn’t do this.

Next, we went down to the F1 Drive experience.

F1 has partnered with the club to deliver this state-of-the-art karting attraction underneath the stadium.

We made a quick pit stop to grab food there before taking to the track.

The menu includes pizzas, burgers and pretzels but unfortunately the burgers were unavailable on the day.

Despite a fan’s favourite pizza promising pepperoni, beef and honey sauce, we were each provided with a standard pepperoni.

The pizza was nice enough, but in our eyes not worth the price. The eating area does offer some nice views of the track though.

Now to the racing itself.

Again no stone is left unturned beforehand. You are provided with a race suit, balaclava and helmet as well as a safety briefing voiced by Sky F1 commentator David Croft.

Although not regulars, we both love our karting and the track was a lot of fun to drive.

Each kart has a screen on it which is very cool - you can track your lap time and spot on the leaderboard.

A unique feature is the ability to give yourself a speed boost - via a drag reduction system (DRS) button and an energy recovery system (ERS) button.

This puts your motor racing brain into gear about where best to apply the boosts.

We had two 15-minute sessions and loved every second.

It is expensive compared to other karting experiences we have done and it’s questionable whether you get a significantly better time.

But be in no doubt that F1 Drive will give you some amazing thrills. There is also a shorter track for children to test their skills on.

The final part of our day was a tour of the stadium.

We were on the last timed slot of the day but there is normally no limit for how long you can spend.

We were advised 90 minutes but we spent more than two hours wandering around.

At the start, you’re given a short introductory talk and video before being provided with an audio guide.

This contains plenty of content for the tour and allows you to take on as much or as little information as you want.

The tour takes you to many areas behind the scenes of the stadium, including pitch side and the chance to sit in the manager’s incredibly comfortable heated seat.

The tour takes you on what is dubbed the player’s journey - including the dressing rooms, physio and warm-up areas and the interview spaces where they are quizzed by the press.

You even get the chance to visit hospitality areas and see the cavernous NFL dressing rooms - fit for more than 50 players!

There are guides on hand in each room to answer any questions and they were really helpful and informative during our trip around.

There are also plenty of great photo opportunities.

There are also options to do a stadium tour with a club legend or a heritage tour, in which visitors are taken on a guided trip around historic sites related to the club near to the stadium.

The Bears rallied to their fourth win of the NFL campaign on a day where Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen both managed two touchdowns apiece.

Rookie quarterback Williams, the number one pick of this year’s NFL draft, missed an opportunity for another touchdown to DJ Moore.

His pass was intercepted in the second quarter before his side cruised to victory.

When asked what he credited his performance to, the 22-year-old Williams said: “The offensive line, coaching, progress, leadership and the mindset of ‘keep going’ and I think us getting out there and believing in each other is what I credit it to.

“DJ was wide open. I didn’t put enough juice on it and the safety had an easy interception. I need to be better because that would have got everything going. We can’t have turnovers and that’s something I pride myself on, it affects the whole team and the momentum.”

Williams’ fine performance came after his two touchdown throw performance against the Panthers earlier this month.

The victory mounted pressure on the Jags, with Doug Pederson’s side suffering their fifth defeat of the campaign.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus spoke on Williams’ progression, adding: “It’s always great, right, because that’s consistency. You make the progress and you want it to be linear but it’s not always that way.

“I felt he and the football team took a step in the right direction by playing that complimentary football with him being able to distribute the ball. He did a nice job today.”

Kmet came in as an emergency long snapper following an injury to Tyler Scott during the match.

The 25-year-old tight end caught a 31-yard pass from Williams to claim the first touchdown score of the match.

“It was a great play concept,” Kmet told reporters.

“They presented a good defence for us to run that and we had a bunch of screens. My guy was blocked for a second there, gave a good fake and I was able to break a tackle and get into the end zone.”

The teenage player joined in light exercises at Tottenham Community Sports Centre, across the road from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in High Road.

His visit came after the programme was shortlisted for this year’s Sports Business awards.

“The work that Spurs does in the community is fantastic,” he said. “Helping the community is important for me — I always think I’d want my club to be there if a family member needed support.”

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The programme of physical activity sessions is run for people from the north London boroughs of Haringey, Enfield and surrounding areas who have had a cancer diagnosis in the last five years.

It runs one-to-one and group sessions as well as online, tailored according to the needs of each person, exercising with light equipment such as dumbbells and resistance bands.

Those taking part are also referred to open gym classes, yoga sessions and other group activities.

Spurs supporter Joanna Ashmore, who joined after surgery and immunotherapy for bowel cancer, is among those currently taking part.

She revealed: “The side effects from my treatment have lasted way longer than the treatment itself and my body’s changed beyond belief.

“But I’m already starting to see changes thanks to this programme. It’s everything I’ve wanted because activities are tailored for me.”

Another cancer survivor taking part is Angela Epps, who also met Gray.

Angela, who had pre-breast cancer but has now been given the ‘all clear’, said: “This programme has been helpful to push me in a safe environment. I found sessions quite tiring at first but we’ve built up slowly by tailoring something that’s right for me.”

The programme runs more than 1,000 tailored sessions every year and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation claims they bring an uplifting effect for those taking part, whatever the future holds for them.

They aim to improve people’s physical ability to move by helping to maintain and strengthen their muscles and creating positive habits to assist their long-term treatment.

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Spurs winger Dejan Kulusevski was a surprise guest at a training session for youngsters who want to be professional football coaches.