Over the course of four days, the SFD team in Auckland - Shannon Moloney, Tyler Blackwood and Kevin Moffatt - took our footballing philosophy to four schools, led a coach education session at Auckland United FC and enjoyed a special visit to Mangere Refugee Centre.
Saturday proved a day to remember, first in the morning at Mangere Refugee Centre, where the SFD team were joined by our legendary former skipper and Club Ambassador, Ledley King. Then, in the afternoon, Conor Gallagher, Dominic Solanke, Mateus Fernandes and Ben Davis paid a visit to a session at Westlake Girls High School.
Reflecting on a wonderful week in Auckland, Shannon, our Head of International Development (APAC), said: "It was a fantastic four days. We coached at four schools as part of AIA Healthier Schools, the schools selected by AIA New Zealand.
"We gave authentic Tottenham Hotspur football experiences and the children got to learn some of the skills, one-vs-one work, aerial ball mastery - all about our DNA.
"Two of the schools gave us the most fantastic Māori welcome. That made us all feel at home. We also had 40 kids with Ledley at the Refugee Centre, another really special session and then Conor, Dom, Mateus and Ben joined us on Saturday afternoon, really got involved, such a fantastic experience for the kids.
"I've got to say though, the Māori schools were amazing, we had such beautiful welcomes through song and that really got to the roots of the culture. It was wonderful to experience that and to be part of Tottenham Hotspur's visit to New Zealand."
All SFD sessions are tailored to give players and coaches an insight into the Club’s coaching philosophy, which is renowned for developing world class players through our own technical DNA.