Xavi Simons immersed himself in the Club’s neighbourhood by taking a tour of our local community alongside club legends Michael Dawson and Ledley King.
Our attacking midfielder visited three locations within the proximity of our Stadium: Tottenham Community Sports Centre, The Antwerp Arms and Percy House, meeting with community leaders and learning more about the club’s impact in our neighbourhood.
Tottenham Community Sports Centre serves as a hub for the local area and our community engagement, hosting several of our Foundation’s programmes and being the site of Ledley King’s mural. It was also a donation site for the Multibank UK 2024 Christmas Campaign, in which the club united with our supporters by donating hygiene products to address the rising issue of hygiene poverty in the UK.
The Antwerp Arms is the oldest working pub in N17 and became north London’s first community pub in 2015 after it was saved from being sold to developers by Spurs supporters, the Club and local residents. It is one of the most popular matchday pubs amongst our fans and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust host multiple events there throughout the year.
Percy House has been the home of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation following the completion of its restoration in 2019. As well as serving as the hub for our community programmes that reach over 13,000 local residents, the building holds historical significance for the Club, serving as London residence for the Percy family, whose most famous member Henry ‘Harry Hotspur’ Percy inspired our name and emblem. It reflects the history of north Tottenham over the past 250 years as it developed from a dormitory village for wealthy city merchants to the vibrant multicultural community it is today.
During his visit to Percy House, Xavi met a group of schoolchildren taking part in STEM activities as part of our Foundation’s drive to break down the significant barriers for children from disadvantaged areas in accessing STEM education.
His tour also included stops at the legendary Chick King restaurant and the historic Bill Nicholson Gates, which were reinstalled last summer and now sit within PAXTON17, next to Percy House.
Xavi said: “I was so happy to take a moment to learn more about the history of this amazing club and to travel around the community with two legends in Ledley and Michael. It was particularly special to join Ledley at his mural as he is such an inspiration and a real legend – it was an honour to be able to chat with him.”