The week-long visit by Bengaluru’s Kickstart FC included training sessions, nutrition workshops and a masterclass with Spurs legend Ledley King.
The partnership was set up when Ledley visited Bengaluru with Ossie Ardiles in 2023 to help train local coaches and players.
“You could see how passionate they were about football when I went out to India with Ossie,” Ledley said. “There are some good players so it’s about reinforcing the small details that make a big difference.
“They’re eager to learn. Coming here to these world-class facilities and working with our top coaches is going to bring their game to another level.”
One of the players was 16-year-old Vivek, who is having football trials later in the USA after training in India and hopes to get a place at an American college.
Vivek said: “I was jumping up and down on my bed when I first heard Tottenham were our partners because I would train at these amazing facilities.
“It’s been a tough journey — but I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I started playing football when I was 11.”
This is the second year Vivek has visited to Tottenham, having made a good impression in front of Ledley and the other coaches when he was just 15. The sessions this time have helped him before going on to his college trials in the US.
Kickstart FC co-founder Laxman Bhattarai said: “It has been amazing since we signed the partnership with Spurs, bringing Indian football to another level and getting our talented youngsters to a global platform.”
His club finished runners-up in the Indian Women’s League and is now using the Spurs partnership to develop women’s football in the India’s state of Karnataka.
The partnership is having an influence on the Indian football landscape, especially with Vivek an example of how it’s developing young players.
Tottenham Hotspurs’ Global Development team helps around 45,000 players and coaches a year worldwide, in schools and grassroots youth football clubs.
