What a wonderful equaliser! Tottenham stars coach Arab and Jewish youngsters
Eric Dier, Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon and Spurs' global ambassador Ledley King visited a tournament for Jewish and Arab children ahead of their match against Roma.
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Tottenham Hotspur footballers, including club captain Hugo Lloris, gave Arab and Jewish youngsters a day to remember when they attended a football tournament being held in Jaffa by The Equalizer.
The Equalizer Programme, which is supported by UJIA, brings Jewish and Arab children together, combining football training with extra academic support to give disadvantaged children all over Israel a better start in life. In 2018, The Equalizer Programme won the UEFA Foundation for Children Award in recognition of its valuable work.
The Spurs stars, who included Eric Dier, Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon as well as Spurs Global Ambassador Ledley King, visited the tournament, for Jewish and Arab primary school-age children from Jerusalem, Rehovot, Petach Tikva and Taibeh.
Spurs were in Israel for a pre-season fixture against Italian side AS Roma in Haifa on Saturday night, before the start of the Premier League season next weekend. All the children taking part in The Equalizer received tickets to the match.
Liran Gerassi, founder and chief executive of The Equalizer, said: “It’s not every day that Jewish and Muslim kids in Israel meet together, and with top-class Premier League footballers. Such encounters are a huge boost to their motivation, ambition and self-esteem for years to come, and therefore a meaningful contributor to achieving our goals of equal opportunities and bridging social gaps.
“Previous encounters, with Boris Johnson, Gareth Bale and the Welsh national team, and of course with HRH Prince William, had a significant impact on the participants and on our organisation, and we are certain the visit of the Spurs players will do the same. We are aware of the busy schedule of the Spurs visit, and therefore we would like to thank our partners from UJIA for supporting the event and the organisation in general”.
UJIA’s Israel director, Emily Pater, said: “There has been so much excitement around Tottenham’s visit from Spurs fans and English ex-pats in Israel. For the kids taking part in the tournament, meeting the players will be something they remember for the rest of their lives. We’re grateful to the players for coming and so proud to support The Equalizer and the incredible work it does, using football to inspire and motivate children from across every section of Israel’s diverse society.”
Speaking after the session, Spurs captain Hugo Lloris said: “It was great to take part in the session today with the incredible children from The Equalizer charity. It is clear that the charity does a fantastic job in bringing together children through the power of football — and hopefully today we were able to give the children a memorable experience. We hope they enjoyed [Saturday night’s] game.”
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