Tottenham coaches conduct clinic

A couple of Tottenham coaches arrived in the country to conduct a clinic this past weekend

Earlier this month, the Philam Life 7s Football League, conducted a two-hour football clinic at the McKinley Hill Stadium.

What makes this particular clinic different from the ones they normally conduct is the presence of a couple of coaches from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Anton Blackwood and Shaun Harris of Tottenham's Global Football Development program spearheaded the football clinic, which had participants from Taguig National High School learn the basics of the sport. Among those who were also present for the clinic are Philam Life CEO Kelvin Ang, CMO Leonard Tan, and 7FL founder Anton del Rosario. Each of the participating club teams were also represented and helped facilitate the clinic.

Tan shares, "Not known to many, Philam Life formed a partnership with Tottenham Hotspur way back in 2017. These guys have been moving around Asia and Philippines is their 13th country now."

He adds, "The love for football, the universal game, (is something) we have to promote here in the Philippines. We were lucky also that we partnered with (7s FL) and we told Anton (Blackwood) and Shaun (Harris) that this is the perfect time to have the kids here and give them two international coaches who are very good at their jobs so that we can promote a healthier, longer, and better lives."

Philam Life's connection to Tottenham lies with the team's partnership with AIA, which is Philam Life's parent company. In line with such partnership, AIA has exerted effort to spread football awareness across Asia, doing so with coaches conducting programs and other related activities across the region.

Spurs coaches have been able to work with over ten thousand participants and five hundred coaches during the past year.

In this case, Philam Life coordinated with the 7s Football League in order to bring in both coaches in time during the 7FL's third season.

Harris and Blackwood maximized their time at the 7FL and both saw encouraging signs with regards to the growth of the sport in the country.

According to the former, "I think first and foremost, just the energy and the smiles of the faces. They just have the passion to come play football and express themselves. They might not be the best players (yet), but the attitude to go out and just give it a go is the most important factor for me," said Harris.

He adds, "We traveled out to countries like the Philippines and host football clinics to demonstrate what we do back home at Tottenham."

For the latter, he shares, "I think if the kids can come in and play in an environment that allows them to be able to express themselves and demonstrate what they can do to have fun, I think that’s the foundation. and that would make them more likely to continue to play and hone their skills for the long-term and maybe they can become professionals and represent the Philippines in the international level."