Uni of Wollongong teams with Tottenham Hotspur

Uni of Wollongong students will be handed a huge opportunity to develop a career in professional football with Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham great Ledley King, right, is an ambassador for the club around the world

Students at the University of Wollongong will be handed a huge opportunity to develop a career in professional football after it was revealed world famous English club Tottenham Hotspur will open an academy on campus in 2020.

An announcement regarding the partnership is expected to be made later today.

The English Premier League club and the university will partner in “an innovative player development program” that will kick off in 2020. Applications will be open to Australian and international undergraduate and postgraduate students and will be undertaken in addition to studies.

A formal agreement was signed in London on September 11. The arrangement was marked with a jersey exchange between Spurs ambassador Ledley King and University of Wollongong ambassador and Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist before last Saturday’s match against Liverpool at Wembley.

Former England international King, who spent his entire professional career (321 games) with Spurs before retiring in 2012, said he was excited by the opportunity for the club to be involved in the game in Australia.

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Australia and work with some of the young kids there and I’ve seen how passionate they are about football,” King said. “Also we know that Australians are great athletes. They’ve got a great work ethic and are dedicated to their craft.

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to unearth some new talent.”

Under the program, students will be involved in 16 to 20 hours of soccer training each week around their academic timetable and will compete at local, national and international levels.

But it won’t just involve developing players. Those behind the academy believe it will also “boost Australian football’s training and development offerings, with aspiring local coaches having opportunities to be mentored by the Tottenham Hotspur coaches to enhance the level and quality of training provided across the university’s teams”.

UOW officials are confident the program will strengthen soccer on the campus.

Deputy vice-chancellor (global strategy) Alex Frino said: “As well as helping our students improve their playing ability and education, this unique program will strengthen the place of football within our university and deepen our connection with this rapidly growing sporting code in Australia.

“It will also attract young Australian and international players with tremendous potential who can enrich local competitions.”

The university has more than 34,000 students in nine Australian campuses, two international campuses in Dubai and Hong Kong, and partner institutions in Singapore and Malaysia.

Gilchrist said the venture “allows students to blend education with sporting excellence”.

“I think that’s a really important component of a young person’s life and clearly Spurs feel the same way — not having to make that choice one way or the other,” Gilchrist said.

Spurs recently announced partnerships with Florida Elite Soccer Academy and New England Futbol Club in the US.