The San Jose Earthquakes announced today they will play club partner Tottenham Hotspur from the English Premier League (EPL) on Saturday, July 17 at Buck Shaw Stadium. The kick-off time will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket holders should use their Bonus Game “B” ticket for the match. Season ticket holders will also be able to purchase additional individual tickets and groups from April 21-28. From April 29-May 9, fans can purchase mini-plans that include the Tottenham Hotspur and Los Angeles Galaxy match, before tickets go on sale to the general public on May 10. Tickets range from $20-$50 and can be purchased by calling (800) 225-2277 or by logging on to sjearthquakes.com.
“This match will be a great experience for our players, the fans and the community,” said Earthquakes Executive VP of Business Operations David Alioto. “Our partnership with Spurs has been very beneficial and this game is another example of that. This provides the Bay Area and its soccer fans the ability to see our team take on some of the top players in the world in July. We would like to thank our partner club Tottenham Hotspur for making this happen.”
Tottenham Hotspur, also known as Spurs, signed a club partnership agreement in 2008 with the objective of creating a long-term bond between the two clubs. The relationship focuses on both soccer and commercial development by exchanging and implementing the best practices from both organizations. The partnership to date has seen Earthquakes technical staff visiting Spurs Lodge on numerous occasions, with the team using the Tottenham Hotspur training facility as a base for this season’s pre-season preparations. The Quakes also played and won two closed-door matches with West Ham United and Spurs’ reserve sides.
Harry Redknapp, Tottenham Hotspur manager said, “The summer camp will be a very important part of our preparations for the new campaign and we’re looking forward to heading out to the United States."
The scheduled fixture will be the first time that the Earthquakes will play against Tottenham Hotspur. The last and only time San Jose hosted an EPL team came in 1997 when the Quakes earned a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in front of 13,522 fans at Spartan Stadium. Shawn Medved scored the lone goal for San Jose in that match.
As part of Tottenham Hotspur’s training visit to the U.S. they will also compete in the 2010 New York Football Challenge at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. The 2010 New York Football Challenge will be a four-team tournament involving fellow Barclays Premier League side Manchester City and MLS outfit New York Red Bulls, as well as a soon-to-be-announced fourth team. The tournament will take place from July 22-25.
Tottenham Hotspur was founded in 1882 and is known as the Club of firsts - becoming the first club to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960-61 season; in 1963 they became the first British club to win a major European trophy - the European Cup Winners' Cup. Victory in the 2008 League Cup Final meant that Spurs achieved the feat of winning a trophy in each of the last six decades, a record matched by only one other Premier League club.
The team is currently placed in the top four of the EPL table after recent wins against Arsenal and Chelsea. Spurs players include English internationals Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch along with young Welsh superstar Gareth Bale, Russian forward Roman Pavlyuchenko and Croatian international Luka Modric.
Tottenham Hotspur features in the top 15 of the Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks football clubs by revenue generated from football operations. The Club currently play their home games at White Hart Lane in North London and recently submitted plans for a new stadium development project that will see them move into a 56,000 capacity world-class stadium. This year the Club also began works on a new state-of-the-art training centre that will be one of the best in Europe. Tottenham Hotspur has a large fan base in the United States with established supporters’ clubs in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco and played in the United States as recently as 2003 participating in the Capital Cup against MLS side DC United. For more information visit the Club's website.
Honors
-League Champions: 1950-51, 1960-61
-FA Cup Winners: 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991
-League Cup Winners: 1971, 1973, 1999, 2008
-European CWC Winners: 1963
-UEFA Cup Winners: 1972, 1984
