Spurs to train students in hospitality and nutrition

Football fans may not expect health food at an away match, but one top London club is about to change that by training students in sports hospitality and nutrition.

Tottenham Hotspur plan to launch a foundation degree in the subjects next year in conjunction with Middlesex University. Grant Cornwell, CEO of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: "The riots highlighted the need to engage with young people in our community.

"The degree is a way the club can help them further their education and boost their chances of a job.

"It is about offering them a more appealing learning environment than a conventional classroom. We want to help youngsters change their lives."

Spurs - whose players include Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who is also an Evening Standard columnist and an ambassador for the Dispossessed campaign - broke new ground in launching a foundation degree in sport and community development last year.

Most of the new two-year programme will be taught at their White Hart Lane stadium, where students will learn to cook in the large kitchens. They can acquire a degree by studying for an extra year at Middlesex University.