LONDON, August 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

· Charitable grant will help fund the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation's new tennis and after school programme for inner-city primary school children aged 4 - 11

· Programme to launch in September 2013 and provide more than 1500 hours of tennis training

· First-ever Rising Star partnership for StubHub in the field of UK sport

StubHub, the world's largest ticketing marketplace, today announced it has selected the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation as the latest recipient of its Rising Star award.

StubHub Rising Stars is an international philanthropic programme to highlight outstanding grassroots non-profit organisations, improving access and opportunities for at-risk youth through sports and the arts.

The Rising Stars award has been presented to the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, the Premier League football club's official charitable body that aims to create life-changing opportunities for people in its local community. The award includes a grant recommendation of £20,000 from the StubHub Foundation (a corporate advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation).

The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation will use the grant towards the provision of a new early years schools tennis programme targeting inner-city primary school students (4-11 years old) and an after-school programme in deprived communities across the north London boroughs of Enfield, Haringey, Barnet and Waltham Forest. 

Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, General Manager International for StubHub, said:

"With Andy Murray winning Wimbledon and Laura Robson rising fast amongst the ranks, now has never been a better time for young people to get inspired and play tennis. Sadly, many young people with fantastic potential miss out on opportunities to develop their talent, which is why the Rising Stars award focuses StubHub's philanthropy where we see the greatest need: under-served, at-risk youth and locally-rooted, non-profit organisations."

Grant Cornwell, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation CEO, said:

"Traditionally, many young people in inner-city London have not had access to tennis coaching and facilities.  However, with the StubHub Foundation's support, our new early years schools tennis programme can reach new children within deprived communities who might never have picked up a tennis racket before. 

"Young people who take part will not only improve their tennis skills, but also their social skills, helping them to build self-esteem and develop positive attitudes. We're excited to get started and, like the Rising Stars name suggests, help find Britain's next sporting talent."

To celebrate the award, StubHub arranged a special day out at the National Tennis Centre for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and some of its tennis students. This was made possible thanks to StubHub's partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association for this year's Aegon Championships.

Tottenham Hotspur Club Ambassador, Ledley King, who attended the day, commented:

"The day at the National Tennis Centre was a fantastic opportunity for the young people involved, giving them a glimpse of how British tennis champions are made. In my role as Club Ambassador, I work closely with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and see first-hand the positive impact that sports participation can have in not only developing talent, but also building character. The chance to play sport was always something I valued as a youngster growing up."

StubHub's Rising Stars programme launched in January 2013 to support grassroots, non-profit organisations to increase access and opportunities for at-risk youth through sports and the arts. The programme is designed to have a transformative impact on both the award recipients and the youth they serve. Benefits of selection into the Rising Stars programme include grant support from the StubHub Foundation, exposure to StubHub's international network of sports, music and theatre fans and access to StubHub employee talent through skills-based volunteering and dedicated service projects.  

In the UK and Ireland, StubHub also supports the Chickenshed Theatre Company in North London and the Musical Youth Foundation in Dublin. Both organisations are dedicated to increasing access and opportunity for at-risk youth through music and the arts.

For more on the Rising Stars programme visit: http://www.stubhub.com/rising-stars. Also, a video on this project is available here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6HDMqPfROM.

For more information about StubHub.co.uk please contact: Fiona Chow, StubHub UK: fichow@ebay.com

SOURCE StubHub UK