Tottenham is the first team in England to win both the league and the cup in the 20th century, in the 1960-61 season. By winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1963, they became the first English team to win a trophy in Europe. They won the EFL Cup twice in the 1970s and the first UEFA Cup under its new name in 1972. During the 1980s, Spurs won many trophies: the FA Cup twice, the FA Community Shield once and the UEFA Cup in the 1983โ84 season.
They won the FA Cup and League Cup in the 1990s. They won the League Cup once again in 2008, making them the winner of the league at least once in every decade. This was a feat only achieved by Manchester United.
The club's Latin motto is Audere est Facere' (Turkish:ย To dare is to do). Its emblem is a rooster perched on a football. The club has a long-standing rivalry with near-neighbours Arsenal, with matches between the two teams known as the North London Derby.
History
Foundation and early years (1882-1908)
Originally called Hotspur Football Club, the club was founded on 5 September 1882 by a group of students led by Bobby Buckle. They were members of the Hotspur Cricket Club and the football club was formed to provide sports during the winter months. A year later, students asked John Ripsher, a Bible study teacher at All Hallows Church, who became the club's first president and treasurer, for help with the club.
Ripsher helped and supported the boys during the club's formative years, reorganizing and finding facilities for the club. In April 1884, the club's name was changed to "Tottenham Hotspur Football Club" to avoid confusion with another London club called Hotspur, whose remit was mistakenly handed over to North London. The club's nicknames include "Spurs" and "Lilywhites".
In the early years, north London sides played friendly matches among themselves and against other local clubs. The first recorded match was played on 30 September 1882 against a local team called the Radicals, which Hotspur lost 2-0. The team played its first cup match in the London Association Cup and on 17 October 1885 a company's first match against St.
He won his first competitive match 5-2 against the factory team called St. Albans. The club's fixtures began to attract the attention of the local community and attendances at home matches began to increase. In 1892 they played for the first time in a league called the short-lived Southern Alliance.
The club was incorporated on 20 December 1895 and was admitted to the First Division of the Southern League (the third tier at the time) in the summer of 1896. On 2 March 1898 the club became the Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Company, which was also a limited company. Shortly afterwards, Frank Brettell became Spurs' first manager, and John Cameron was signed, who took over as player-manager when Bretell left a year later.
Cameron would have a significant impact on Spurs, helping the club win their first trophy, the Southern League title in the 1899โ1900 season. The following year Spurs won the 1901 FA Cup by beating Sheffield United 3-1 in the final replay after the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw. In doing so, they became the only non-League club to achieve this feat since the formation of the Football League in 1888.
First decades in the Football League (1908-1958)
In 1908 the club was elected to the Football League Second Division and finished second in the league in its first season, gaining promotion to the First Division. In 1912 Peter McWilliam became manager; Tottenham finished last in the 1914-15 season, when football was suspended due to the First World War. Spurs were relegated to the second division upon the resumption of league football after the war, but quickly returned to the first division as champions in the 1919โ20 season.
On 23 April 1921, McWilliam helped Spurs win their second FA Cup by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1โ0 in the FA Cup final. Spurs finished second in the league behind Liverpool in 1922, but would finish mid-table for the next five seasons. Spurs were relegated in the 1927โ28 season after McWilliam left. For most of the 1930s and 40s Spurs languished in the second division, apart from a brief return to the first division in the 1933-34 and 1934-35 seasons.
Former Spurs player Arthur Rowe became manager in 1949. Rowe developed a style of play known as 'push and run' which proved successful in his early years as manager. After finishing top of the second league in the 1949โ50 season, he took the team back to the First Division. In his second season in charge, Tottenham won their first top-flight league title by finishing the 1950โ51 season at the top of the league.
Rowe resigned in April 1955 due to a stress-related illness from managing the club. Before leaving, he signed Danny Blanchflower, one of Spurs' most famous players and a two-time winner of the FWA Player of the Year award while at Tottenham.
Bill Nicholson and his glory years (1958-1974)
Bill Nicholson took over as manager in October 1958. He became the club's most successful manager, leading the team to major cup success for three consecutive seasons in the early 1960s; He completed the double in 1961, won the FA Cup in 1962 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Nicholson signed Dave Mackay and John White, two influential players who won the double in 1959, and Jimmy Greaves, the most prolific goalscorer in English football's top tier, in 1961.
The 1960โ61 season began with a run of 11 wins, followed by a draw and a further four wins, in what was then recorded as the best ever start to the top tier of English football. The championship came on 17 April 1961, when they beat second-place Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home. The double was achieved as Spurs beat Leicester City 2โ0 in the 1961 FA Cup final.
The double was the first of the 20th century and the first since Aston Villa achieved the feat in 1897. The following year Spurs won back-to-back FA Cups, beating Burnley in the 1962 FA Cup final.
On 15 May 1963, Tottenham became the first English team to win a European trophy by winning the 1962โ63 European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Atletico Madrid 5โ1 in the final. Spurs also became the first English team to win two different European trophies by winning the 1971โ72 UEFA Cup with a rebuilt team that included Martin Chivers, Pat Jennings and Steve Perryman.
They also won the FA Cup in 1967 and two League Cups (in 1971 and 1973). In total, Nicholson won eight major trophies in his 16 years as manager at the club.
Burkinshaw to Venables (1974-1992)
Spurs entered a period of decline after the successes of the early 1970s, and Nicholson resigned after a poor start to the 1974โ75 season. The team was subsequently relegated at the end of the 1976โ77 season under manager Keith Burkinshaw. Burkinshaw quickly took the club back to the first division, assembling a team that included Glenn Hoodle as well as two Argentines, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. Burkinshaw's rebuilt team won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup in 1984.
The 1980s were a period of change at White Hart Lane, beginning with a new phase of redevelopment as well as a change of management. Irving Scholar took over the club and moved it in a more commercial direction, marking the beginning of the evolution of English football clubs into commercial enterprises. Debt at the club would lead to a change of management again and Terry Venables teamed up with businessman Alan Sugar in June 1991 to take control of Tottenham Hotspur plc.
Venables, who became manager in 1987, signed players such as Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. Under Venables, Spurs won the 1991 FA Cup, becoming the first club to win the trophy eight times.
Premier League football (1992โpresent)
Tottenham were one of five clubs pushing for the establishment of the Premier League, which was created with the approval of the Football Association and replaced the Football League First Division, the top division of English football. Despite a succession of managers and players including Teddy Sheringham, Jรผrgen Klinsmann and David Ginola, for a long spell in the Premier League until the late 2000s, Spurs finished mid-table in most seasons, winning few trophies.
They won the League Cup in 1999 under George Graham and again in 2008 under Juande Ramos. Performances improved under Harry Redknapp with the likes of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric and the club established itself in the top five in the early 2010s.
In February 2001, Sugar sold his stake in Spurs to ENIC Sports plc, run by Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, and resigned as chairman. Lewis and Levy would eventually own 85% of the club and Levy would be responsible for managing the club. They appointed Mauricio Pochettino, who served between 2014 and 2019, as head coach. Spurs finished second in the 2016-17 season under Pochettino, breaking new ground since the 1962-63 season.
Although they reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2019, which was the club's first UEFA Champions League final, they narrowly failed to win the cup, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in the final. Pochettino was sacked in November 2019 after a poor start to the 2019-20 season and replaced by Jose Mourinho. However, Mourinho's tenure lasted only 17 months; He was dismissed in April 2021 and replaced by interim head coach Ryan Mason for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
Nuno Esprito Santo was appointed as the new coach for the 2021-22 season on 30 June 2021. However, after only 4 months in office, he was dismissed and replaced by Antonio Conte.
squad
- As of 24 May 2025
achievements
- Premier League
- Champion (2): 1950-51, 1960-61
- FA Cup
- Champion (8): 1901, 1920-21, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1966-67, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1990-91
- EFL Cup
- Champion (4): 1970-71, 1972-73, 1998-99, 2007-08
- Second (4): 1981-82, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2014-15
- FA Community Shield
- Champion (7): 1921, 1951, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1991
- UEFA Europa League
- Champion (3): 1971-72, 1983-84, 2024-25
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Champion (1): 1962-63
- UEFA Champions League
- Finalist (1): 2018-19
- UEFA Super Cup
- Finalist (1): 2025
Jersey Manufacturers and Sponsors
Jersey Manufacturers
โข 2009-2012: Puma
โข 2012-2017: Under Armor
โข 2017-:Nike
Sponsors
โข 2011-2013: Aurasma
โข 2013-2014: HP
โข 2014-: AIA
