Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane said he is excited to play at the club’s new stadium but would be sad to say goodbye to the old White Hart Lane.

The 20-year-old striker made the comments as he supported the players from the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s grassroots football programme, yesterday afternoon.

The education and football development centres run by the foundation aim to use football to encourage young people to stay in education.

Speaking about the programme, Mr Kane said: “I think it’s important - it’s a chance to express themselves outside the classroom.

“I started out at grassroots-level football, I got scouted by Tottenham Hotspur when I was 11 years old and I have been there ever since.

“I think they’ve got to work hard. If they believe they can do it and if they have the quality then they will prevail.

Last week, the north London club said it was on track to move into its new 56,000-seater stadium by the summer of 2017.

When asked about the announcement, Mr Kane said: “It’s going to be exciting to play at a brand new stadium.

“It’s sad to say goodbye to the old White Hart Lane but this is a new step for the club.”

Yesterday, a team made up of players from three of the foundation’s college programmes competed in an international grassroots game with a college team from Czech Republic.

Grant Cornwell, the foundation’s chief executive and head of global coaching said: “For us everything starts with education and we are trying to use sport to keep kids in school.

“We know that our young people are facing difficult times – there are almost a million unemployed young people – so we need to make sure we help them get into jobs and training.

“The thing about what we do is that it’s not Tottenham-led, it’s led by the community. We are responding to the needs of the community rather than us telling them what they need.”