Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was founded in 1882 by a group of grammar school boys in Tottenham, north London, taking the "Hotspur" name from local nobility Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy. Spurs joined the Football League in 1908 and established themselves as a top-flight side, but their defining early achievement came in 1961 under Bill Nicholson, when Tottenham became the first club in the 20th century to win the English League and FA Cup double — a feat considered the pinnacle of the era.
The 1960s also saw Tottenham become the first British club to win a UEFA competition, lifting the 1962-63 European Cup Winners' Cup. Two UEFA Cup titles followed in 1972 and 1984, supported by FA Cup successes and a domestic culture built on attacking football. Through the 1990s and 2000s the club became known for stylish play but trophy droughts at the highest level, with the rivalry against Arsenal — the North London Derby — at the centre of the club's identity.
The 2010s brought a new era under chairman Daniel Levy and ENIC ownership, culminating in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final and the opening of the £1.2 billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that same year — the largest in London. After Mauricio Pochettino's tactical revolution and Harry Kane's record-breaking goalscoring, Spurs ended a 17-year trophy wait by lifting the 2024-25 UEFA Europa League under Ange Postecoglou. Known as "Spurs" or "Lilywhites," they remain one of England's "Big Six" with two league titles, eight FA Cups, and a global fanbase built on the club's "to dare is to do" ethos.