Many people know the Cruyff Foundation from the Cruyff Courts, the icon of our Foundation and our work. The Cruyff Court concept has evolved dramatically since its humble beginnings with the first playing field created in 2003 in Lelystad, the Cruyff Court Aron Winter.
A Cruyff Court is an interpretation of the timeless neighbourhood football pitch, updated for the modern age: a place where people can come to incorporate principles like respect, health, integration, self-improvement, and playing together into their daily lives.
Alongside the standard form of the Cruyff Court, there is also the Special Cruyff Court for young people with disabilities; the areas around Cruyff Courts are configured for multipurpose use; we install water taps; the mobile Cruyff Court gives us an extended range of our activities; and we train local coaches and young people to organise their own activities.
There are 35 Cruyff Courts outside the Netherlands.
*These figures include the Special Cruyff Courts.
Highlights
- Opening of Cruyff Courts Davy Klaassen and Marco van Ginkel
- Opening of Cruyff Court in Mumbai with Lilianne Ploumen, the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
- Cruyff Court 6vs6 tournaments with national championships in Amsterdam and European Championship in Barcelona
- Number of participants: 25,000 (6,000 girls)
- Youth exchange between Cruyff Courts in São Paulo and Amsterdam
- Launch of Heroes of the Cruyff Courts program
- 31 Courts equipped with water tap with support from the National Postcode Lottery
Activities on the Cruyff Courts
Along with the development of multiple types of playing areas, the Foundation consolidated the Community Program and Cruyff Courts 6vs6 in order to further increase the number of activities and expand involvement in and around the Court. In August, these programs were consolidated into one larger program: Heroes of the Cruyff Courts.
Cruyff Courts 6vs6 tournament
Last season, there were 239 Cruyff Courts 6vs6 tournaments played, including the quarter-finals, semi-finals, national championships and international championships. National championships were held in the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. All the tournament activities revolved around the theme of Respect. In the UK, this was the first partnership with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. The intention is to develop this into an annually recurring tournament that gets bigger every year.
The international final was in Catalonia. Beyond the themes of football and respect, an important part of this weekend event was cultural exchange and learning to use sport as an avenue for growth and personal development.
Water taps on Courts
The installation of water taps at a number of Courts highlighted attention to health issues. The Foundation has been installing these taps since 2014 with the support of the National Postcode Lottery. A water tap helps users of the Court to keep from becoming dehydrated, and helps reduce litter. We installed water taps at 31 locations in 2015.
Contribution to the objectives of the Cruyff Foundation
The Cruyff Foundation enjoys its profile as the leading organisation in getting young people exercising. In this area the Foundation fulfils a leading role, the most visible expression of which for the public is the Cruyff Courts. Our work in establishing Cruyff Courts in communities and the Special Cruyff Courts at special education institutions continues to make an active lifestyle available to everyone in our target groups. We are making an active contribution to the quality of life in residential neighbourhoods in the Netherlands and beyond.
By organising activities and training coaches, we are expanding the use of the Courts and engagement with and around them, and giving young people opportunities to better themselves.
What can be improved
- More girls active on the Courts
- More completed quickscans
- A coach on every Court and at least one activity organised by young people per year
- New and specific impact assessment in order to gain better and more structured insight into the effects and effectiveness of the Courts
Market developments
Sport and exercise are being increasingly understood as a means to address a number of important themes, including weight problems and deteriorating social cohesion. With its projects, the Cruyff Foundation is addressing these issues by getting more children active and bringing children and young people together on the Courts. In addition, young people and coaches are getting help in organising activities themselves that make a positive contribution to the atmosphere and social safety around a place for sport in the community.
The Cruyff Foundation is also looking at how to help a new target group, by giving refugee children in asylum-seeker centres opportunities to be active and participate in sport.
2016 ambitions
- Use storytelling to raise awareness of the success of the Cruyff Courts
- Further development of the new Heroes of the Cruyff Courts program
- More integration with other Cruyff Foundation projects, for example Heroes of the Special Cruyff Courts
- Opening of eight new Courts (four in the Netherlands, two in the UK, and two in Spain)
- Replacement of 15 Cruyff Courts in the Netherlands
- Installation of 35 new water taps
- Structured impact assessment
- Deployment of the mobile Cruyff Court for a temporary event or for communicative purposes
- Monitor survey among young people participating in Heroes of the Cruyff Courts to establish the extent to which the program is increasing self-confidence and helping participants discover their own competences
Risk management
The local authorities carry the responsibility for the maintenance of the Courts. Budget cuts can have a negative impact on the condition of the Courts, and this can carry over to the foundation’s image. When entering into new partnerships, we always raise this point for consideration in the long-range planning/budget.
Nuisance on the Courts remains a potential risk. The Foundation advises local parties on how to deal with this.
For every partnership that the Foundation enters into, we thoroughly investigate whether the potential partner is reliable and robust enough to jointly make the project a success.
International
For Cruyff Courts abroad, the Foundation relies on local partners. The success of the Court depends very much on the quality and dedication of these partners. Connections with local embassies and consulates and with organisations like StreetfootballWorld gives us a better picture of the reliability of potential local partners.
