Cruyff Court Toronto is an initiative of Red Panamericana Toronto to create a “first in Canada” Cruyff Court in the Jane/Keele/Finch corridor of the City, on the lands of Toronto Azzurri Youth Sports Village. Cruyff Courts, named after soccer legend Johan Cruyff are mini-soccer fields and associated programmes designed to build values as well as skills. Since their creation in the 1980s, soon after Cruyff played in the North American Soccer League, Cruyff Courts have been built around the world. Cruyff Court Toronto will be the first in Canada. You can find detailed information about Cruyff Courts on the Johan Cruyff Foundation website at http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/english/
Johan Cruyff Foundation:
“Years ago Johan Cruyff said: ‘If you have the opportunity to do something for someone else, you have to do this’. From this thought the Johan Cruyff Foundation was founded in 1997, combining his two loves: sports and children with a disability. Over the years the Cruyff Foundation has also worked more and more for children who are living in areas where there is a lack of space for sports and games. The target group of the Cruyff Foundation consists of children with and without disabilities.
Mission:
The Johan Cruyff Foundation brings youth in motion and does so by supporting sport projects for youth with disabilities, constructing Cruyff Courts, organizing unique sporting events for youth and teaching young people how to organize sports activities in collaboration with the Johan Cruyff Institute of Sport Studies.
Vision:
Sport and play are important for healthy development of children. We believe it is just as important as learning to read and write. The right to sport and play has been included in the Convention on the Right of the Child of the United Nations. Sport is not only healthy, it gives a child confidence and teaches children to work together and deal with rules and discipline. By playing and doing sports they meet other children and they experience what’s it like to win and lose. But the most important thing is that it’s fun. By promoting sports and play the Cruyff Foundation contributes to a better society in a positive and active way.
Contact:
Johan Cruyff Foundation
Olympisch Stadion 5
1076 DE Amsterdam
T. 020-305 77 66
F. 020-305 77 60
E. info@cruyff-foundation.org
W: www.cruyff-foundation.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cruyfffoundation
Twitter: @JCfoundation
14 Rules of Johan Cruyff:
In every Cruyff Court the following 14 rules are enforced to help children develop these skills and enable them in becoming active and engaged citizens.
Red Panamericana = Cruyff Court Toronto:
In alliance with the Hispanic Development Council, TorontotheBetter is working on a plan to build neighbourhood soccer courts, that follow the model set forth by the Johan Cruyff Foundation, in underserved areas of Toronto in time for Toronto’s 2015 Pan Am Games
The Johan Cruyff Foundation realizes its Cruyff Court programme by co-financing the construction of the courts in collaboration with local governments and/or private institutions. There are Cruyff Courts worldwide but not yet in North America.
Red Panamericana is in discussion with the City of Toronto to realize Toronto’s and North America’s first Cruyff Court. In step with Cruyff Foundation values, the planned Toronto Cruyff Courts will involve neighbourhood members as directors, volunteers and staff, building capacity, and community guidance and control, particularly among local youth.
Red Panamericana’s plan for a Toronto neighbourhood Toronto Cruyff Court programme is grounded in values of inclusion, for young and old, males and females, abled and dis-abled. A key principle of the Cruyff Court initiative is the enrichment of underserved neighbourhoods by providing their “at-risk” populations with opportunities for self-development and self-leadership.
TorontotheBetter comprises a variety of varied civil society participants (e.g. non-profits, social enterprises, and community organizations) and it promotes social cohesion protocols among them.
For TorontotheBetter, social economy is a viable value creating option for many citizens: think unemployed citizens; student-citizens; new immigrants; women-citizens; retrained workers; retirees and unwaged youth, among others often excluded.
Our current Community University Research Alliance project with the University of Toronto’s Social Economy Centre, focuses on the impact of social enterprise on marginalized populations. TorontotheBetter seeks the holistic betterment of the city as a human community where human needs are met rather than obstructed through market satisfaction of wants.
Future Site of the Toronto Azzurri Cruyff Court:
