Cruyff Foundation serves up ace Open Day
More than 1200 children with and without disabilities had the opportunity to try more than 30 sports, including wheelchair tennis, at Wednesday’s Cruyff Foundation Open Day at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
As well as paying wheelchair tennis, children could sit ski and try BMX, rowing, climbing, judo and much more. A special part this year’s 19th Cruyff Foundation Open Day were the cultural workshops, for activities such as capoeira, break dance and singing, which were part of the Culture @CruyffCourts project.
The Open Day also enjoyed the presence and participation of several Cruyff Foundation ambassadors, including Ronald Koeman, Soufiane Touzani, Frank Rijkaard, Marlou van Rhijn, Sjaak Swart and Humberto Tan, while Danny and Susila Cruyff also actively involved during this day.
Ronald Koeman, who was among those to try wheelchair tennis, said: “The joy that you see on the faces of the children is what we do for this day.”
Director Niels Meijer added: “For us this is the most beautiful day of the year. Here you see our mission ‘Creating Space’ come to life: on this day, children literally get the space to discover which sport they like best. This is especially important for children with a disability. Often more turns out to be possible than they thought. This not only ensures joy, but also makes them grow. "
The Johan Cruyff Foundation supports and develops sports activities for children around the world, focusing on vulnerable children and disabled children, and has been a Programme Partner of the ITF’s Junior Wheelchair Tennis and Development Programmes, including the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund, for over 15 years.
Since the Cruyff Foundation became a partner of the ITF Junior Wheelchair Tennis Programme in 2004, the sport’s premier annual junior wheelchair tennis event has become known as the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters and is held in Tarbes, France, every January. The Cruyff Foundation also supports the Junior event at the at the annual BNP Paribas World Team Cup and is title sponsor of the Cruyff Foundation Wheelchair Tennis Junior Rankings, which are published weekly.
With sports projects for children with a disability, Cruyff Courts and Schoolpleinen14, the Cruyff Foundation gives children the space to exercise and play. Space where they can develop, space to make friends and space where they can improve their physical and mental health. Space to get the best out of themselves. Every week the Cruyff Foundation gives thousands of children the space to play sports and games, with the overriding ethos that every child deserves a healthy future.