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Ledley King opens new Cruyff court at Ferry Lane Estate, Tottenham

The Dutch 7-a-side Football team and Ledley King, former captain and now ambassador of Tottenham Hotspur have officially opened a Cruyff Court on the Ferry Lane Estate in Tottenham.

In the neighbourhood where serious riots broke out almost exactly a year ago, this ballcourt will contribute to the efforts to regenerate the area and provide young people with a safe place to play sports.

Ledley King: “It’s a great facility. I can only wish there were more things like this available to me when I was a young person growing up in inner city London. There’s been a lot of negativity surrounding the area of Tottenham over the past year but developments like this go to show this community is moving in the right direction. Hopefully we can find the budding sportspeople of the future making use of this facility.”

Haringey Council Deputy Leader Cllr Bernice Vanier said: “Today has been a really fun and exciting day for the Ferry Lane Estate.  It’s great to see the Cruyff Court and the multi-use games area up and running, and I’m sure that our young people will make the very best of the new facilities.  Opening the MUGA was one of Haringey Council’s 12 in 2012 pledges to bring improvements to Tottenham throughout the year, and I’m delighted that together with our partners we’ve been able to deliver on that pledge.”

The Dutch Football team 7-a-side is in London to prepare for the Paralympics which start on August 29. Football 7-a-side is played by athletes who have a motor disability as a result of brain damage. The Cruyff Foundation supports Football 7-a-side for youth in the Netherlands.

The Cruyff Court, with its latest generation facilities, including 3G astroturf from TenCate is located next to a basketball and tennis court, and is specially adapted to allow people with disabilities to use court as well. The playground is accessible to everyone and is used for various organised sports activities for the youth, such as the Kickz project of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

Grant Cornwell MBE, Chief Executive, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation:

“This fantastic new facility is a major boost for the area and will help the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation continue to deliver life changing opportunities at the heart of our community, along with helping to inspire the next generation of young people to take up sport. We would like to thank the Cruyff Foundation for all their support in helping to make this possible.”

This is the second Cruyff Court in London. The first, Cruyff Court Dennis Bergkamp, was opened in 2008. This playground is located in the District of Islington and is very successful. In total, there are now 162 Cruyff Courts worldwide, of which 136 are located in the Netherlands.

Partners
The Cruyff Court Tottenham Hotspur is partly achieved by contributions of the Peoples Postcode Lottery, Sutcliffe Play, Haringey Council and the Cruyff Foundation and is realised in cooperation with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

Carole Thate, director of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, is pleased with the cooperation with the partners: “We are very grateful to our partners for the good cooperation. At the Johan Cruyff Foundation we work with a relatively small team, but by working together with third parties, we are able to achieve great results. This court in London is a nice example of these collaborations. ”

About the Johan Cruyff Foundation

The Johan Cruyff Foundation was established in 1997 as a result of Johan Cruyff’s aspiration to get children moving. Since its launch in 1997, the Johan Cruyff Foundation has been growing into an organisation that keeps youth in motion every day. The Foundation realizes this by building Cruyff Courts (public playgrounds that give children back their play area), by supporting sport projects for children with disabilities and organizing unique sport events for youth.

 

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