For the first time in history, teams of children from the ten Cruyff Courts in South Africa competed against each other for the coveted Cruyff Street League Cup. The exciting finals took place at Cruyff Court Elandsdoorn, the very first Cruyff Court, opened by Johan Cruyff himself in 2004.
For children growing up in South African townships, access to sport is far from guaranteed. Fortunately, local organisations remain hopeful and continue to create opportunities for young people to play sports — helping them build confidence and develop essential life skills. Together with these partners, we educate Cruyff Foundation Coaches, who organise sports activities on the Cruyff Courts and coordinated the local qualifiers of the Cruyff Street League.
“Through sport, we are building the next generation,” said Cruyff Foundation Coach John ‘Bull’ Sibeko from Cruyff Court Hillbrow. “During activities, we talk with young people about social challenges such as bullying, drugs, alcohol and gender-based violence. Sport provides a safe space to address these issues.”
Cruyff Foundation Coach Pinkie Khosa from Cruyff Court Namakgalé organised the qualifiers and integrated Johan Cruyff’s 14 Rules into her preparation. “We translated key words like Teamwork and Respect into their own language and talked about what they mean,” she shared.
The winning boys’ and girls’ teams from the qualifiers travelled to Elandsdoorn to compete for the Cruyff Street League Cup. Some had to travel for hours — and for a few, it was the very first time they flew or stayed in a hotel with their friends.
Morongwa Magongoa, Chief Community Development Officer of the Ndlovu Care Group, who organised the finals, was proud: “It was truly a ‘wow’ moment — the first national Cruyff Foundation tournament on African soil, where discipline, hard work and fun came together beautifully.”
The winning teams received the Cup from none other than Cruyff Foundation board member and former Premier League and Ajax player Edwin van der Sar:
🏆 Cruyff Court Bambanani (boys)
🏆 Cruyff Court Rhiza Orange Farm (girls)
This tournament created an unforgettable experience for all participating children and was made possible through collaboration with our local partners: Rhiza, Africa Tikkun, Friends of Bambanani and the Ndlovu Care Group. It is planned to take place again in 2027.