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Official Opening of the Cruyff Court in Ysgol Hendrefelin, Bryncoch
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23 March 2022
A specially adapted ball court for learners with additional learning needs partly paid for by a fund established by Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has been officially opened at Ysgol Hendrefelin Special School in Bryncoch, Neath.
The “Cruyff Court” - aimed at giving children with a range of additional learning needs equal access to a wide range of sports - will be shared by neighbouring special school Ysgol Maes y Coed.
Neath Port Talbot Council applied to the Cruyff Foundation in Amsterdam for money to set up the court and was granted £70,000 with a further £70,000 being granted by Sport Wales and the Welsh Government and another £30,000 coming from Neath Port Talbot Council’s Capital Programme.
Admiral Insurance also provided £6,800 for 10 sports wheelchairs so children using the court can play competitive wheelchair basketball and other sports.
The Cruyff Court (also a Multi-Use Games Area) comes complete with features including an all-weather playing surface, rebound fencing, a colour scheme, ground trampolines, basketball hoops and a wheelchair slalom.
These have all been adapted to give those with limited mobility , the equal opportunity to access sport through the use of adaptations and specialist equipment.
The court at Bryncoch is the only one of its kind in Wales with a few others in England. There are many Cruyff Courts in Holland and Spain and the Cruyff Foundation has plans to branch out into America and China.
Former Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona and Holland star Johan Cruyff (1947-2016) started his charitable foundation in 1997 to provide opportunities for children, especially children with disabilities and social disadvantages, to be active in sports and play, helping them to build confidence and to benefit from exercise.
By the time of Johan Cruyff’s death in 2016 it had built more than 200 Cruyff Courts, 33 of which were specially designed for children and young people with additional needs in appropriate locations and the foundation’s work continues.
Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Culture, Cllr Peter Rees, said: “We are delighted to open this much needed, specially adapted sports facility which will be of immense value to pupils from Ysgol Hendrefelin and Ysgol Maes y Coed.
“I would also like to thank the Cruyff Foundation, the Welsh Government and Sport Wales and Admiral Insurance for helping us finance the court and I’d also like to thank the council’s Project Development and Funding Manager Paul Hinder for pursuing funding to make this possible.”