‘The World of Johan Cruyff’ gave a talk on the legacy of its founder, on the opening day of the World Football Summit
The World of Johan Cruyff sent its management team to Madrid to deliver a lecture on ‘The legacy of Johan Cruyff’, on the opening day of the World Football Summit in Madrid, the first major international convention of world football held in Spain and which brought the leading stakeholders in the football industry.
Carole Thate, manager of ‘The World of Johan Cruyff’, discused the figure of the founder and his three big initiatives – the Johan Cruyff Institute, the Cruyff Foundation and Cruyff Football – together with Mariël Koerhuis (director, Johan Cruyff Institute), Pati Roura (director, Cruyff Foundation Spain) and Ruben Jongkind (manager, Cruyff Football).
Sport, management and social work are three key words in the world of Johan Cruyff and a point of connection in all his initiatives. Johan thought about how to facilitate the mobility of children with disabilities or at risk of social exclusion through sport and decided to create the Cruyff Foundation in 1997, which today helps 300,000 children worldwide.
His own experience as a professional football player and later as a coach and consultant led him to think of a plan to help athletes to enter the world of work at the end of their career and to promote the professionalization of management in the sports world. Thus he founded the Johan Cruyff Institute, an academic institution that educates leaders in sport management and sport marketing which has received more than 7,000 students from around the world since its foundation in 1999.
Johan’s unique vision of football is now transmitted through Cruyff Football, an initiative that helps professional football clubs and national federations to play attractive football, to invest in their youth program and to adopt sustainable strategies within a tailor-made plan.
Carole Thate, manager, The World of Johan Cruyff: “Johan’s legacy does not only consist of what he did on the field, but so much more. To keep his legacy alive and make the transition from the person Cruyff to the brand Cruyff is a big challenge that involves an incredible team effort”.
Mariël Koerhuis, director, Johan Cruyff Institute: “I believe it is important that at the World Football Summit, where the future of the football industry is being discussed, you can feel the influence of who changed football: Johan Cruyff. His legacy continues to be present at a sport, social and educational level”.
Pati Roura, director, Cruyff Fundation Spain: “Sports have a huge influence on the integration of children. The Foundation is also concerned with the fact that they grow up with values and equal opportunities. That is what Johan wanted”.
Wim Jonk, director, Cruyff Football: “Cruyff’s football legacy is undisputed and eternal. But the challenge lies in its implementation. Cruyff Football will help clubs and federations to do just that.”
