Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen City Council begins hunt for contractor to build third Cruyff Court football pitch in Tillydrone

The Tillydrone pitch will mean Aberdeen is the only city in the UK to have three Cruyff Court pitches - alongside London. Image: Bram Berkien.
The Tillydrone pitch will mean Aberdeen is the only city in the UK to have three Cruyff Court pitches - alongside London. Image: Bram Berkien.

Aberdeen City Council has begun looking for a contractor to build the city’s third Cruyff Court football pitch in Tillydrone.

The facilities are the brainchild of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, a legacy of the legendary Dutch footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Around £350,000 has already been invested by local authority chiefs in the existing two sites.

Cruyff Court Denis Law opened five years ago at Catherine Street and its popularity led to Cruyff Court Neale Cooper opening in Tullos in November 2019.

The council is now looking for a contractor to carry out a similar pitch build in Tillydrone from February 20 to May 12 next year.

Council co-leaders Alex Nicoll of the SNP (left) and Liberal Democrat Ian Yuill (right) at the site of the Tillydrone Cruyff Court. It's to be named after former Dons skipper Willie Miller (centre left) and is funded by the Denis Law Legacy Trust. David Suttie (centre left) is a trustee of the charity. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.
Left to right: Council co-leader Alex Nicoll, Denis Law Legacy Trust trustee David Suttie, Willie Miller and council co-leader Iain Yuill at Tillydrone in August. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson.

It will be named after Aberdeen’s greatest ever player, as well as former manager and director – Gothenburg Great Willie Miller.

In July 2021, the plans for the pitch near the new Riverbank School in Tillydrone were given the green light.

Altough the new school building has been delayed until at least summer 2024, the football pitch plans are still going ahead.

Contractors invited to build pitch

No price for the pitch has been stated on the publicly available tender proposal.

But it does say works will involve building the pitch to the correct specifications and installing fencing, flood lighting, various street furniture and landscaping.

Potential bidders have until December 16 to apply for the work.

Cruyff Court Neale Cooper opened in Tullos in 2019. Aberdeen. Image: Bram Berkien.

Pitches reduce anti-social behaviour

There are currently more than 250 courts in around 20 countries around the world taking part in the Johan Cruyff Foundation scheme.

Aberdeen’s two Cruyff Courts are operated by the Denis Law Legacy Trust who run weekly sessions for youngsters at both sports hubs.

They say a growth in attendance at sessions correlates with a reduction in anti-social behaviour among young people in the area.

Due to Tillydrone having 24% of its population under the age of 16, in comparison to an Aberdeen wide figure of 14%, council planners believe providing them with activities is important for the community.

Aberdeen’s two Cruyff Courts have been hailed a major success. Image: Bram Berkien.

The creation of a third Cruyff Court in Aberdeen means the city will be only the second city behind London to boast three courts.

Alexander McLellan, the SNP councillor for Tillydrone ward said: “I am pleased to see the project moving to the tender stage as the Cruyff Court Willie Miller is going to be a massive asset to the young people in Tillydrone and beyond.”

Conversation