Project Curaçao
In Curaçao, sport is being used to create opportunities for young people and strengthen connections within local communities. Sports infrastructure provides the physical space for those programmes to happen. A place to train and compete, but also somewhere to meet others and be part of something. The project illustrates why community impact is about more than installing a surface. What matters is what the community can do with it.
Community Impact
Access to play. Is access to possibility.
Sport and play create opportunities to move, meet and connect. But access to good facilities is not equal everywhere. Schools, municipalities, clubs and communities face different challenges. Space can be limited. Facilities can be heavily used. Climate can restrict availability. And in some communities, access to suitable places for sport and recreation is simply limited. Creating more opportunities to play starts with creating places where people can do it.
Access that matters
A playing surface has value when people can use it. Sports facilities that remain available throughout the year can support more training sessions, matches, school activities and community programmes from the same space. This is particularly important in communities where recreational space is limited or demand is high. The objective is not simply to build more fields. It is to help existing space work harder for the people who depend on it.
Community impact is not limited to sports facilities. Outdoor living spaces, playgrounds, rooftops and shared recreational areas can also provide places where people meet, play and spend time outdoors.
The surface is only one part of it. The value comes from what happens there.
A community facility needs to work not only when it opens, but for years afterwards. Availability, durability, maintenance and performance all influence how much use a space can provide throughout its functional life. A surface that accommodates intensive use can provide more opportunities to play. A surface that performs for longer can delay replacement. And simpler maintenance can help clubs, schools and municipalities keep facilities available.
Good infrastructure makes better use of the space and resources already available.
Across different countries and communities, projects show how sport and recreation spaces are being used to create more opportunities to play, move and connect. Explore projects, stories and examples from around the world on the TenCate ESG website.
Play brings people together
There is no single model for community impact. A Cruyff Court in Paris serves a different community from a football facility in Auckland or a school in New Zealand.
What connects them is access.
Places where children can play. Where athletes can train. Where schools can organise activities. Where clubs can grow. And where people can meet through sport and recreation.
More places to play. More opportunities to participate.