The Peres Center for Peace annual “Mini Mondial for Peace Tournament” took place this morning at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium where both Jewish and Arab children as well as Ligat Ha’Al players came together to honor the memory of Jordi’s father, Johan Cruyff who passed away earlier this year.

The Cruyff Foundation which was founded by Johan, established centers in many countries around the world and in Israel that promotes peace and equality amongst children. Shimon Peres opened the event with a few words as the ninth President of Israel congratulated the players and presented a special number 14 jersey in remembrance of the football legend.

Yuval Shpungin, represented the Maccabi Tel Aviv players and spoke about his experience at the Herzliya Stadium: “This is a truly wonderful event. It’s a great honor for me to be here and it’s the least that I can do to bring people together, especially children.”

About the tribute to Jordi’s father:

“It’s amazing to see how much respect a footballing legend receives both on and off of the pitch. Since we as players are also close to Jordi, it makes this even more meaningful.”