Jong Ajax () (''English: Young Ajax''), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2 is a Dutch

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team, the reserve team of Ajax. It is based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and competes in the Dutch

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...

History

Jong Ajax (''formerly more commonly known as Ajax 2'') is the reserve team of AFC Ajax. The team is composed mostly of professional footballers, who are often recent graduates from the highest youth level (Ajax A1), serving their first professional contract as a reserve, or players who are otherwise unable to play in the first team. Since 1992 Jong Ajax have competed in the

Beloften Eredivisie The Beloften Eredivisie (; ''"Promised Honor Division"'') was the highest football league in for reserve teams in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The league was founded in 1992 as ''Reserve Teams Eredivisi ...

, competing against other reserve teams such as Jong PSV, Jong FC Groningen or Jong AZ. It has won the Beloften Eredivisie title a record eight times, as well as the

KNVB Reserve Cup The KNVB Reserve Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor beloften) is a cup competition for the reserve teams of professional football clubs in the Netherlands. The winner qualifies for next year's KNVB Cup; if the cup winner is also the champion in the nati ...

three times, making it the most successful reserve squad in the Netherlands. By winning the

title, Jong Ajax were able to qualify for the actual

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

, even advancing to the semi-finals on three occasions. Its best result in the Dutch Cup was under manager

Jan Olde Riekerink Johannes Hendrikus Olde Riekerink (born 22 February 1963) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player who is head coach of Indonesian club Dewa United. Career Playing career Born in Hengelo, Olde Riekerink played professionally for ...

in 2001–02, when a semi-final loss to

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merg ...

in a Penalty shoot-out after extra time, which saw Utrecht advance, and thus preventing an Ajax vs. Jong Ajax Dutch Cup final. The 2013–14 season marked the Jupiler League debut of the AFC Ajax reserves' squad Jong Ajax. Previously playing in the

(a separate league for reserve teams, not included in the Dutch professional or amateur league structure) players were allowed to move around freely between the reserve team and the first team during the course of the season. This is no longer the case as Jong Ajax now registers and fields a separate squad from that of Ajax first team for the

, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands. Its home matches are played at Sportpark De Toekomst, except for the occasional match in the Amsterdam Arena. The only period in which players are able to move between squads is during the transfer windows, unless the player has made less than 15 appearances for the first team, then he is still eligible to appear in both first team and second team matches during the course of the season. Furthermore, the team is not eligible for promotion to the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

or to participate in the

. Jong Ajax was joined in the Eerste Divisie by

Jong FC Twente Jong FC Twente (English: Young FC Twente) are the reserve team of FC Twente, a team from Enschede which played in the Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is ...

and Jong PSV, reserve teams that have also moved from the Beloften Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie, replacing

VV Katwijk Voetbal Vereniging Katwijk is a Dutch football team founded in 1939, based in Katwijk, currently competing in the Dutch Tweede Divisie. History Katwijk have become Dutch amateur champions, by winning the overall Topklasse title in 2012–13. As ...

, SC Veendam and AGOVV Apeldoorn, and increasing the total number of teams in the league from 16 to 20. Jong Ajax left the

in 2013, having held a 21-year tenure in the reserves league, and having won the league title a record eight times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009).

Players

Current squad

:''As of 5 September 2022''

Out on loan

Staff

* ''Head coach:'' John Heitinga * ''Assistant coach:'' Michel Kreek * ''Goalkeeper coach:'' René Stam * ''Technical Coach:'' Gerald Vanenburg * ''Team manager:'' Herman Arendse * ''Physio:'' Tim Glazenburg * ''Team physician:'' Maikel van Wijk

Former head coaches

Aad de Mos Adriaan "Aad" de Mos (born 27 March 1947) is a Dutch retired professional football manager whose career spanned for almost thirty years. He has managed teams in his home country, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Greece, as well m ...

Pieter Huistra Pieter Egge Huistra (born 18 January 1967) is a Dutch football coach and former winger. Huistra played for the Scottish Premier Division club Rangers from 1990 to 1995. He left there to play for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J. League. In 2001, he b ...

* Adrie Koster * Michel Kreek *

Alfons Groenendijk Alfons Groenendijk (; born 17 May 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer and current assistant coach of Antalyaspor. Club career During his career, Groenendijk played for ADO Den Haag, Roda JC, Ajax, Manchester City, Sparta Rotterdam, ...

* Sonny Silooy * Marco van Basten * Louis van Gaal *

John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europe ...

* John van den Brom * Gerard van der Lem * Hans Westerhof * Aron Winter * Fred Grim *

Gery Vink Gery Vink (Born 30 August 1965) is a Dutch association football coach. Career Gery Vink is the current head coach of the Ajax A2 selection of Dutch football club AFC Ajax. He was previously head coach of the reserves team Jong Ajax, having be ...

Marcel Keizer Marcel Keizer (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is the manager of Emirati club Al Jazira. His playing career as a midfielder began at Ajax and was mainly spent at Cambuur, and he had brief spells managing b ...

* Michael Reiziger * Mitchell van der Gaag

Honours

Official trophies (recognized by UEFA and FIFA)

National

(1): 2017–18 *

(8): 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009 *

(3): 2003, 2004, 2012 *

KNVB Amateur Cup The KNVB Amateur Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor amateurs) was the cup competition for amateur football clubs in the Netherlands. The winner qualified until 2016 for the amateur super cup match against the national Hoofdklasse champion. The cup was co ...

(1): 1984 *

KNVB District Cup The KNVB District Cup ( nl, Districtsbeker) is a cup competition for amateur football clubs in the Netherlands. The competition is held in each of the six districts of the Royal Dutch Football Association. The 24 semi-finalists qualify for next-sea ...

(4): 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994 *KNVB Raven Cup (1) : 1956

International

* HKFC International Soccer Sevens Main Tournament – Shield winners: 2010

Other trophies

* Den Helder Maritime Tournament (2): 1996, 2010

References

External links

Dutch information of Jong Ajax/Ajax B

Dutch information of Jong Ajax

Ajax F-Side – ASD / AFCA Supportersclub
{{coord, 52, 18, 48, N, 4, 55, 44, E, display=inline,title, region:NL_source:nlwiki Jong Ajax AFC Ajax Football clubs in the Netherlands Association football clubs established in 1992 Football clubs in Amsterdam Dutch reserve football teams 1992 establishments in the Netherlands