A.F.C. Ajax
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Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...
based in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the legendary Greek hero) is the most successful club in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, with 36 and 20
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
s. It has continuously played in the since the league's inception in 1956, and along with and , it is one of the country's " big three" clubs. Ajax was one of the most successful clubs in the world in the 20th century. According to the
International Federation of Football History & Statistics The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
, Ajax was the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century and ''The World's Club Team of the Year'' in 1992. According to German magazine ''
Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...
'', Ajax was the second-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of five teams that have earned the right to keep the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
and to wear a multiple-winner badge. In 1972, they completed the
continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...
by winning the ,
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
, and the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
. They also won the first (albeit unofficial)
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
against
Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
in January 1973. Ajax's most recent international trophies are the
1995 Intercontinental Cup The 1995 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 28 November 1995 between Ajax, winners of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League, and Grêmio, winners of the 1995 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the National S ...
,
1995 UEFA Super Cup The 1995 UEFA Super Cup was a two-legged match contested between the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup holders Zaragoza and the UEFA Champions League holders Ajax. The cup was played later than usual, the two legs taking place in February 1996. The first leg w ...
and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
; they lost the 1996 Champions League
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
on penalties to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. In 1995, Ajax was crowned as ''World Team of the Year'' by '' World Soccer'' magazine. Ajax is also one of four teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup or Club World Cup in the same season/calendar year; this was achieved in the 1971–72 season.UEFA sanctioned the UEFA Supercup for the first time in 1973. In 1972 was an unofficial edition and the I Centenary of
Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
(se
History of the UEFA Supercup
in uefa.com).
Ajax is one of five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the
1991–92 UEFA Cup The 1991–92 UEFA Cup was the 21st season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin, Italy, and at Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands. The compe ...
, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
in 1962.UEFA sanctioned the UEFA Intertoto Cup for the first time in 1995. In the 1960s, it was unofficial. Se
History of UEFA Intertoto Cup
in uefa.com.
Ajax plays at the
Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost equivalent to € ...
, which opened as the Amsterdam ArenA in 1996 and was renamed in 2018. They previously played at and the
Amsterdam Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium (, ) is a sporting venue which was used as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The venue is currently used mostly for athletics, other sports events and music concerts. When completed, the stadium had ...
(for international matches). Throughout their history, Ajax have cultivated a reputation for scouting, spotting and developing young talent, and have remained focused on developing a
youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...
.


History

Ajax was founded in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
on 18 March 1900. The club achieved promotion to the highest level of Dutch football in 1911 and had its first major success in 1917, winning the
KNVB Beker The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
, the Netherlands' national cup. The following season, Ajax became national champion for the first time. The club defended its title in 1918–19, becoming the only team to achieve an unbeaten season in the Netherlands Football League Championship. Throughout the 1920s, Ajax was a strong regional power, winning the Eerste Klasse West division in 1921, 1927 and 1928, but could not maintain its success at the national level. This changed in the 1930s, with the club winning five national championships (
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
,
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
,
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
,
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
,
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
), making it the most successful Dutch team of the decade. Ajax won its second KNVB Cup in 1942–43, and an eighth Dutch title in 1946–47, the last season the club was managed by Englishman Jack Reynolds, who, up to this point, had overseen all of its national championship successes as well as its 1917 KNVB Cup win. In 1956, the first season of the Netherlands' new professional league, the , was played with Ajax participating as a founding member. The Amsterdam club became the first national champions under the new format and made its debut in the
European Champion Clubs' Cup The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the Association football, football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. The competiti ...
the following year, losing to Hungarian champions 6–2 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage. The team was again champions in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
and won a third KNVB Cup in 1961. In 1965,
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...
, who had played for the club between 1946 and 1958, was appointed manager of Ajax, implementing his philosophy of
Total Football Total Football () is a tactical system in association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. A player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the ...
which was to become synonymous with both Ajax and the Netherlands national team. A year earlier,
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
, who would go on to become widely regarded as the greatest Dutch footballer of all time, made his debut. Between them, Michels and Cruyff led Ajax through the most successful period in its history, winning seven titles, four KNVB Cups and three European Cups. Ajax won the Dutch championship in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
,
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
and
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
, and reached the 1969 European Cup final, losing to
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. During the 1966–67 season, Ajax scored a record 122 goals in an season and also won the KNVB Cup to achieve its first league and cup
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
. In 1969–70, Ajax won a fourth Dutch league championship and second league and cup double in five seasons, winning 27 out of 34 league matches and scoring 100 goals. The 1970–71 season saw Ajax retain the
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
and reach the 1971 European Cup final, where they defeated 2–0 with goals from
Dick van Dijk Dirk Wouter Johannes "Dick" van Dijk (15 February 1946 – 8 July 1997) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a forward for FC Twente and Ajax Amsterdam. He was a member of Ajax's European Cup victory in 1971. He earned seven caps ...
and
Arie Haan Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team of ...
to become continental champions for the first time, with Cruyff being named
European Footballer of the Year The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jac ...
. After this success, Michels departed to become manager of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and was replaced by the Romanian
Ștefan Kovács Ștefan Kovács (; ; 2 October 1920 – 12 May 1995) was a Romanian football player and coach. Having won two European Cup titles, he is one of the most successful association football coaches in the history of the game. Various football magazi ...
. In Kovács' first season, Ajax completed a treble of the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
, the and a third consecutive
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
. The following season, the team beat Argentine to win the
1972 Intercontinental Cup The 1972 Intercontinental Cup was an association football tie held over two legs in September 1972 between the winners of the 1971–72 European Cup, Ajax, and the winners of the 1972 Copa Libertadores, Independiente. The first leg was held on 6 ...
and retained their and
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
titles, becoming the first club to win three consecutive European Cups since
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
in the 1950s. In 1973, Michels' Barcelona broke the world transfer record to bring Cruyff to the Catalan team. Kovács also departed to become manager of the
France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, signalling the end of this period of international success. In 1976–77, Ajax won its first domestic championship in four seasons and recorded a double of the and
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
two years later. The early 1980s saw the return of Cruyff to the club, as well as the emergence of young players
Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
and
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...
. The team won back-to-back titles in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
and
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, with all three playing a significant role in the latter. After Cruyff's sale to rivals in 1983, van Basten became Ajax's key player, top scoring in the for four seasons between 1983–84 and 1986–87. In 1985, Cruyff returned to Ajax as manager and the team ended his first season in charge with 120 goals from 34 matches. However, Ajax still finished as runner-up to PSV by eight points. The following season, Ajax again lost out on the Eredivisie title to PSV, but won the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, its first continental trophy in 14 years. After this, Cruyff left the club to become manager of Barcelona and Rijkaard and van Basten were sold to
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
and Milan respectively. Despite these losses, Ajax reached a second consecutive Cup Winners' Cup final in
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
, where they lost to Belgian club . The 1988–89 season saw
Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who was most recently the Assistant manager of Ajax. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was ...
, a young forward who had first appeared under Cruyff in 1986, establish himself as a regular goalscorer for Ajax. Bergkamp helped Ajax to the title and was the top scorer in the division in 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93. Under the management of
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
, Ajax won the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
to become the second club, after , to have won all three major European club competitions. After the sale of Bergkamp to in 1993, van Gaal re-signed the experienced Rijkaard to complement his young Ajax team featuring academy graduates Frank and
Ronald de Boer Ronaldus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right or attacking midfielder or right winger. He played for the Netherlands national team as well as a host of professional clubs in Europe. He i ...
,
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...
,
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch former professional Association football, football manager and player. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is currently working primarily remotely as ...
,
Edgar Davids Edgar Steven Davids (; born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. Davids was nicknamed "The Pitbull" because of his marking ability, aggression, and hard tackling style of play. After beginning his care ...
,
Michael Reiziger Michael John Reiziger (; born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back. Reiziger currently manages the Netherlands U21 team. After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champio ...
and
Winston Bogarde Winston Lloyd Bogarde (born 22 October 1970) is a Dutch retired professional footballer. He was known for his physical strength, and played mostly as a centre-back although he could occasionally play as left-back. He had spells at Ajax, Barcelon ...
, as well as mercurial foreign talents
Finidi George Finidi George (born 15 April 1971) is a Nigerian professional football coach and former footballer who played as a winger. After making a name for himself at Ajax in the Netherlands – being a leading figure in a team which won eight major ti ...
,
Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian club Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, a ...
and
Jari Litmanen Jari Olavi Litmanen (; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an inter ...
, and veteran captain
Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national t ...
. The team regained the Dutch championship in 1993–94, and won it again in 1994–95 and 1995–96 to become the first Ajax side to win three back-to-back championships since 1968. The height of van Gaal's success came in 1994–95, where Ajax became the first, and to date only, team to complete an entire season unbeaten. The team also won its first European Cup since its 1970s era, defeating Milan in the 1995 UEFA Champions League final 1–0, with the winning goal scored by 18-year-old
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national te ...
. Ajax again reached the final one year later, and was defeated on penalties by . Ajax's return as a European force was short-lived, as van Gaal and several members of the squad soon departed to some of the continent's biggest clubs. The 2000s was a lean decade for the club, with only two championships won. However, Ajax's academy continued to produce star players such as
Wesley Sneijder Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. Noted for his playmaking ability, he was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Sneijder started ...
and
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (; born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Van der Vaart began his career at AFC Ajax, Ajax's Ajax Youth Academy, youth academ ...
. In 2010, Frank de Boer was appointed manager of Ajax and led the club to its first league title in seven years, and record 30th title overall, in the 2010–11 season. This was followed by back-to-back wins in 2011–12 and
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
to match his three consecutive titles as a player in the 1990s. In 2013–14, Ajax was again champions, winning four consecutive league titles for the first time in club history. After finishing as runner-up to PSV in both 2014–15 and 2015–16, de Boer resigned as Ajax head coach in May 2016.
Peter Bosz Peter Sylvester Bosz (, born 21 November 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He is currently the head coach of Dutch Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. He had previously ...
took over the club and led them to the
2017 UEFA Europa League final The 2017 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Eur ...
, their first European final in 21 years. They lost to
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
with a lineup that was the youngest ever in a European final, averaging an age of 22 years and 282 days. For the third consecutive season, they finished runner-up in the , this time to . The 2018–19 season for Ajax involved a remarkable run in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. Due to their runner-up finish in the
2017–18 Eredivisie The 2017–18 Eredivisie was the 62nd season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. The season began on 11 August 2017 and concluded on 6 May 2018; the Europa League and relegation play-offs took place later that month. Feyenoord we ...
, Ajax entered the tournament in the second qualifying round. After successive victories against
Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...
, and , they qualified for the group stage. Ajax was drawn in a group with German champions
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
, Portuguese side Benfica and Greek champions
AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...
. Ajax finished runner-up in this group, qualifying for the knockout stages, where it was drawn against three-time defending champions
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
. After losing 1–2 in the first leg, they defeated Real Madrid 4–1 in the away match, stunning the defending champions in their own stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu, with an aggregate score of 5–3.
Dušan Tadić Dušan Tadić ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Тадић, ; born 20 November 1988) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer. He played most recently for Turkish club Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), Fenerbahçe. Positionally, he can be deploy ...
was awarded a perfect score of 10 by following the match. Thus, Ajax progressed to the quarter-finals and was drawn with Italian champions . In the first leg in the
Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost equivalent to € ...
, they drew 1–1. In the second leg at the
Juventus Stadium Juventus Stadium (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Stadium since July 2017, sometimes simply known in Italy as the Stadium (), is an all-seater football stadium in the Vallette borough of Turin, Italy, and the home of Juventus ...
, Ajax came from behind to win 2–1 and 3–2 on aggregate.
Matthijs de Ligt Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands ...
scored the winning goal for Ajax to help the team advance to its first Champions League semi-final since
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
. There, they would face English side
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
. In the first leg of the semi-final, Ajax beat Tottenham 1–0 away from home. In the second leg, Ajax scored twice in the first half to generate a 3–0 lead on aggregate. However, in the second half,
Lucas Moura Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva (born 13 August 1992), known as Lucas Moura (), is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger or Midfielder (association football), attacking midf ...
scored three times, including in the 6th minute of added time, resulting in Ajax losing via the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
. Ajax was in first place on goal difference when the was declared void, preventing them being Dutch champions for the 35th time, but still qualified for the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...
. In this, it was eliminated again, but in 2021 it reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. It was eliminated against AS Roma. That season, it again won both the national title and the KNVB Cup. In the
2021–22 AFC Ajax season The 2021–22 season was the 122nd season in the existence of AFC Ajax and the club's 66th consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, Ajax participated in this season's edition of the KNVB Cup, th ...
Ajax again became champion of the Netherlands. It had to give up the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruijff Shield to competitor PSV because it came out on the losing end in both finals. In European terms, Ajax achieved first place in the Champions League group, all six matches were won, mostly by a wide margin. After the winter break, Ajax was narrowly eliminated in the eighth finals by the Portuguese Benfica Lisboa (Lisbon) (2–2 away, 0–1 at home). As of July 1, 2022,
Alfred Schreuder Alfred Schreuder (; born 2 November 1972) is a Dutch football coach and former player who was recently the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al Nasr SC. Club career During his career, Schreuder played for RKC Waalwijk, NAC Breda, Feyenoord, Tw ...
succeeded Erik ten Hag, who left for Manchester United, as Ajax's coach. Most of the key players from previous seasons left during the summer transfer period, but there was also a lot of reinvestment. Ajax started the 2022/23 season relatively well with six consecutive victories in the Eredivisie. But Ajax was eliminated from the Champions League quite quickly in a group with Liverpool FC, SSC Napoli and Rangers FC. At home against Napoli on October 4, 2022, they even lost by 5 goals (1–6), Ajax's biggest defeat ever in European competition. After seven consecutive matches without a win head coach Alfred Schreuder was dismissed.
John Heitinga John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the assistant manager at Premier League club Liverpool. He will become the manager of Eredivisie club Ajax on 1 July 2025. ...
succeeded Schreuder as interim. Under Heitinga, Ajax failed to turn things around despite a good start with seven wins in a row. Ajax finished third in the Eredivisie, behind champions Feyenoord and runners-up PSV. This was the club's lowest final ranking since the 2008/09 season, in which it also finished third. After the winter break, Ajax was eliminated in the first knockout phase of the Europa League by Union Berlin (3–1). Ajax did reach the final of the KNVB Cup, but lost to PSV on penalties (3–2). On May 19, 2023, Sven Mislintat took over as Ajax's sports director. He succeeded Marc Overmars, who left in early 2022. Mislintat appointed Maurice Steijn as head coach. Mislintat spent approximately 111 million euros on transfers. Ajax had its worst start to the season in fifty-nine years. On October 29, 2023, Ajax reached a historic low. Ajax lost 5–2 to PSV in Eindhoven. This put Ajax in last place, 18th place in the Eredivisie, for the first time since the club was founded. The position of director Mislintat became an embarrassment after it emerged that he had arranged a transfer through a player agent who was an investor in his company. In the evening of 24 September Mislintat was fired with immediate effect, among other things a lack of broad support within the club was one of the reasons. A day after the loss against PSV it was announced that
John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a winger. He is the current manager of Armenia. Born in Canada, he played for the Netherlands national team for nine ...
would become the head coach until the end of the season. Under the leadership of Van 't Schip Ajax managed to climb to 5th place in the Eredivisie. In the Europa League Ajax finished third, which meant a sequel in the Conference League, were it eventually lost to Aston Villa in the round of 16. In the cup Ajax was eliminated 3–2 by the third division amateurs of USV Hercules. In the summer of 2024 a rebuild began, with a new board of directors and
Alex Kroes Alexander "Alex" Kroes (born 1974) is a Dutch soccer executive and former entrepreneur. He is currently the titular Technical Director of AFC Ajax. He was previously a director of AZ Alkmaar, a majority shareholder and director of Go Ahead Eagl ...
and
Marijn Beuker Marijn Beuker (born 21 September 1984) is a Dutch football manager who is sporting director of Ajax. Early life Beuker attended high school in the Netherlands but did not graduate. After that, he attended the Johan Cruyff Institute in Spain. C ...
as Technical Director and Director of Football. They hired
Francesco Farioli Francesco Farioli (; born 10 April 1989) is an Italian professional football coach who last managed the Dutch football club Ajax. Farioli started his coaching career in Turkey with spells at Fatih Karagümrük and Alanyaspor. He then had one se ...
as new head coach, the first foreign coach since 1998. Under his leadership Ajax reached the league phase of the Europa League where it finished 11th. On the 9th of February 2025 Ajax finished the weekend on the first place for the first time since November 2022.


UEFA ranking


Academies

The club is also particularly famous for its renowned youth programme that has produced many Dutch talents over the years –
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
,
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...
,
Gerald Vanenburg Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is currently serving as the assistant coach of the Indonesia national team and the head coach of the Indonesia under-23 national team. ...
,
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...
,
Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who was most recently the Assistant manager of Ajax. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was ...
,
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (; born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Van der Vaart began his career at AFC Ajax, Ajax's Ajax Youth Academy, youth academ ...
,
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national te ...
,
Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
,
Wesley Sneijder Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. Noted for his playmaking ability, he was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Sneijder started ...
,
Maarten Stekelenburg Maarten Stekelenburg (; born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Stekelenburg began his career at Ajax, playing 282 matches over nine seasons in his first spell there and winning nine honours ...
,
Nigel de Jong Nigel de Jong (born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the technical director of the KNVB, the national Dutch football federation. He has also worked as an English ...
,
Frenkie de Jong Frenkie de Jong (; born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays primarily as a midfielder for club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and as one ...
, and
Matthijs de Ligt Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands ...
have come through the ranks and are just some of the talents who have played for Ajax. Ajax also regularly supplies the Dutch national youth teams with local players. Due to mutual agreements with foreign clubs, the youth academy has also signed foreign players as teenagers before making first team debuts, such as Belgian defensive trio
Jan Vertonghen Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (; born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Mainly a centre-back, he also played as a left-back. Vertonghen began his senior career at Dutch club Ajax in 2006, and total ...
,
Toby Alderweireld Tobias Albertine Maurits Alderweireld (; born 2 March 1989) is a Belgian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, centre-back. Alderweireld began his professional career at D ...
and
Thomas Vermaelen Thomas Vermaelen (; born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-back as well. His key attributes included a ...
along with winger
Tom De Mul Tom De Mul (; born 4 March 1986) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Club career Born in Kapellen, Antwerp, De Mul began his career in K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot, but joined the AFC Ajax youth academy at ag ...
, all of whom are full internationals, as well as Dutch international
Vurnon Anita Vurnon San Benito Anita (born 4 April 1989) is a Curaçaoan professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back (association football), full-back for club FC Volendam, Volendam. Born in Curaçao and rai ...
and
Javier Martina Javier Sylvester Martina (born 1 February 1987) is a Curaçaoan former professional footballer who played as a winger. He has represented the Curaçao national team. Club career Netherlands Born in Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles (now known ...
, representing
Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...
. Ajax has also expanded its talent searching programme to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
with
Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ma ...
. Ajax Cape Town was set up with the help of Rob Moore. Ajax has also had a satellite club in the United States under the name
Ajax America Ajax Orlando Prospects was an American soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 2002. the team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when th ...
, until it filed for bankruptcy. There are some youth players from Ajax Cape Town that have been drafted into the squad, such as South African internationals
Steven Pienaar Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current coach of the U14 team of Sharjah FC in the United Arab Emirates. He hails from Westbury, a suburb in Johannesburg's Westrand. He was a ...
and
Thulani Serero Thulani Caleb Serero (born 11 April 1991) is a South African soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Cape Town City and the South African national team. He started his career at Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Soccer League, ...
and Cameroonian international
Eyong Enoh Eyong Tarkang Enoh (born 23 March 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Enoh has played for clubs in eight countries, including spells in both Cyprus and Northern Cyprus, as well as the Netherlands, B ...
. In 1995, the year Ajax won the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, the Netherlands national team was almost entirely composed of Ajax players, with van der Sar in goal; players such as Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer and Danny Blind in defence; Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in midfield; and Patrick Kluivert and
Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer and former director of football at Belgian First Division A, Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp F.C. He was previously director of football a ...
in attack. In 2011, Ajax opened its first youth academies outside the Netherlands when the club partnered up with George Kazianis and All Star Consultancy in Greece to open the Ajax Hellas Youth Academy. The offices are based in
Nea Smyrni Nea Smyrni (, ''Néa Smýrni'', "New Smyrna") is a municipality and a town in South Athens, Greece. At the 2021 Greek census, 2021 census, it had 72,853 inhabitants. It was named after the former Greek city Smyrna (today's İzmir in Turkey), whe ...
,
Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...
, with the main training facility located on the island of
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
, hosting a total of 15 football youth academies throughout Greece and Cyprus. Eddie van Schaik heads the organization as coach and consultant, introducing the Ajax football philosophy at the various Greek football training camps. In 2016, Ajax launched the ACA (Ajax Coaching Academy) with the intention of sharing knowledge, and setting up a variety of camps and clinics for both players and coaches.


Stadiums

Ajax's first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was called
Het Houten Stadion Het Houten Stadion ( English: ''The Wooden Stadium'') is a former stadium of AFC Ajax which served as the team's home stadium from 1907 to 1934. History Het Houten Stadion is a former stadium of AFC Ajax. Before Ajax moved to this stadium, they ...
(English: The Wooden Stadium). Ajax later also played in the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
built for the
1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
hosted in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. This stadium, designed by Jan Wils, is known in Dutch as . In 1934, Ajax moved to De Meer Stadion in east Amsterdam, close to the location of Het Houten Stadion. It was designed by architect and Ajax-member Daan Roodenburgh, who had also designed the club's first stadium. It could accommodate 29,500 spectators and Ajax continued to play there until 1996. For big European and national fixtures, the club would often play at the Olympic Stadium, which could accommodate about twice the number of spectators. In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the Amsterdam Arena, since 2018 known as the
Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost equivalent to € ...
. This stadium was built by the Amsterdam city authority at a cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding 55,865 spectators. The Arena has a retractable roof and set a trend for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years. In the Netherlands, the Arena earned a reputation for a terrible grass pitch caused by the removable roof that, even when open, takes away too much sunlight and fresh air. During the 2008–09 season, ground staff introduced an artificial lighting system that finally reduced this problem considerably. The much-loved De Meer Stadion was torn down and the land was sold to the city council. A residential neighbourhood now occupies the area. The only thing left of the old stadium are the letters "AJAX", which nowadays is in place on the façade of the entrance at the Johan Cruyff Arena and a replica of the letters are at De Toekomst, near the Johan Cruyff Arena.


Crest and colours


Crest

In 1900, when the club was founded, the emblem of Ajax was just a picture of an Ajax player. The crest was slightly altered following the club's promotion to the top division in 1911 to match the club's new outfits. In 1928, the club logo was introduced with the head of the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
hero
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
. The logo was once again changed in 1990 into an abstract version of the previous one. The new logo still sports the portrait of Ajax, but drawn with just 11 lines, symbolizing the 11 players of a football team. On 17 November 2024, Ajax announced on its official website that the classic logo of 1928 will return for the 2025–26 season, making a comeback after 34 years. File:Ajax Crest from 1928-1990.png, Crest of Ajax (1928–1991, 2021–2022) File:Ajax Amsterdam.svg, Crest of Ajax (1991–present)


Colours

Ajax originally played in an all-black strip with a red sash tied around the players' waists, but that strip was soon replaced by a red/white striped shirt and black shorts. Red, black and white are the three colours of the
flag of Amsterdam The current city flag of Amsterdam depicts three Saint Andrew's Crosses and is based on the escutcheon in the coat of arms of Amsterdam. The flag is very similar to the flag of Amstelveen. Meaning The colours of the flag are derived prima ...
. Under manager
Jack Kirwan John Henry Kirwan (December 2 1872 – 7 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...
, however, the club earned promotion to the top flight of Dutch football for the first time in 1911 (then the ''Eerste Klasse'' or 'First Class', later named the ), Ajax was forced to change its colours because
Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...
already had exactly the same outfit. Special kits for away fixtures did not exist at the time and according to football association regulations the newcomers had to change their colours if two teams in the same league had identical uniforms. Ajax opted for white shorts and white shirt with a broad, vertical red stripe over chest and back, which still is Ajax's outfit.


Financial


AFC Ajax N.V.

AFC Ajax is the only Dutch club with an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO). The club is registered as a
Naamloze vennootschap (; abbreviated as N.V. or NV ) or (in the French Community of Belgium) ' ('' SA'') is a type of public company defined by business law in the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia (where it is known as , correctly abbreviated PT and allows for pri ...
(N.V.) listed on the stock exchange
Euronext Amsterdam Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (), it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The re ...
, since 17 May 1998. With a launch price of ƒ25,- (Guilders) the club managed to a bring its total revenue up to €54 million (converted) in its first year on the market. After short-lived success, however, the rate dropped, at one point as low as €3.50. Criticism was brought forth that the legal grid for a naamloze vennootschap would not be suitable for a Football club, and that the sports related ambitions would suffer from the new commercial interests of the now listed Ajax. Shares of the company in the year 2008 were valued at approximately €5.90 per share. In 2008, a Commission under guidance of honorary member Uri Coronel concluded that the
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
was of no value to the club, and that measures should be taken to exit the stock exchange by purchasing back all public shares. Ajax remain on the stock exchange.


Sponsorship

Ajax's shirts have been sponsored by
TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". "TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...
from 1982 to 1991, and by ABN AMRO from 1991 to 2008.
AEGON Aegon Ltd. (stylized as AEGON) is a Dutch public company for life insurance, pensions and asset management. It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and has 26,000 employees as of July 21, 2020. Aegon is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam a ...
then replaced ABN AMRO as the new head sponsor for a period of seven years. On 1 April 2007, Ajax wore a different sponsor for the match against
Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...
, ''Florius''. Florius is a banking programme launched by ABN AMRO who wanted it to be the shirt sponsor for one match. The shirts have been manufactured by
Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif (, "the athletic rooster") is a French sportswear and sports equipment manufacturer based in Entzheim. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, the brand first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The com ...
(1973–1977), Puma (1977–1979), Cor du Buy (1979–1980), Le Coq Sportif (1980–1984),
Kappa Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...
(1985–1989) and
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...
(1989–2000) in the past, and by
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
since 2000 (until at least 2025). At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Ajax won the Football shirt of the Year award for its black and rose colored away shirt by Adidas. The annual award was presented by Subside Sports, which had previously given the award to
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
, Juventus and the Belgium national team. It was Ajax's first time winning the award. On 7 November 2014, it was announced that Ajax had agreed to a four-and-a-half-year contract worth €8 million annually with Dutch cable operating company
Ziggo Ziggo Holding B.V. ( ) is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing digital cable television, Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers. History The company is the result of the merger between ...
as the new shirt sponsor for the club. Having extended its contract with AEGON for half a season until December, the club featured ''Fonds Gehandicaptensport'', a charitable fund for handicapped sports on its away shirts for a six-month period before transitioning to Ziggo in 2015.


Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors


Kit deals


Other teams


Reserves team

Jong Ajax Jong Ajax (; ), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2, is a Dutch association football team. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Jong Ajax is the only reserve team to have won a title in Dutch professional foot ...
(''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 competed in the
Beloften Eredivisie The Beloften Eredivisie (; ''"Promised Honor Division"'') was the highest football league for reserve teams in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The league was founded in 1992 as ''Reserve Teams Eredivisie'' ...
, competing against other reserve teams such as
Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively fo ...
,
Jong FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first tier of Dutch football. Groningen p ...
or
Jong AZ Jong AZ is a Dutch association football team, based in Wijdewormer in the Zaanstreek. It is the reserve team of AZ, based in Alkmaar, and plays in the Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Net ...
. They have won the Beloften title a record eight times, as well as the
KNVB Reserve Cup The KNVB Reserve Cup () 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 national competition for reserve ...
three times, making them the most successful reserve squad in the Netherlands. By winning the Beloften Eredivisie title, Jong Ajax was able to qualify for the actual KNVB Cup, even advancing to the semi-finals on three occasions. Its best result in the Dutch Cup was under manager Jan Olde Riekerink in 2001–02, when a semi-final loss to
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
in a
Penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
after extra time, which saw Utrecht advance, and thus preventing an Ajax–Jong Ajax Dutch Cup final. The 2013–14 season marked the Jupiler League debut of the Ajax reserves' squad, Jong Ajax. Previously playing in the Beloften Eredivisie (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 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 Eerste Divisie, 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 Johan Cruyff Arena. Now regarded a semi-professional team in its own respect, the only period in which players are able to move between squads are 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 season. Furthermore, the team is not eligible for promotion to the or to participate in the KNVB Cup. Jong Ajax was joined in the Eerste Divisie by Jong Twente and Jong PSV, reserve teams who have also moved from the Beloften to the Eerste Divisie, in place of
VV Katwijk Voetbal Vereniging Katwijk () is a Dutch association football club based in the town of Katwijk. Founded in 1939, the team competes in the Tweede Divisie, the third tier of the Dutch football league system. Katwijk plays its home games at Sportpa ...
,
SC Veendam Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, Groningen (province), province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, ...
and
AGOVV Apeldoorn AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's men's first squad plays in 2024–25 in the Derde ...
, increasing the total number of teams in the Jupiler League from 18 to 20. Ajax reserve squad Jong Ajax left the Beloften Eredivisie in 2013, having held a 21-year tenure in the reserves league, having also won the league title a record eight times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009).


Women's team

AFC Ajax Vrouwen (''English: AFC Ajax Women'') is the women's team of AFC Ajax, competing in the women's eredivisie, the highest level of women's football in the Netherlands. Founded on 18 May 2012, the women's team saw Ajax attracting many of the Netherlands top talents, with International players such as
Anouk Hoogendijk Anouk Anna Hoogendijk (; born 6 May 1985) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played for Ajax as a midfielder or defender. She is nicknamed ''Noukie''. A full international with over 100 caps since 2004 for the Dutch national team, sh ...
, Daphne Koster and
Petra Hogewoning Petra Marieka Jacoba Hogewoning (; born 26 March 1986) is a Dutch retired football defender. She played for clubs in the Netherlands, Russia, the United States and Germany, as well as for the Netherlands women's national football team. Club car ...
joining the Amsterdam club in its maiden season in women's professional football. The team won its first piece of silverware when they defeated PSV/FC Eindhoven 2–1 in the final of the
KNVB Women's Cup The KNVB Women's Cup () is the cup competition for women's football in the Netherlands. The competition was established in 1980, along with the KNVB Amateur Cup. It is organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (K''oninklijke Nederlandse ...
.


Amateur team

AFC Ajax Amateurs, better known as Ajax Zaterdag, is a Dutch amateur football club founded 18 March 1900. It is the amateur team of the professional club AFC Ajax, playing its home matches at the
Sportpark De Toekomst Sportcomplex De Toekomst (Dutch for ''Sporting complex The Future'') is a sporting complex in Ouder-Amstel, Netherlands, owned by AFC Ajax N.V. The complex comprises nine football fields and is located close to the Johan Cruyff Arena and on the o ...
training grounds to a capacity of 5,000. The team was promoted from the
Eerste Klasse The Eerste Klasse () started as the 1st tier of football in the Netherlands and is now the 6th tier. The league is divided into ten divisions. These divisions correspond to the six districts of the Royal Dutch Football Association: each district i ...
to the
Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...
ahead of the 2011–12 season, the league in which it is currently competing. The team has won the Eerste Klasse title twice, as well as the * KNVB District Cup West I on two occasions as well. Furthermore, Ajax Zaterdag has also managed to qualify for the KNVB Cup on its own accord on three occasions, namely in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2021. Even advancing to the second round before bowing out to Vitesse on 24 September 2008.


Other sports


Baseball

Ajax HVA (1922–1972) was the
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team of AFC Ajax founded in 1922, and competed as founding members of the
Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB). Games are pl ...
, the top flight of professional baseball in the Netherlands. Ajax won the national baseball title a total of four times (1924, 1928, 1942, 1948) before the club opted to no longer field a baseball team, and to focus solely on football in 1972. Ajax spent a total of 50 years at the top flight of Baseball in the Netherlands from 1922 to 1972. The dissolution of Ajax baseball club resulted in the players finding a new sponsor in a
mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...
manufacturing company called Luycks, while merging with the Diemen Giants to become the Luycks Giants, thus replacing both former clubs.


Esports

In 2016, Ajax launched an esports team, with Koen Weijland as the club's first signing, making its debut on the Global stage of professional gaming. They have since signed the likes of Dani Hagebeuk, Lev Vinken, Joey Calabro and Bob van Uden, the latter spent his first season on loan to the esports team of Japanese club
Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Tosu, Saga, Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024 J1 Leag ...
.


Affiliated clubs

The following clubs are currently affiliated with AFC Ajax: * Almere City (2005–present) *
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(2007–present) * Cruzeiro (2007–present) *
Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...
(2007–present) *
Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...
(2010–present) *
AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak First Football League after winning the 2010–11 Slovak First League. The club plays its hom ...
(2012–present) *
Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club which last competed in the Chinese Super League. The team was based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 was Guangzhou R&F, which was short for ' ...
(2017–present) *
Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Tosu, Saga, Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024 J1 Leag ...
(2018–present) *
Sharjah FC Sharjah Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Sharjah that competes in the UAE Pro League. Their home stadium is the Sharjah Stadium. Founded in 1966, Sharjah is considered to be one of the pioneers of complaining s ...
(2020–present) *
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...
(2018–present) *
Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...
(2019–present) * ''Various HETT-clubs (See
main article Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...
)'' The following clubs were affiliated with AFC Ajax in the past: *
Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian association football, football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from Belgian First Division 1999–2000, 1999–2000 ...
(1999–2003) *
Ashanti Goldfields The Ashanti Goldfields Corporation is a gold mining company based in Ghana that was founded by Joseph Ellis and Joseph Biney both from Cape Coast. The Ashanti Mine, located at Obuasi, 56 km south of Kumasi, has been producing since 1897. Du ...
(1999–2003) * Ajax Orlando Prospects (2003–2007) *
HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...
(2006–2010) *
Volendam Volendam () is a tourist town in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Edam-Volendam, Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands, known for its streets, old fishing boats and the traditional clothing wor ...
(2007–2010) *
Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ma ...
(1999–2020)


Rivalries

''As one of the traditional big three clubs in the Netherlands, Ajax have amassed a number of intense rivalries over the years. Listed below are the most significant of the rivalries involving Ajax.''


Rivalry with Feyenoord

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
from
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
is Ajax's archrival. Every year both clubs play the ''
De Klassieker De Klassieker (''The Classic'') is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between AFC Ajax, Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam. History The ri ...
'' ("The Classic"), a match between the teams from the two largest cities of the Netherlands. Till the 1973/74-season, Ajax and Feyenoord were the only two clubs in the Netherlands who were able to clinch national titles, as well as achieve continental and even global success. From the 1974/75-season on, PSV (Eindhoven) and AZ (Alkmaar) too, competed with Ajax and Feyenoord. A meeting between the two clubs became the measure for who was truly the best club in the Netherlands. The ''Klassieker'' is the most famous of all the rivalries in the Netherlands and the matches are always sold out. The fixture is seen in the public eye as "the graceful and elegant football of Ajax, against the indomitable fighting spirit of Feyenoord"; the confidence of the capital city versus the blue collar mentality of Rotterdam. Matches are known for their tension and violence, both on and off the pitch. Over the years, several violent incidents have taken place involving rival supporters, leading to the current prohibition of away supporters in both stadiums. The lowest point was reached on 23 March 1997, when supporters of both clubs met on a field near
Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast. A ...
, where Ajax-supporter Carlo Picornie was fatally injured, the incident is commonly referred to as the "
Battle of Beverwijk The Battle of Beverwijk ( Dutch: "Slag bij Beverwijk") was a violent confrontation between two hooligan supporter groups of Dutch Association football clubs Ajax and Feyenoord, the F-Side and the S.C.F. Hooligans. The incident took place o ...
".


Rivalry with PSV

PSV is also a rival of Ajax, but in terms of tension and rivalry, these matches are not as loaded as the duels with Feyenoord. The rivalry has existed for some time with PSV and stems from various causes, such as the different interpretations of whether current national and international successes of both clubs correlates and the supposed opposition between the
Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...
and the province. The matches between these two teams is commonly referred to as "De Topper" ("The Topper"), and involves the two most trophy-laden sides in Dutch football and is essentially a clash of two competing schools of thought in Dutch football. Historically, PSV compete with a workmanlike ethic, preferring a more robust 4–3–1–2 or 4–2–3–1, typically shunning the frivolous 4–3–3 approach favoured in Amsterdam. While
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...
and
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
helped to innovate
Total Football Total Football () is a tactical system in association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. A player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the ...
in the sixties and seventies, a different philosophy was honed in
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
by
Kees Rijvers Cornelus Bernardus Rijvers (27 May 1926 – 4 March 2024) was a Dutch association football, footballer who was active as a midfielder and later as coach for PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Pl ...
and
Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...
in the late 1970s and '80s. This in turn has created one of the more philosophical rivalries in football, an ideological battleground, which is gradually becoming as heated and intense as the matches Ajax and Feyenoord partake in.


Rivalries with other clubs

Aside from Feyenoord and PSV, Ajax have several other rivalries, although in most cases the sentiment is mostly felt by the opposition and is more directed towards Ajax, with one of them being
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. Although the rivalry is more felt on the Utrecht side than with Ajax, matchups between the two sides are often quite intense. Both teams have fanatic supporters, and clashes off the pitch are more often the rule than the exception. The same goes for
ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...
, with both supporter groups often getting in conflicts, when ADO-Hooligans set fire to the supporters home of Ajax, and Ajax hooligans subsequently broke into the supporters home of ADO, tensions between the two clubs rose. In 2006, supporters from both clubs were banned from attending away matches for five years due to frequent violent outbreaks and clashes. Further teams who share a rivalry with Ajax include
Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...
,
Vitesse Arnhem SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...
,
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
and AZ, although the latter is often regarded by Ajax supporters as the club's "little brother". With AZ being from nearby
Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...
and therefore situated in the same province as Ajax, match-ups between the two sides are commonly known as the "De Noord-Hollandse Derby" ("
North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...
Derby") and are often very competitive, intense and loaded fixtures. Past rivalries include local Amsterdam derbies between Ajax and clubs such as Blauw-Wit, DWS and
De Volewijckers ASC De Volewijckers is a Dutch football club that plays in the Vierde Klasse. It is a continuation of ASV–DWV and AVV De Volewijckers. History ASV–DWV ASV-DWV or Door Wilskracht Verkregen was founded on 12 May 1912 in present-day Amsterda ...
(which later merged to become
FC Amsterdam FC Amsterdam was a Dutch football club which was founded on 20 June 1972, from the merger of the Amsterdam football clubs Blauw Wit and DWS. History The club Volewijckers joined the side for the 1973–1974 season, in which season FC Amsterdam ...
in 1972). However, the tension between the local sides lessened as the division of the clubs through playing in different leagues over time became greater. Years of not competing in the same league resulted in less frequent match-ups, until tensions finally settled between the Amsterdam clubs. The last Amsterdam derby to take place in an official league match was when Ajax defeated FC Amsterdam 5–1 on 19 March 1978.


Supporters

Ajax is known for having fanatic core supporter-groups, of which
F-Side The F-side is a Dutch football hooligan group associated with AFC Ajax. The name came from the stand in Ajax's former stadium De Meer Vak F. Background The F-side was founded in 1976. The biggest rivalry was between the F-side and Vak S of ...
and VAK410 are the most famous. The F-Side was founded on 3 October 1976, and is situated right behind the goal in the Johan Cruyff Arena, on the southern end of the stadium in rows 125–129. Its name is derived from the group's former location on the F-side of the old De Meer Stadion. The F-side supporters are responsible for a big part of the atmosphere in the stadium, and are also known for rioting during and after matches. If in any match Ajax should win the coin toss, the second half of the match Ajax always play towards the south-end of the stadium. VAK410 (English: Row 410) was founded in 2001 and is situated in the Zuidhoek (''South corner'') of the stadium on the upper ring in rows 424–425. The group was originally situated on the North-West side of the stadium in row 410, from where it derives its name, until relocating to their current place in the stands in 2008. Members of VAK410 are known to perform various stunts, which include massive banners, to enhance the atmosphere in the stadium. Neither F-Side or VAK410 have seats in their sections of the stadium, and both groups stand for the duration of the match. Through the official ''Football Top 20'' of Dutch sports research group ''SPORT+MARKT'', it was revealed in 2010 that Ajax had approximately 7.1 million supporters throughout Europe. This is significantly more than rivals Feyenoord and PSV (each 1.6 and 1.3 million, respectively), which puts Ajax as the club with the 15th-most supporters across Europe. The study also revealed that approximately 39% of the Netherlands were Ajax supporters. Not only does Ajax have many supporters, but several fans attend their matches in European competition, with an average attendance of 48,677 spectators for every international match Ajax played, putting the team at 12th place in Europe for highest attendance, ahead of high-profile clubs such as Milan and Chelsea. It is noteworthy that not all stadiums share the capacity of the Johan Cruyff Arena.


Supporters clubs

The Supporters Club Ajax () is officially the largest supporters club in the Netherlands with 94,000 members. Founded on 7 May 1992, the supporters club organize big monthly events throughout the Netherlands, and particularly around the official Ajax Open Training Day, which attracts thousands of supporters each year. Furthermore, the supporters group is responsible for the
Ajax Life ''Ajax Life'' () is the largest Dutch fanzine/newspaper, with a bi-weekly circulation of approximately . ''Ajax Life'' is based in Amsterdam. Erol Erdogan is the editor-in-chief of the paper. ''Ajax Life'' is owned by the Supportersvereniging Aj ...
website, as well as the
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
which is issued 20 times a year. In 2006, the AFCA Supportersclub was introduced as the club's second official supporters' association, through the merger of the Onafhankelijke Fanclub Ajax (OFA) and the Ajax Supporters Delegatie (ASD). The AFCA Supportersclub has a reported 42,000 members, as well as a former member on the Board of Administration of Ajax, in Ronald Pieloor. The third official supporters club is the Ajax Business Associates (ABA). Founded in 1991 the ABA is the Business club of Ajax. Members occupy the skyboxes in the Stadium and can make use of the clubs' amenities and luxury suites including the ABA club and lounge. The ABA is also responsible for hosting the annual Ajax Business Golf Trophy, an amateur golf tournament where several active and former Ajax players, as well as prominent people and members of the ABA, participate.


Average attendance

This graph displays the average attendance for home matches of Ajax from 1988 to 2018, whereby the difference in capacity of the De Meer Stadion and the Johan Cruyff Arena (est. 1996) is clearly visible.


Mascot

*
Lucky Lynx Lucky Lynx, commonly known as Lucky, is the mascot of Dutch football club Ajax Amsterdam playing in the Eredivisie, a role he has filled since 2000.
, is the official team mascot.Lucky Lynx Bio
", Ajax.nl, accessed 7 August 2013. (2000–present)


Jewish connection and anti-semitism

Historically, Ajax was popularly seen as having "Jewish roots". While it had fewer Jewish players than
WV-HEDW WV-HEDW, in the long form Wilhelmina Vooruit Hortus Eendracht Doet Winnen, is a football club in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The club plays at Sportpark Middenmeer and has the most adult members and teams among Dutch football clubs. History The ...
, Ajax has had a Jewish image since the 1930s when the home stadium was located next to a Jewish neighbourhood of
Amsterdam-Oost Amsterdam-Oost () is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands, established in May 2010 after a merger of the former boroughs of Zeeburg and Oost-Watergraafsmeer. In 2013, the borough had almost 123,000 inhabitants. History Amsterdam-Oost is the b ...
and opponents saw many supporters walking through the Nieuwmarkt/Waterloopleinbuurt (de Jodenhoek—the "Jews' corner") to get to the stadium. The city of Amsterdam was historically referred to as a
Mokum ''Mokum'' (מקום) is the Yiddish language, Yiddish word for "place" or "safe haven". It is derived from the Hebrew language, Hebrew word ''makom'' (מקום, "place"). In Yiddish, the names for some cities in the Netherlands and Germany we ...
city, Mokum (מקום) being the
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
word for "place" or "safe haven",, though 75% of the Jewish citizens were killed during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
.. As
anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
chants and name calling developed and intensified at the old De Meer Stadion from frustrated supporters of opposing clubs, Ajax fans (few of whom are Jewish) responded by embracing Ajax's "Jewish" identity: calling themselves "super Jews", chanting "Jews, Jews" ("Joden, Joden") at games, and adopting Jewish symbols such as the Star of David and the Israeli flag, similar to what supporters of the English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur did with the term yid, "yid" This Jewish imagery eventually became a central part of Ajax fans' culture. At one point, ringtones of "Hava Nagila", a Hebrew language, Hebrew folk song, could be downloaded from the club's official website. Beginning in the 1980s, fans of Ajax's rivals escalated their anti-Semitic rhetoric, chanting slogans like "Hamas, Hamas/Jews to the Gas chamber, gas" ("Hamas, hamas, joden aan het gas"), hissing to imitate the flow of gas, giving Nazi salutes, and other things. The eventual result was that many genuinely Jewish Ajax fans stopped going to games. In the 2000s, the club began trying to persuade fans to drop its Jewish image. In 2013, a documentary titled ''Superjews'' was released by Omroep NTR, NTR and Viewpoint Productions which premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The film was directed by Nirit Peled, an Israeli living in Amsterdam, and an independent film maker who offers a very personal view into the game, the lore of Ajax and its relation to Judaism from both the supporters as well as from a Jewish perspective. Before and after a UEFA Europa League game between the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax on Thursday 7 November 2024 in the Johan Cruyff Arena, tensions surrounding the Gaza war erupted into violence.


Players


Current squad


Players out on loan


Retired numbers

*14 –
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
(Forward (association football), Forward, 1964–73, 1981–83). ''Number retired on 25 April 2007 at Cruyff's 60th birthday celebration match.'' ''Notes'':


Youth/reserves squad

''For the reserve squad of Ajax see:
Jong Ajax Jong Ajax (; ), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2, is a Dutch association football team. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Jong Ajax is the only reserve team to have won a title in Dutch professional foot ...
.''


Notable former players


Board and staff


Current board

;Executive Board *Chairman: Ernst Boekhorst **Board members: 7 – ( John Busink, Marjon Eijlers, Giovanni Fränkel, Pim van Dord, René Zegerius, Edo Ophof, Christian Visser. ;Board of Directors *Chief executive officer: Menno Geelen ''(ad interim)'' *Chief financial officer: Baboeram Panday *Chief commercial officer: Cas Biesta ''(ad interim)'' *Technical Director:
Alex Kroes Alexander "Alex" Kroes (born 1974) is a Dutch soccer executive and former entrepreneur. He is currently the titular Technical Director of AFC Ajax. He was previously a director of AZ Alkmaar, a majority shareholder and director of Go Ahead Eagl ...
*Director of Football:
Marijn Beuker Marijn Beuker (born 21 September 1984) is a Dutch football manager who is sporting director of Ajax. Early life Beuker attended high school in the Netherlands but did not graduate. After that, he attended the Johan Cruyff Institute in Spain. C ...
;Supervisory Board *Chairman: Carolien Gehrels **Board members: 4 – (
Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national t ...
, Sirik Goeman, Dirk Anbeek, Hermine Voûte.


Current staff

;Coaching staff *Head coach: Vacant *Assistant coaches: Daniele Cavalletto
Dave Vos
Felipe Sanchez Mateos *Goalkeeping coach: Jarkko Tuomisto *Goalkeeping coach: Erik Heijblok *Performance coach: Sam Feringa *Video analyst: Osman Kul *Video analyst: Kevin Keij ;Medical staff *Team doctor: Bas Peijs *Head physio: Maarten Gozeling *Club doctor: Niels Wijne *Fitness coach: Callum Walsh *Fitness coach: Maikel van Wijk *Physiotherapist: Frank van Deursen ;Accompanying staff *Team manager: Jan Siemerink *Players supervisor: Herman Pinkster *Loan coach: Michel Kreek *Press officer: Miel Brinkhuis


List of Ajax chairmen

* Floris Stempel (1900–08) * Chris Holst (1908–10) * Han Dade (1910–12) * Chris Holst (1912–13) * Willem Egeman (1913–25) * Frans Schoevaart (1925–32) * Marius Koolhaas (1932–56) * Wim Volkers (1956–58) * Jan Melchers (1958–64) * Jaap van Praag (sports director), Jaap van Praag (1964–78) * Ton Harmsen (1978–88) * Michael van Praag (1989–2003) * John Jaakke (2003–08) * Uri Coronel (2008–11) * Hennie Henrichs (2011–20) * Frank Eijken (2020–2023) * Ernst Boekhorst (2023–present)


List of Ajax coaches

*
Jack Kirwan John Henry Kirwan (December 2 1872 – 7 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...
(1910–15) * Jack Reynolds (1915–25) * Harold Rose (1925–26) * Stanley Castle (1926–28) * Jack Reynolds (1928–40) * Vilmos Halpern (1940–41) * Wim Volkers (1941–42) * Dolf van Kol (1942–45) * Jack Reynolds (1945–47) * Robert Smith (manager), Robert Smith (1947–48) * Walter Crook (1948–50) * Robert Thomson (footballer, born 1905), Robert Thomson (1950–52) * Karel Kaufman (1952–53) * Walter Crook (1953–54) * Karl Humenberger (1954–59) * Vic Buckingham (1959–61) * Keith Spurgeon (1961–62) * Joseph Gruber (1962–63) * Jack Rowley (1963–64) * Vic Buckingham (1964–65) *
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...
(1965–71) *
Ștefan Kovács Ștefan Kovács (; ; 2 October 1920 – 12 May 1995) was a Romanian football player and coach. Having won two European Cup titles, he is one of the most successful association football coaches in the history of the game. Various football magazi ...
(1971–73) * George Knobel (1973–74) * Bobby Haarms (1974, interim) * Hans Kraay Sr., Hans Kraay (1974–75) * Jan van Daal (1975, interim) *
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...
(1975–76) * Tomislav Ivić (1976–78) * Cor Brom (1978–79) * Leo Beenhakker (1979–81) * Aad de Mos (1981, interim) * Kurt Linder (1981–82) * Aad de Mos (1982–85) * Antoine Kohn, Tonny Bruins Slot and Cor van der Hart (1985, interim) *
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
(1985–88) * Kurt Linder (1988) * Antoine Kohn, Bobby Haarms and Barry Hulshoff (1988–89, interim) * Leo Beenhakker (1989–91) *
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
(1991–97) * Morten Olsen (1997–99) * Jan Wouters (1999–2000) * Hans Westerhof (2000, interim) * Co Adriaanse (2000–01) * Ronald Koeman (2001–05) * Ruud Krol (2005, interim) *
Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national t ...
(2005–06) * Henk ten Cate (2006–07) * Adrie Koster (2007–08, interim) *
Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
(2008–09) *
John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a winger. He is the current manager of Armenia. Born in Canada, he played for the Netherlands national team for nine ...
(2009, interim) * Martin Jol (2009–10) * Frank de Boer (2010–16) *
Peter Bosz Peter Sylvester Bosz (, born 21 November 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He is currently the head coach of Dutch Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. He had previously ...
(2016–17) * Marcel Keizer (2017) *
Michael Reiziger Michael John Reiziger (; born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back. Reiziger currently manages the Netherlands U21 team. After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champio ...
(2017, interim) * Erik ten Hag (2017–2022) *
Alfred Schreuder Alfred Schreuder (; born 2 November 1972) is a Dutch football coach and former player who was recently the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al Nasr SC. Club career During his career, Schreuder played for RKC Waalwijk, NAC Breda, Feyenoord, Tw ...
(2022–2023) *
John Heitinga John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the assistant manager at Premier League club Liverpool. He will become the manager of Eredivisie club Ajax on 1 July 2025. ...
(2023, interim) * Maurice Steijn (2023) * Hedwiges Maduro (2023, interim) *
John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a winger. He is the current manager of Armenia. Born in Canada, he played for the Netherlands national team for nine ...
(2023–2024, interim) *
Francesco Farioli Francesco Farioli (; born 10 April 1989) is an Italian professional football coach who last managed the Dutch football club Ajax. Farioli started his coaching career in Turkey with spells at Fatih Karagümrük and Alanyaspor. He then had one se ...
(2024–2025)


Honours

* * shared record Ajax also won in 1972, however UEFA only sanctioned the UEFA Super Cup for the first time in 1973 so the 1972 edition was an unofficial one. Played against
Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
, winners of the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup, it went ahead as 'a celebration of the Centenary of Rangers F.C.' (see below) because Rangers was serving a one-year ban at the time, imposed by UEFA for the misbehaviour of its fans. That victory meant Ajax had won every tournament (5 in total) they entered that year, a feat Celtic F.C., Celtic achieved in 1967 (with 6 trophies),
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in 2009 (6 trophies), and FC Bayern Munich, Bayern in 2020 (also 6 trophies).


Other trophies

Ajax have won numerous Exhibition game, friendly tournaments, unsanctioned by UEFA or FIFA, including the Amsterdam Tournament, Bruges Matins (football), Bruges Matins Trophy, Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu, Eusébio Cup, Ted Bates (footballer)#Ted Bates Trophy, Ted Bates Trophy, Jalkapalloturnaus and Chippie Polar Cup (''for a complete list, see: list of AFC Ajax honours'').


Club awards

*World Soccer (magazine), ''World Soccer'' World Team of the Year : 1 :: 1995 *France Football European Team of the Year, ''France Football'' European Team of the Year : 4 :: 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973 *Dutch Sports Team of the Year : 5 :: 1968, 1969, 1972, 1987, 1995 *Sports Team of the Year : 1 :: 1990 *International Federation of Football History & Statistics#The World's Best Club, IFFHS The World's Club Team of the Year : 1 :: 1992 *Dick van Rijn Trophy : 1 :: 1995 *Amsterdam Sportsman of the year, Amsterdam Sportsteam of the year: 3 :: 2011, 2013, 2014 *ING Fair Play Award : 2 :: 2013, 2014 *Fair Play Cup : 1 :: 1995 *FIFA Club of the Century : shared 5th place :: 20th Century *kicker (sports magazine)#Kicker Sportmagazin Club of the Century, ''kicker Sportmagazin'' Club of the Century: 2nd place :: 20th Century *Best Dutch club after 50 years of professional football : 1 :: 2004 *Football shirt of the Year : Ajax away shirt by adidas :: 2013–14 AFC Ajax season, 2013–14 *The Four-Four-Two Greatest Club Side Ever : Ajax (1965–1973) :: 2013 *VVCS Best Pitch of the Year : 1 :: 2012


Honorary club members

Ajax have a total of 50 honorary club members, from people who have been invested within the club's administrative engagements, to committed players who have excelled in the athletic department. Of those 50 members 41 have since died. Nine members still remain, including
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
. He was made honorary member in 2024. * Hennie Henrichs * Arie van Os * Michael van Praag * Rob Been sr. * Sjaak Swart * Hans Bijvank * Leo van Wijk * Jan Buskermolen *
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
The remaining 41 honorary members who have since died: * Floris Stempel * Han Dade * Chris Holst * L.W. van Fliet * K.W.F. van der Lee * Henk Alofs * Frans Schoevaart * Jan Grootmeijer * J. Oudheusden * Willem Egeman * Jan Schoevaart * Marius Koolhaas * Jordanus Roodenburgh * Theo Brokmann * F.H.W. de Bruijn * Jan de Boer (footballer, born 1898), Jan de Boer * Frans Couton * A.L. Desmit * Wim Anderiesen * Wim Volkers * Jan Elzenga * Roef Vunderink * Kick Geudeker * G. de Jongh * Jack Reynolds * Ferry Dukker * Arie de Wit * W.F.C. Bruijnesteijn * Jan Westrik * Jaap van Praag (sports director), Jaap van Praag * Henk Hordijk * M.J.W. Middendorp *
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...
* Henk Timman * Jan Potharst * Bobby Haarms * André Kraan * Willem Schoevaart *
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
* Uri Coronel * Tijn Middendorp


Results


Domestic results

Below is a table with Ajax's domestic results since the introduction of the in 1956.


Continental results


Team records

* Most match appearances: 463 – Sjaak Swart * Most goals scored: 273 – Piet van Reenen * Most goals scored in a season: 41 – Henk Groot * First Ajax player to receive an Cap (sport), International cap: Gerard Fortgens for the Netherlands in 1911 * First Ajax player to score a goal for the national team: Theo Brokmann for the Netherlands in 1919


Club van 100

The Club van 100 is the official list of
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
players who have appeared in one hundred or more official matches for AFC Ajax. The club currently has a total of over 150 members. The record for league appearances is held by Mr. Ajax himself Sjaak Swart, who appeared in 463 league matches for Ajax. There is a beneficiary team called Lucky Ajax, which was initiated by Sjaak Swart. Lucky Ajax participate in at least one match a year, usually in the name of charity, and commonly at football ceremonies to bid farewell to retiring players. One of the prerequisites for playing on Lucky Ajax, which is invitational only, is that you are a member of the Club van 100, having made at least 100 official match appearances for Ajax in the first team of the club.


Lucky Ajax

Lucky Ajax is a beneficiary team that was initiated by Sjaak Swart in the seventies, competing in at least one match a year, usually in the name of charity and/or to bid farewell to retiring former Ajax players. The team is made up of various members of the Club van 100 (AFC Ajax), Club van 100 of Ajax who will come out of retirement for this match to face the Ajax squad that is current of that year. Past participants have included Barry Hulshoff, Sonny Silooy, Simon Tahamata, Ronald Koeman, Tscheu La Ling, Gerrie Mühren,
John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a winger. He is the current manager of Armenia. Born in Canada, he played for the Netherlands national team for nine ...
, Brian Roy, Stanley Menzo, Peter van Vossen and Fred Grim. The name Lucky Ajax is derived from the famous "Lucky Ajax" nickname from how people used to refer to the club when Ajax would either win a match by chance, by a decision of a referee, or by coincidence such as was said to be the case during the infamous ''De Mistwedstrijd, Mistwedstrijd'' ("Fog Match").


Number 14 shirt

As of the 2007–08 Eredivisie, 2007–08 season, no player could wear the number 14 shirt at Ajax after the club decided to retire the shirt out of respect for Johan Cruyff, "the legendary number fourteen". Cruyff himself laughed off the tribute, saying the club had to let its best player play with number 14. Spanish midfielder Roger García Junyent, Roger was the last player to wear the number. Marvin Zeegelaar wore the shirt number in preparation for the 2011–12 Eredivisie, 2011–12 season in one preseason match, while Aras Özbiliz wore the number 14 shirt in one pre-season match ahead of the 2011–12 season as well. The club stated that this was, in fact, not done in error. Below is a list of all players to wear the number 14 shirt since Johan Cruyff's departure.


Former captains


Team tournaments


Amsterdam Tournament

Established in 1975 as the Amsterdam Tournament, Amsterdam 700 Tournament to celebrate 700 years of history in the city. The tournament was hosted annually each summer by Ajax until 1992, when the last edition of the original tournament was played. It returned in 1999 with the backing of the International Event Partnership (IEP). Four teams participated in the competition, played in a league format since 1986. Since its return, the tournament used an unusual point scoring system. As with most league competitions, three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. An additional point, however, was awarded for each goal scored. The system was designed to reward teams that adopted a more attacking style of play. Each entrant played two matches, with the winner being the club that finished at the top of the table. The original competition was held at Het Olympisch Stadion where Ajax played the bigget games until 1996. The Amsterdam Arena (now Johan Cruyff Arena) played host to the event since its return until the last edition was played in 2009. Ajax is the most successful team of the tournament, having won it a record ten times, while Benfica from Portugal was the last team to win the tournament, in 2009.


Copa Amsterdam

Established in 2005, the Copa Amsterdam is an international friendly football tournament for Under-19 youth teams, that is organized by Ajax and the Amsterdam city council, which takes place at the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
as part of the annual Amsterdam Sports Weekend, a citywide sponsored initiative to promote 'sports and recreation' within the city of Amsterdam. Each Summer the city of Amsterdam and Ajax invite U-19 teams from various top clubs from around the World to participate in the tournament. Seven teams are invited and play in the competition every year. Over the years, clubs such as
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
, Chelsea and
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
have had their senior youth teams participate in the tournament. Cruzeiro from Brazil is the most successful club in the history of the tournament, having won it three times in total.


Future Cup

Established in 2010, the AEGON Future Cup is an international friendly tournament for Under-17 youth teams, which is organized by AFC Ajax and their main sponsor, the insurance company
AEGON Aegon Ltd. (stylized as AEGON) is a Dutch public company for life insurance, pensions and asset management. It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and has 26,000 employees as of July 21, 2020. Aegon is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam a ...
. The tournament is held each year at the Johan Cruyff Arena and at the
Sportpark De Toekomst Sportcomplex De Toekomst (Dutch for ''Sporting complex The Future'') is a sporting complex in Ouder-Amstel, Netherlands, owned by AFC Ajax N.V. The complex comprises nine football fields and is located close to the Johan Cruyff Arena and on the o ...
, the team's training ground, which also inspired the name of the competition, since ''De Toekomst'' in Dutch means The Future. Every year during the Easter weekend, six U-17 teams are invited to participate in the competition, while the seventh place for the contesters is reserved for the winners of the "Craques Mongeral AEGON Future Cup" in Brazil, the sister competition of the tournament in South America. Youth teams from top clubs such as
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
,
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
,
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and many more have participated in the competition over the years. Ajax is the most successful club of the tournament, having won the trophy a total of five times.


See also

* List of football clubs in the Netherlands * List of world champion football clubs


Bibliography

* David Endt, ''De godenzonen van Ajax'', Rap, Amsterdam, 1993, * Jan Baltus Kok, ''Naar Ajax. Mobiliteitspatronen van bezoekers bij vier thuiswedstrijden van Ajax'', University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1992, *Simon Kuper, ''Ajax, The Dutch, The War. Football in Europe during the Second World War'', Orion Books, London (Translation of: Ajax, de Joden en Nederland ("Ajax, the Jews, The Netherlands)", 2003, * Evert Vermeer, ''95 jaar Ajax. 1900–1995'', Luitingh-Sijthoff, Amsterdam, 1996,


External links

*
AFC Ajax
at weltfussballarchiv
AFC Ajax
at soccerway


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afc Ajax AFC Ajax, Football clubs in Amsterdam Football clubs in the Netherlands 1900 establishments in the Netherlands Association football clubs established in 1900 G-14 clubs UEFA Champions League winning clubs, Aj UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winning clubs, Aj UEFA Europa League winning clubs, Aj UEFA Super Cup winning clubs, Aj Intercontinental Cup winning clubs, A