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

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

team, the reserve team of

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), by the ancient Gree ...

. It is based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and competes in the Dutch

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

History

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

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

, competing against other reserve teams such as Jong PSV, Jong FC Groningen or Jong AZ. It has won the Beloften Eredivisie title a record eight times, as well as the KNVB Reserve Cup three times, making it the most successful reserve squad in the Netherlands. By winning the

title, Jong Ajax were able to qualify for the actual

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

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

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

in 2001–02, when a semi-final loss to

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

in a

Penalty shoot-out 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 vs. Jong Ajax Dutch Cup final. The 2013–14 season marked the Jupiler League debut of the AFC Ajax reserves' squad Jong Ajax. Previously playing in the

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

, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands. Its home matches are played at

Sportpark De Toekomst 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. Its main ...

, except for the occasional match in the

Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff 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 AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...

. The only period in which players are able to move between squads is during the transfer windows, unless the player has made less than 15 appearances for the first team, then he is still eligible to appear in both first team and second team matches during the course of the season. Furthermore, the team is not eligible for promotion to the

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

or to participate in the

. Jong Ajax was joined in the Eerste Divisie by

Jong FC Twente Jong FC Twente (English: Young FC Twente) are the reserve team of FC Twente, a team from Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in t ...

and Jong PSV, reserve teams that have also moved from the Beloften Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie, replacing VV Katwijk, SC Veendam and AGOVV Apeldoorn, and increasing the total number of teams in the league from 16 to 20. Jong Ajax left the

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

Players

Current squad

:''As of 5 September 2022''

Out on loan

Staff

* ''Head coach:'' John Heitinga * ''Assistant coach:''

Michel Kreek Michel Kreek (born 16 January 1971) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He made one international appearance for the Netherlands national team: on 22 February 1995, in a 1–0 friendly loss against Portugal. He ...

* ''Goalkeeper coach:'' René Stam * ''Technical Coach:''

Gerald Vanenburg Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He amassed Eredivisie totals of 372 games and 112 goals for Ajax and PSV combined, winning fifteen major titles between the two ...

* ''Team manager:'' Herman Arendse * ''Physio:'' Tim Glazenburg * ''Team physician:'' Maikel van Wijk

Former head coaches

* Aad de Mos * Pieter Huistra * Adrie Koster *

* Alfons Groenendijk *

* Sonny Silooy *

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

* Louis van Gaal * John van 't Schip * John van den Brom * Gerard van der Lem * Hans Westerhof *

Aron Winter Aron Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch former professional football midfielder and manager for Suriname. He has played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan, and for the Netherlands nationa ...

* Fred Grim * Gery Vink *

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

* Michael Reiziger *

Mitchell van der Gaag Mitchell van der Gaag (born 22 October 1971) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back, currently the assistant manager of Manchester United. He made 208 Eredivisie appearances and scored 19 goals, for ...

Honours

Official trophies (recognized by UEFA and FIFA)

National

(1): 2017–18 *

(8): 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009 * KNVB Reserve Cup (3): 2003, 2004, 2012 * KNVB Amateur Cup (1): 1984 * KNVB District Cup (4): 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994 *KNVB Raven Cup (1) : 1956

International

HKFC International Soccer Sevens The HKFC Soccer Sevens, formerly known as the International Soccer Sevens, is an annual invitational Seven-a-side football#seven-a-side football, seven-a-side football tournament which is organised and hosted by Hong Kong Football Club. Held since ...

Main Tournament – Shield winners:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Other trophies

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

References

External links

Dutch information of Jong Ajax/Ajax B

Dutch information of Jong Ajax

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