Mother Club, Ajax Amsterdam have confirmed their commitment to the 17 year partnership with their South African counterparts in Ajax Cape Town Football Club.
They expressed their disappointment in the rumours that surfaced in a Sunday newspaper claiming that they were planning to exit as shareholders of the hugely successful franchise in the Premier Soccer League.
CEO, was scathing on the unconfirmed rumours that hit the media since Sunday. “We have been in close contact with Ajax Amsterdam since taking over the management of the club in July 2013 and have worked closely with our partners in the Netherlands to grow the Ajax brand in South Africa and Africa. Our recent successes on the field in 2015 have been closely monitored by Amsterdam and the promotion of a large number of talented youth players from the academy is in line with their global strategy.
Ajax Amsterdam Director of Football, Marc Overmars along with Financial Director, Jeroen Slop, visited Ikamva this week, in preparation for the annual board meeting.
Overmars and Slop arrived in Cape Town on Monday from Amsterdam where they were welcomed by the Ajax Cape Town board of Directors. With the Ajax CT youth academy back in full training again, it was the ideal time for the Amsterdam board members to visit Ikamva, in order to see the progress that the young players have made, while also being able to watch some of the PSL side’s training sessions.
Ajax Amsterdam Director of Football, Marc Overmars: “We are staying here for three days and I have been at the club every day to see the training sessions. Matches were organised for everyone from 14 to 17-years-old, yesterday the 19-year-olds too, so I’ve got a good impression of what’s going on. I’m happy with the plans they’ve shown us for the future. I think we at Ajax (Amsterdam) can also do more from our side, bring more to keep things going well. It’s been a very interesting trip. It’s a very busy month for us, because January is transfer month for us, so it says a lot that I came here together with the Financial Director. It’s a very good sign that we come here during such a hectic time for Ajax Amsterdam. We have seen a lot, we know what we have to improve.”
“We want to go to the top of Europe again, we need the best players to do so. You can see that there is a lot of talent at the club, but it is never easy for players to survive. We have to support them all the way. It’s a dream for all these players to play in the first team, we know they will work hard. They need assistance and guidance to become professional players, we have seen what we have to deliver to make the situation better.”
Ajax Amsterdam Financial Director, Jeroen Slop: “Coming from two clubs blending together and Amsterdam as the participating partner, we’ve come a long way after 17 years. There’s a youth facility here that is unique in the whole of South Africa. We have a well-structured youth programme in Cape Town and also a lot of youth players making it into the first team here at Ajax Cape Town, so that is something to be proud of. Every club goes through ups and downs, but since Mr (Roger) De Sa has taken over the first team, you can see that he has given a lot of space for the young players. It is a true refl ection of Ajax Amsterdam. That is very important to us, bringing up players who are capable of playing in the first team.
Last season was a very good season for the club. This season we must make up some more
points still, but that’s okay. Overall its good results that Mr De Sa brings to the first team.
“We had constructive meetings, now we have to proceed with how to make the academy better and to get the results we all want, that is to have suitable players who can be at the top of their game.” Ajax Cape Town Head Coach, Roger De Sa was equally enthusiastic after meeting with Overmars. “It’s been fantastic having our partners here, especially since it’s a very busy time for both clubs. We’ve exchanged some ideas and facilitated the way forward. Its great exchanging ideas with football people and obviously fantastic to get advice from Marc, who knows the game very well. The relationship definitely gets stronger every time and we will continue the work we’ve been putting in. We’ll do our best to develop players for Ajax Amsterdam and South African football. I will be visiting Ajax Amsterdam in the very near future, on the invitation of Marc, to bring the newest training methods for our coaches
and fresh ideas for the youth academy.
Overmars further confirmed that the position of Head of Youth, will be filled by an experienced candidate from the Netherlands. His appointment will be confirmed next month
Written by: Press release
