The Copa Amsterdam (''known for sponsorship reasons as the'' Aegon Copa Amsterdam), formerly known as the ''Gestion Copa Amsterdam'', is an annual youth football tournament, organized and hosted by

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

for under-19 youth teams which takes place at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

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 ...

. The tournament has been contested by some of the strongest under-19 teams in football, with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and Cruzeiro amongst the participating clubs. The tournament is named after its main sponsor, the insurance company AEGON and was formerly named after the publishing company Gestion, and is broadcast online in over 59 countries via

Eredivisie Live Fox Sports Eredivisie was a Dutch premium television service owned by Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV in which Fox Networks Group Benelux (part of Fox) has 51% share. The football clubs (Eredivisie CV) together with Endemol own 49%. There were 3 c ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...

and

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

History

Established in 2005 as part of the annual Amsterdam Sport Weekend, a citywide sponsored initiative to promote 'sports and recreation' within the city of Amsterdam, the Copa Amsterdam is an international football youth tournament held in the historic

since 2010. It was originally held at

Sportpark Sloten Established in 1956, the Sportpark Sloten is a large sports complex located on the Riekerpolder at Sloterweg in Amsterdam - Sloten. Surrounding the stadium is an asphalt cycling circuit, 2,5 km in length. Stadia: * The Velodrome Amster ...

, home of

Blauw-Wit Amsterdam FC Blauw-Wit Amsterdam ( en, Blue-White) was a Dutch football club from Amsterdam. The name referred to the colours of their uniform, blue and white. History Founded on 10 May 1902 as a local club in the Kinkerbuurt area of Amsterdam, from 1928 i ...

from its inception in 2005 up until 2009. Each summer the city of Amsterdam and

invites U-19 teams from various top clubs from around the World to play in the tournament. Seven teams are invited and participate in the competition every year with the ninth edition of the tournament having occurred in 2013. Over the years, clubs such as

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

have had their senior youth teams participate in the tournament. While hosts Ajax have won the tournament twice (2007, 2011), Cruzeiro from Brazil have won it the most, holding a total of three titles to their name (2006, 2008, 2012). Other teams who have brought home the cup include

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

(2005), AZ (2009),

(2010) and

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 m ...

(2013). The prizes and awards were handed out by

Johan Cruijff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...

in 2009 and 2011, in 2010 it was done by

Daley Blind Daley Blind (; born 9 March 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, left-back or centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Netherlands national team. He is the son of former Ajax defender and fo ...

and by

Sjaak Swart Jesaia Swart (born 3 July 1938), commonly known as Sjaak Swart, is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger for Ajax. During his career at Ajax, he amassed a total of almost 600 matches, a record for the club. Biography Swa ...

two years later. Since the 2011 edition, the tournament has been broadcast live on

on Dutch national television and over the internet with commentary by Leo Driessen, Mark van Rijswijk and Ron de Rijk. The tournament is attended by prominent local football legends such as Frits Barend,

and

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 te ...

, and is frequented by many talent scouts. In accordance with the theme of the annual Amsterdam Sport Weekend however, an amateur team is put together consisting of local youth players, which is then coached by former Ajax players such as

Ronald de Boer Ronaldus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for the Netherlands national team as well as a host of professional clubs in Europe. He is the twin brother of Frank de Boer ...

did with Men United in the 9th Edition of the tournament. In order to promote sport and recreation in the community, and to give young players an opportunity to present themselves at a high competitive level, coming from Amsterdam and the Region. Other teams that were assembled include the AT5 United, an all-star team composed of local Amsterdam talent, as well as FC NH (North Holland) which was an assembled selection of youth talent from the Dutch province of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

as a whole, and not limited to Amsterdam.

Board of Advisors

The Board of Advisors for the tournament consists of seven members, namely John Jaakke,

Theo van Duivenbode Theo van Duivenbode (born 1 November 1943) is a Dutch former footballer who played for Ajax and Feyenoord and was part of their European and Intercontinental Cup victory in 1970. Club career Born in Amsterdam, van Duivenbode made his senior de ...

, Jaap de Groot, René Zegerius, Oege Boonstra,

and Maarten Oldenhof.

Tournament results

2005 (1st Edition)

(Source)

2006 (2nd Edition)

(Source)

2007 (3rd Edition)

(Source)

2008 (4th Edition)

(Source)

2009 (5th Edition)

(Source)

2010 (6th Edition)

(Source)

2011 (7th Edition)

(Source)

2012 (8th Edition)

(Source)

2013 (9th Edition)

(Source)

2014 (10th Edition)

(Source)

2015 (11th Edition)

(Source)

2016 (12th Edition)

(Source)

2017–2018

For the first time in 12 years the tournament was not held in 2017 due to scheduling issues, with the organizational body making an official statement, that the tournament would presume the following year.

2019 (13th Edition)

The following year the tournament was withheld once more. On April 25th, 2019 Ajax announced that the tournament would finally presume, and will be held on the 29th and 30th of June at the

. The invited teams include

Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J1 League. The team is located in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. ''Sagan'' is a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of its homophones is in Japanese. This symbolises ...

and

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 compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

. (Source)

Participation

By country

Titles and awards

Number of titles

(Source)

Official Hall of Fame

(Source) The players below are part of the Copa Amsterdam Hall of Fame. 2005 *

Milano Koenders Milano Koenders (; born 31 July 1986) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a centre-back or as a right-back for Tweede Klasse club DWS. Koenders also runs his own football school. Club career Koenders is a defender who was born in Amsterdam. He ...

( DF) *

Niklas Moisander Niklas Moisander (born 29 September 1985) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swedish club Malmö FF. Moisander was born in Turku, where he played for the local TPS youth team before moving to AFC Ajax. Following ...

( DF) * Rydell Poepon ( FW) *

Donovan Slijngard Donovan Carlos Saverio Slijngard (born 28 August 1987), simply known as Donovan Slijngard (), is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for VV Noordwijk. Club career Ajax Slijngard was born in Amsterdam and came through the Aj ...

( DF) *

Jeffrén Suárez Jeffrén Isaac Suárez Bermúdez (born 20 January 1988), known simply as Jeffrén, is a Venezuelan footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Thai League 1 club Lamphun Warriors. He started his career with Barcelona, appearing rarely and ...

( FW) *

Kenneth Vermeer Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, ...

( GK) *

Jan Vertonghen Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back. Vertonghen began his senior car ...

( DF) 2006 *

Nordin Amrabat Noureddine "Nordin" Amrabat ( ar, نورالدين أمرابط, ber, ⵏⵓⵓⵔⴷⴷⵉⵏ ⴰⵎⵔⴰⴱⴰⵜ; born 31 March 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Amrabat played ...

( FW) *

Mehmet Güven Mehmet Güven (born 30 July 1987) is a Turkish footballer who plays as a midfielder for an amateur side Kavaklıderespor. Career Güven is a product of the Galatasaray Youth Team. He joined the senior squad in 2005–06 and made his debut on ...

( MF) * Özgürcan Özcan ( FW) *

Rui Patrício Rui Pedro dos Santos Patrício (; born 15 February 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A team Roma and the Portugal national team. He is often nicknamed "São Patrício" (''Saint Patrício'') for ...

( GK) *

Bruno Pereirinha Bruno Alexandre Marques Pereirinha (born 2 March 1988) is a Portuguese former footballer. He played mainly as a right midfielder, also being able to operate as an attacking right-back. He spent most of his professional career with Sporting CP, ...

( MF) *

Jeffrey Sarpong Jeffrey Nana Darko Sarpong ( ; born 3 August 1988) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for FK Panevėžys. Career Ajax Sarpong joined Ajax when he was just seven years of age, and signed his first contrac ...

( MF) * Robert Schilder ( MF) 2007 *

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 Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk. Born in Curaçao and ra ...

( MF) *

( DF) *

Mitchell Donald Mitchell Glenn Donald (born 10 December 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He previously played for AFC Ajax, where he went through the youth program. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Suriname national team. ...

( MF) *

Jan-Arie van der Heijden Jan-Arie van der Heijden (born 3 March 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back, most recently for Eredivisie club Willem II. Club career Ajax Born in Leiden, Van der Heijden made his debut for Ajax in a league match ...

( MF) *

Siem de Jong Siem Stefan de Jong (; born 28 January 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eerste Divisie club De Graafschap as an attacking midfielder or striker. Playing in the youth academies of De Graafschap and Ajax, he made his pro ...

( MF) 2007 (continued) *

Javier Martina Javier Sylvester Martina (born 1 February 1987) is a Curaçaoan-Dutch footballer who plays as a winger for A.V.V. Zeeburgia in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, and for the Curaçao national team. Club career Netherlands Born in Willemstad, Netherla ...

( FW) *

Gregory van der Wiel Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel (born 3 February 1988) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a right-back. Born in Amsterdam, Van der Wiel is a product of the AFC Ajax youth system. In 2010, he was awarded the Johan Cruyff Award for " Young Pl ...

( DF) 2008 *

Toby Alderweireld Toby Albertine Maurits Alderweireld (; born 2 March 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Belgian Pro League club Royal Antwerp. Alderweireld began his professional career at Dutch club Ajax, whe ...

( DF) *

Christian Eriksen Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fr ...

( MF) *

John Goossens John Goossens (born 25 July 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several positions in midfield, and even as a left winger. Since his retirement from fo ...

( MF) *

Florian Jozefzoon Florian Marc Jozefzoon (born 9 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk. Born in French Guiana, he represents the Suriname national team. He is a product of the Ajax Youth Academy and w ...

( FW) * Moestafa El Kabir ( FW) *

Marvin Zeegelaar Marvin Romeo Kwasie Zeegelaar (born 12 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a left midfielder. Club career Early years Born in Amsterdam of Surinamese descent, Zeegelaar finished his formation with local AFC ...

( MF) 2009 *

Lorenzo Ebecilio Lorenzo Ebecilio (born 24 September 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Vierde Divisie club DHSC. An Ajax academy product, he debuted for Ajax in the 2010–11 Eredivisie. During the first two seasons, despit ...

( FW) 2011 *

Marco Bizot Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

( GK) *

Tom Boere Tom Boere (born 24 November 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cambuur in the Eredivisie. Club career Early years Born in Breda, Netherlands, Tom Boere grew up in Terneuzen and began his footballing career in ...

( MF) *

Ouasim Bouy Ouasim Bouy (born 11 June 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre back. Bouy is a former Netherlands U19 international, and is able to represent either the Netherlands or Morocco at senior level. ...

( MF) *

Lorenzo Burnet Lorenzo Burnet (born 11 January 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Emmen. Club career After starting as a footballer at amateur East Amsterdam club AVV Zeeburgia, Burnet joined the top-ranked A ...

( DF) * Hyago ( FW) *

Davy Klaassen Davy Klaassen (born 21 February 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Club career Early career Klaassen began his football career in the youth ranks of l ...

( MF) *

Jody Lukoki Jody Lukoki (15 November 1992 – 9 May 2022) was a Congolese-Dutch professional footballer who played as a winger for various clubs and the DR Congo national team. Lukoki progressed through the famed Ajax youth academy, making his professio ...

( FW) *

Lesley de Sa Lesly de Sa (born 2 April 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who most recently played as a winger for Ajax Amateurs. An Ajax youth product, he joined Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II on loan before signing with Slovak side Slovan Bratis ...

( FW) 2011 (continued) * Élber Silva ( MF) * Vitinho ( MF)

References

External links

Copa Amsterdam
Official website
Biggest social media event
at Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam) {{Friendly association football tournaments in the Netherlands AFC Ajax Football in Amsterdam Dutch football friendly trophies Recurring sporting events established in 2005 2005 establishments in the Netherlands Youth football competitions

History

Board of Advisors

Tournament results

2005 (1st Edition)

2006 (2nd Edition)

2007 (3rd Edition)

2008 (4th Edition)

2009 (5th Edition)

2010 (6th Edition)

2011 (7th Edition)

2012 (8th Edition)

2013 (9th Edition)

2014 (10th Edition)

2015 (11th Edition)

2016 (12th Edition)

2017–2018

2019 (13th Edition)

Participation

By country

Titles and awards

Number of titles

Official Hall of Fame

See also

References

External links