The Supportersvereniging Ajax (SVA) (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "Supporters Club Ajax") also known as Ajax Life is an organisation linked to

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 ...

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

, 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 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The group is independent of the club and consists of a variety of members. Every member is considered an ''Ajacied'', but with different needs the club caters to the various demands and necessities of its members. Some are fans with a season ticket, including away card holders as well as members who occasionally visit competitions or follow the club through the media. Members of the SVA hail from all over the Netherlands, with an active branch situated in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

as well. The average membership counts between 110.000 and 135.000 members, making it the largest Supporters club in the Netherlands. The average age of its members are 35 years of age, and approximately 9% of the clubs members are season ticket holders. The Supportersvereniging Ajax are also members of the

Football Supporters Europe Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is a football fan network formally established as a non-profit member association and claiming to have members from more than 48 UEFA member countries. Founded in July 2008 at the first European Football Fans Co ...

(FSE) a platform of negotiation to communicate the interest of club supporters to

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

Events

The SVA are widely responsible for the events surrounding the annual Ajax Open Training's Day, an event which takes place at the start of every season where the new Ajax squad members are introduced to the public 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 event takes place in and around the team's home stadium and the neighboring training ground

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 fie ...

. The event attracts thousands of spectators each year, and is one of the largest pre-season events surrounding the club from Amsterdam. The Supporters club has often appeared in the media in the Netherlands to take a stance on topics such as Stadium bans, where Supporters are prohibited from visiting away matches due to past incidences.

Ajax Life

The SVA are also responsible for the Ajax Life website, as well as the Ajax Life newspaper, a bi-weekly publication with 20 issues appearing per year. The publication is delivered by mail to all members of the club with a reported total circulation of 94,000.

Ajax Kids Club

Along with the Ajax Life membership, the SVA also offer membership for children ages 0–12 to the Ajax Kids Club. A combined effort with the actual football club Ajax, the Kids Club offers several events geared towards children centered on the team 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.

and the football club, including the ''Ajax Kids Clubblad'' (kids magazine) with 8 issues appearing per year.

Board and Staff

The board consists of the following members: *President:

Daniël Dekker Daniël Dekker (born Henk Bakhuizen on 8 April 1960 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch disc jockey and radio host. In 1980 Dekker began his radio career on Decibel Radio before working for 3FM and Radio 2. Between 2010 and 2013 he was the Dutch commenta ...

*Secretary: Tijn van Hooven *Treasurer: Patrick van Amelsvoort *Board member Supporters Policy: Ine van Brenk *Board member General Affairs: Martine Eikelhof

References

External links