6 Things you may not know about Ajax’ Youth Academy De Toekomst
1 — Sportpark de Toekomst
The Ajax Academy is named Sportpark de Toekomst, which translates to ‘The Future’ in English. It refers to our history with academy players who have made the first team: the academy is our future. A video from Ajax TV from the 2016–2017 season phrased this: ‘Creating history with the future’. This tells the story perfectly.
2 — Academy
De Toekomst consists of 10+ pitches now. A few of these pitches are artificial pitches, of which Ajax wants to get rid. When you are on the Academy ground, you can see the Johan Cruijff ArenA in the background. You may also like to know that De Toekomst is free to visit, except for European competitions due to UEFA rules and the Ajax U21-games, since they play at a professional level.
3 — Expansion
Ajax will expand De Toekomst and the plan is to have the (new) academy ready in a few years time. When the expansion and renovation are finished, De Toekomst will have:
– 13 pitches
– 3 smaller (Goalkeeper) practice pitches
– 1 Cruyff court
– 1 powerhill, 1 beach field, 1 mini-play area
– 1 Pitch for the U8’s-U10’s
– 1 MiCoach Performance Centre
– 1 (mini) stadium (6K) + office spaces
– Other things such as storage rooms, research area, park areas, extension of the school, ground team
4 — Together
As you may know, the first team trains at De Toekomst as well. The first team usually uses one or two fields to train on. The other fields are used by the youth teams and the Ajax Women. A mix of first team players and youth players will be a regular sight. There are also often Toekomst-alumni, who visit games or training sessions.
5 — ‘School of the Future’
In 2015, the ‘School van de Toekomst’ (‘School of the Future’) was officially opened. In this building the talents can learn, make their homework and rest. The school has the most modern resources. The school overlooks the training fields of the first team and the Johan Cruyff ArenA can also be seen in the distance. Ajax offers their top athletes the best training methods and facilities, but it also wants to make sure that they get their diploma so they can fall back on something if they can’t make their dream true for whatever reason.
6 — MiCoach Performance Centre
The MiCoach Performance Centre is filled with technology that Ajax collects data with on the performances of teams and players. With this information, Ajax can improve the training sessions in a very specific way for both the team and individually. The hall is also used for youth matches or first team training sessions in the case of bad weather.
