Ajax has become a sponsor of the Cruyff Foundation for a period of three seasons (2018-2019 through 2020-2021). As part of this partnership, Ajax is also the main sponsor of the Cruyff Legacy 14K Run. This unique running event covers a 14-kilometre route passing memorable locations from Johan Cruyff’s life and finishes at the Johan Cruyff ArenA.
The partnership extends beyond this, as from this year onwards the winner of the Abdelhak Nouri Trophy (formerly known as Talent of the Future) will receive a Schoolyard14 from Ajax. The winner can choose the school where the playground will be created.
Edwin van der Sar: “Ajax has supported the Cruyff Foundation in many areas for a long time, but we felt it was only natural to make this commitment on a structural basis. This partnership can also exist alongside the wonderful work carried out by the Ajax Foundation. The philosophy of the Johan Cruyff Foundation is a perfect match with this approach. Among other initiatives, Ajax will focus on the 14K Run, which recently took place successfully for the third time.”
Ajax and Cruyff: an inseparable connection
Ajax and Johan Cruyff are inextricably linked. At the start of the 2018-2019 football season, the Amsterdam ArenA officially changed its name to the Johan Cruyff ArenA. As a player, Cruyff won numerous honours with Ajax, including three European Cups, the Intercontinental Cup and eight domestic league titles. As manager, he won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Ajax in 1987 and lifted the KNVB Cup twice. For the past ten years, his legendary number 14 shirt has no longer been worn by players of Ajax’s first team, as a tribute to his legacy.
