The Ajax Cape Town Under-17 squad gathered at Cape Town International Airport on Wednesday evening ahead of a two-week tour to mother-club Ajax Amsterdam with parents, family and friend who came to say their good byes.
The Urban Warriors travel to Amsterdam to participate in the Aegon Future Cup, teams participating in this competition include Manchester United, Ajax Amsterdam, Deportivo Brasil, Besiktas, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
During the trip, the team will play warm-up friendlies against Ajax Amsterdam U17 and Almere City, before competing in the prestigious AEGON Future Cup over the Easter weekend, where we have been drawn in Group B alongside AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
The 18-player squad departed just before midnight, accompanied by the Ajax Cape Town Head of Youth – Corne Groenendijk, Under-17 Coach – Noel Cousins, Assistant Coach – Justin Hamburger and Team Manager Marco Da Silva.
After a long night in the plane, the group arrived at Schiphol Airport and immediately headed for “De Toekomst” – the training facility of Ajax Amsterdam.
On arrival at “De Toekomst” the players enjoyed a hearty lunch before they were taken for a tour of the building and grounds culminating in watching the first team training session. The cold temperatures and wind conditions soon got the better of the South Africans who headed back inside for a chat with Thulani Serero, as he prepared for the evening’s game featuring for Jong Ajax against NEC in the Reserve League.
After a dinner and enjoyable first half of the Jong Ajax v NEC game, watching Thulani Serero play and scoring a goal, the boys headed off in pairs with their “foster parents” for the first week in The Netherlands – and hopefully a good night of sleep to be prepared ahead of their first training session on Friday morning.
