The idea behind the partner clubs is well known. Ajax wants to gain a better understanding of the talent available in various regions around the world. In return, Ajax helps those clubs build the best youth academy in their respective regions. This collaboration recently showed its value when two Japanese youth players joined Ajax during pre‑season, at none other than the Como Cup. These Japanese players had the chance to get to know Ajax: the people, the shirt, the country, and the club’s atmosphere.
Showcase themselves against imposing opponents
That same line of thought has now been extended into Future United. The 'birth' of Future United has a background with many angles. One of them is practical: bringing an entire youth team from Japan or Mexico to the Netherlands requires significant organisational and financial effort from those clubs.
The Future Cup, meanwhile, offers a fantastic stage for young players to showcase themselves against imposing opponents such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint‑Germain and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, while also getting to know Ajax better.
And so the idea emerged to merge all partner clubs into one team. ''We thought: what if we ask the partner clubs to nominate players who absolutely should take part in the Future Cup'', explains Corné Groenendijk, head of Football Partnerships at Ajax. ''We noticed in recent years that we could offer the Future Cup experience to only one specific partner club at a time, but struggled to connect all the cultural strengths of these clubs more effectively.''
Social elements
The performance of Future United is therefore not the main goal at this year’s Future Cup. It is above all a fascinating social experiment.The team now consists of players from FC Volendam, Como 1907, Club León, Barranquilla, CF Pachuca, Gamba Osaka and Real Oviedo, players from all corners of the world. Due to the current situation in the Middle East, the two invited players from Sharjah FC cannot travel to the Future Cup.
Future United:
- Uta Okamoto
- Hideto Fujii
- Subaru Kagano
- Sho Kawano
- Arata Okamoto
- Koki Shirosaka
- Saku Oya
- Lex Koning
- Luca Hamersma
- Uziel San Martin
- Alan Hernández
- Santiago Cisneros
- Miguel Agámez
- Adam Asfour
- Thomas Boccia
- Xavi Vicente
- Enzo Cazorla
- Jakob Wansch
- Thomas Boccia
''The project contains all sorts of (social) elements: can we get all these cultures to play football together? Can we perform against the world’s best with only five training sessions? How will a Japanese player connect with a Mexican player, and then sit at the same dinner table with a talent from Volendam? I think this project suits us as a club. Can these talents learn to deal with different cultures in a different environment, and what experiences will they take away from this?''
Whether it becomes a sporting success, Groenendijk doesn’t know. ''Just imagine it during the Future Cup: a goalkeeper from Volendam, a centre‑back from Japan and a right‑back from Mexico together trying to build up play. That is incredibly interesting.''
Just like the players, the staff members are also working together for the first time. Each of them comes from a different part of the club’s development pathway. The physiotherapist is from Greece, goalkeeper coach Raoul Breinburg comes from Ajax’s Saturday amateurs, and Raymond Atteveld will act as head coach of Future United. The well‑known Amsterdam coach will soon start working for a partner club abroad as part of Football Partnerships.
Practical arrangements
For Future United, the tournament began the Sunday before the Olympia Future Cup. That was when all the players met each other for the first time in a hotel in Amsterdam. The youth players were welcomed at De Toekomst, received a stadium tour of the Johan Cruijff ArenA, will play a friendly on Tuesday evening, and will get to explore Amsterdam together as Future United.
Ajax wants the players to share their own culture with their teammates while also giving them the chance to get to know the Netherlands better. A canal tour or tasting a bitterbal is certainly not off the table. The team will train in the week leading up to the tournament at partner club FC Amsterdam.
Adidas
The young talents will also play in new black shirts with white accents. ''Ajax is very much on board with this project'', Groenendijk says with satisfaction. ''Adidas is also involved, allowing us to play in a beautiful kit. And Ajax’s Brand & Creative department has contributed by designing a new logo and shaping the entire look and feel of the Olympia Future Cup. Everyone is on board.''
According to Groenendijk, the sporting success of this team should not determine the future of Future United. Even if the team suffers three heavy defeats, the project should still be viewed more broadly. ''This team fits who we are. When you zoom out, you have to look at who Ajax wants to be in the world: who do we want to be as a brand? We are Ajax, and we want to explore new paths.''
''It’s not only about showcasing top talent here. It’s also about players being able to return to their home countries and tell people that they played in a team selected by Ajax. It’s not just about seeing top talent here or purely about marketing. It’s a combination of the two. And everything must ultimately contribute to Ajax.''
Curiosity about Future United
And who knows, perhaps one day a talent will make it all the way to Ajax’s first team through this project. ''It’s also helpful for a player to already have some idea of what Ajax is like'', Groenendijk explains. ''Imagine you’re eighteen, living somewhere in Chile, and Ajax approaches you. You might know a little about the club, but if you’ve already been here and played here, it helps with adapting to Dutch culture and the club. Every percentage helps. The easier you can adapt to a new country and a new club, the better it is for Ajax.''
That’s why Ajax looks far beyond sporting results when it comes to Future United. ''We expect Ajax supporters to be curious about this team. And we hope that Ajax staff members enjoy seeing them play here and feel they’ve contributed to this project. If everyone feels that way, and the team also plays good football, then the project is a success.''
