Have the Ajax players always worn the famous white shirt with its wide red stripe? The answer is: no. In the first decade, the Ajax players wore other shirts. In a photo of the first Ajax team from the 1900/1901 season, the first generation of Ajax players posed in a plain black football shirt with red accents. The red mainly featured as a ribbon, which some had tied around the waist and others around the neck. The colours black and red were a reference to the city's coat of arms. The original footballers were proud to be from Amsterdam.
From 1901 onwards in red and white
At the club's first anniversary celebrations on 18 March 1901, the Ajax players were already discernible in a red and white shirt. It was not yet the variant that we are familiar with today. We now recognise the red-and-white striped Ajax shirt of the time as that of Sparta Rotterdam. Red and white continued to be the fixed club colours, but the design changed.
1911: the birth of the Ajax shirt
When the club was promoted to the Western first division in 1911, Ajax was forced to look for a new shirt. Sparta was a new opponent at the highest level and the oldest owner of the shirt with red and white stripes. Two clubs with identical shirts was simply not allowed in the new league. Ajax chose the combination that feels familiar to this day. The white shirt with the wide red stripe has been associated with Ajax since 1911/1912.
Ajax players in Arsenal shirts
From the 1911/1912 season onwards, smaller but more drastic changes were made to the home shirt. For example, the red stripe has differed in width over the years. In the late 1940s, the Ajax players wore shirts that looked suspiciously like Arsenal's. And that was explicable. In the early 1930s, Gerrit Keizer was goalkeeper of both Ajax and the London club simultaneously. The 'flying keeper' - Keizer, who commuted by plane between Amsterdam and London - still had a few contacts from that time
And after visiting his old club, he returned to Ajax with a load of Arsenal shirts. The red shirt with the white sleeves was not much to the liking of either the players or the public. And, because throwing things away was seen as a waste; any cost savings were welcome in post-war (club) life, this particular shirt was worn for two further seasons. So, between 1947 and 1949, the Ajax players wore Arsenal shirts.
In 1972, came the next small but iconic revamp. Following on from the Europa Cup 1 final against Internazionale - the second European final in a row - the kit sponsor's logo was added to the shirt. The Ajax logo then followed in 1972/1973. The image of the Greek hero after whom our club is named was featured centrally on the shirts from that season onwards. The Ajax players wore the Ajax logo proudly and prominently on their chests.
Shirt sponsorship from 1982/1983 onwards
Exactly ten years later there followed a change on which opinions differed. What was already commonplace in some foreign leagues also made its mark on Dutch football pitches. From the 1982/1983 season, Ajax also got a shirt sponsor. TDK, a manufacturer of cassette tapes and video tapes, had the exclusive.
The Japanese company continued to be Ajax's main sponsor until the summer of 1991. With the introduction of a newly designed and more modern Ajax logo, a new main sponsor was also added to the shirt. In the 1991/1992 season, the new 'Ajax face' once again featured centrally on the shirts. ABNAMRO was displayed - another novelty! - vertically on all Ajax jerseys.
Player names and numbers
With the bank as sponsor, from 1996/97, the Ajax players would, to begin with in European matches only, wear their players' names on the back of their shirts. A season later (from 1997/1998), footballers had a fixed back number. A fact relating to the numbers: in the 1954/55 season, it became mandatory for clubs to play football with a number on the backs of their shirts. So, for the first half-century, Ajax players were numberless.
Ziggo and adidas
With the arrival of adidas as clothing sponsor in 2000/2001 and current main sponsor Ziggo (from January 2015), two more recent shirt modifications have taken place. Since the 2007/2008 season, Ajax has been playing with stars on its shirts. Each championship star represents ten national titles. After record champion Ajax secured its third star in 2011, a new and minor change ensued on the shirts. However small; it is still one that all Ajax players are incredibly proud of.
Adidas and Ziggo are also familiar names on the new home shirt in the 2023/2024 season. A home shirt that Ajax players have proudly worn since 1911 and that can rightfully be referred to as historic.
