At the end of December 2024, Ajax announced that they were 'joining forces' with the professional club from Italy. Through its collaboration with Como 1907, Ajax aimed to further strengthen its global football network. And Ajax appears to be succeeding in that aim, as becomes clear from the words of Corné Groenendijk, head of the Football Partnerships department.
"We are the centre of this football network. Our position as a club with one of the world's best youth academies is widely recognised. In the Netherlands, we have sixty partner clubs. We try to support them with content, and that’s also where we recruit talent. We also want to expand internationally. We're working on bringing together a group of clubs that all have the ambition to further develop their youth academies. That’s how Como and Ajax came together, too."
Data-driven
In this partnership, it’s not only the Italian club that wants to learn about the structure of the youth academy in Amsterdam; Ajax also believes it can learn from the Serie A club. But especially in a different area. Como pulled itself out of a deep valley. The club filed for bankruptcy as recently as 2016. In just seven years, the Italians were promoted from Serie D to Serie A.
"We are impressed by what Como is doing. The club is very data-driven. Ajax is also very active in this area. We ask ourselves the question: how can a relatively smaller club in the world carve out its own position? Como has done that very well."
According to Groenendijk, they are good at two different things, and that is the 'secret' behind their success in Italy: composing the first team and positioning Como as a brand.
"First of all, they’ve discovered a number of talents that other clubs apparently overlooked. They have some good, experienced players and a coach, Cesc Fàbregas, who is very actively involved."
"The second thing they do very well is positioning Como as a brand. Naturally, they’re located in a unique place, next to Lake Como. Their marketing is strong. Now they want to do more with their youth academy. They’ve asked for our help with that."
Win-win situation
It’s exactly this marketing aspect that makes Como interesting for Ajax. Although Ajax has presented itself beautifully in recent years with matchday videos, cool shirts, and impactful campaigns (think of the campaign against online hate), Groenendijk believes the club can join forces with Como to create even more impressive things.
"Como plays it very smart. They’ve connected actors, musicians, and fashion designers to the club, among others. They know how to 'sell' the whole Lake Como experience very well, and from our perspective, that’s a win-win situation."
The friendly tournament in northern Italy is more than just a football event. It’s a festival with football in a stunning location, DJs, and Michelin-star chefs. "Participation in this tournament also stems from the partnership we have with each other. When we signed the contract, they already wanted to organise a tournament. It fitted in well with our pre-season preparations to take part. Such collaboration plays a crucial role. So, our participation is very broad in scope."
For the Italians, this partnership is mainly about improving the youth academy. For instance, a delegation from Ajax spent several days in Italy this past March. "During those days, we shared our philosophy and knowledge. Now that we’re going back to Como, we’ll organise another such session. The relationship with them is strong. We’ve agreed to meet three times a year. They’ll come to Amsterdam as well."
Global Summit
Ajax has this kind of relationship not only with Como but also globally with clubs like Sharjah FC, Gamba Osaka, and CF Pachuca, part of the global football network. "We’ve invited all our partners to Como for the second Global Summit. There, we want to talk with each other: how are things going, what’s happening on your end, and how can we share our data more effectively? Ajax is the connecting factor in all this. Everyone has an individual relationship with Ajax, but we’re trying to connect them to one another. We’re glad that Como is the organiser this time."
Groenendijk wants to use the days in Italy to strengthen the relationship with all the clubs, but also to make further progress in terms of content within the football network. "We want to take the next step towards shared data points and joint scouting forms. There won’t necessarily be any transfers yet, but that would definitely be great in the future."
