Ajax Cape Town F.C.

Ajax Cape Town (,Ajax kom nou tuis by Kaapstad-stadion Nuus24, geraadpleegd 28 augustus 2011 ) is a South African football club based in Parow that plays in the Premier Soccer League. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax is their parent club and acts as the majority shareholder.http://www.kickoff.com/news/35388/comitis-brothers-sell-shares-in-ajax-cape-town-after-feud-with-efstathiou-family
==History==
Ajax Cape Town was formed in 1999 via the amalgamation of two Cape Town-based teams, Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs, as AFC Ajax expanded their worldwide talent-feeder network to South Africa.
Ajax, nicknamed Urban Warriors, played their first official game against Kaizer Chiefs in the Iwisa Charity Spectacular on 17 July 1999. Ajax caused an upset when they beat Chiefs 1–0 with Sam Pam, the Ajax Cape Town captain, scoring the winning goal.
Former South Africa national team coach Gordon Igesund, the country's most successful club coach,Soccer in South Africa who won league titles with Manning Rangers, Orlando Pirates, Santos and Sundowns, coached the club from 2002 until 2006.
Since coming into existence, Ajax has never won the league title with their highest finish being runners-up in 2003–04, 2007–08 and 2010–11. Ajax managed to win the Rothmans Cup in 2000, the Nedbank Cup in 2007, the Telkom Knockout in 2008 and most recently the MTN8 in 2015.
In January 2007 Ajax CT managed to beat AFC Ajax 3–1 in a friendly game held in Cape Town. The next friendly, played in Amsterdam, ended in a 3–2 win for AFC Ajax in July 2009.
Over the years several Ajax CT players have made the step to the mother club, among them Steven Pienaar in 2002, Daylon Claasen in 2009, Eyong Enoh in 2008 and Thulani Serero in 2011.
In July 2013, it was announced that the Comitis brothers, longtime partners and shareholders with the Efstathiou brothers, had sold their shares to the Efstathiou family. Ari Efstathiou was announced as the new chairman, and Muhsin Ertuğral was reinstated as manager of the club, following an interim managerial period after originally being hired as the clubs new technical director.
In September 2015, Ajax won the 2015 MTN8 tournament edging Kaizer Chiefs 1–0 in the final.
==Youth program==
Since the inception of the club, Ajax Cape Town have imported the AFC Ajax philosophy and effective youth development schemes in the Western Cape. The majority of the senior squad players have come up from the club's own youth ranks, such as the likes of Nazeer Allie, Granwald Scott and Thulani Hlatshwayo, while others such as Steven Pienaar and Thulani Serero have moved on to some of the top clubs in Europe.
With the introduction of the Ajax Cape Town Community Scheme in conjunction with the South African Police Services, Ajax CT also provides football opportunities to young people within the greater Cape Town area regardless of race, gender, social status or disability, facilitated through structured programs in a safe and fun learning environment.
Since then the Ajax Cape Town Community Scheme has been implemented in more than 120 schools across the Western Cape as far as the Cape Winelands, reaching more than 8,000 children.
==Stadium==
In the beginning Ajax CT played their home games at Athlone Stadium and Newlands Stadium. The latter is a 51,900 capacity venue, which was first built in 1888, and was also host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup opening match. Essentially being a rugby stadium, it was a home they shared with clubs Santos and Vasco da Gama, as well as rugby teams Stormers and Western Province. Athlone Stadium was home to the Santos and has a capacity of 30,000. The stadium located in Athlone, Cape Town was also host to some of Ajax CT early home matches as well.
Moving to the Green Point Stadium, an 18,000 seat multi-purpose stadium in the Green Point area of Cape Town. The stadium was eventually demolished in 2007 to make way for the new Cape Town Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Construction of the new stadium was completed in 2009, and the Urban Warriors have played their home games at the Cape Town Stadium since the beginning of the 2010–11 Premier Soccer League season to an improved capacity of 55,000. On 3 August 2011 a contract extension of three years was negotiated with the stadium, which will see Ajax CT playing their home games there until 2014.
The first match played at the new stadium was a Cape Town derby between Ajax CT and Santos on 23 January 2010 as part of the official inauguration of the stadium.
Ajax Cape Town also has a modern training facility called Ikamva located in Parow, Cape Town (). It serves as the training grounds for the senior squad, as well as for the Ajax Cape Town Youth Development Academy. It has hosted a number of foreign clubs among them German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart during their midseason camp in 2014 as well as Viking FK from Norway.
==Shirt sponsor & kit manufacturer==
* Shirt sponsor: Huawei
* Kit manufacturer: Adidas
==Honours==
===Cup competitions===
*MTN 8: 1
::Winners: 2015
* Rothmans Cup/Telkom Knockout: 2
::Winners: 2000, 2008
* ABSA Cup: 1
::Winners: 2007
===Preseason===
* Mangaung Cup: 2
::Winners: 2007, 2008
==Performance in CAF competitions==
===Continental appearances===
* CAF Champions League: 2 appearances
::2005 – Final Group Round
::2009 – First Round
* CAF Confederation Cup: 1 appearance
::2008 – First Round of 16
===Continental results===
Season	Competition 	Round 	Country	Club 	Score 	CCP (1)
2005 	Champions League 	Preliminary Round	 	Mhlambanyatsi Rovers	1–0, 1–1	2.0
2005 	Champions League 	First Round 	 	ASFA Yennenga 	1–0, 0–1	2.0
2005 	Champions League 	Second Round 	 	Fello Star 	2–0, 0–2	2.0
2005 	Champions League 	Final Group Round	 	Enyimba 	1–1, 2–0	2.0
2005 	Champions League 	Final Group Round	 	Raja Casablanca 	1–1, 0–3	2.0
2005 	Champions League 	Final Group Round	 	Al Ahly 	2–0, 0–0	2.0
2008 	Confederation Cup	First Round 	 	Anse Réunion 	1–0, 4–1	1.0
2008 	Confederation Cup	First Round of 16	 	Mount Cameroon 	5–1, 0–5	1.0
2009 	Champions League 	First Round 	 	Monomotapa United 	3–2, 1–2	0.3
: (1) CCP = CAF Co-efficiency points. Total amount of points for CAF Coefficient: 17.0
==Club records==
* Most starts: Brett Evans 311
* Most goals: Thembinkosi Fanteni 42
* Most capped player: Edelbert Dinha
* Most starts in a season: Edelbert Dinha 41 (2000–01)
* Most goals in a season: Mabhuti Khenyeza 23 (2008–09)
* Record Victory: 5–1 vs Moroka Swallows (19/2/06, PSL); vs Mount Cameroon (26/4/08, CAF Confederation Cup)
* Record defeat: 0–6 v Orlando Pirates (22/9/04, PSL); vs Golden Arrows (24/10/09, MTN 8)
===Premier Soccer League record===
 17 years in the PSL and yet AJAX CT have still not won the league...
==First team squad==
As of 29 June 2017
===Foreigners===
In the South African PSL, only five non-South African nationals can be registered. Foreign players who have acquired permanent residency can be registered as locals.
* Lawrence Lartey
* Aubrey Funga
* Rodrick Kabwe
* Thomas Chideu
* Erick Chipeta
===On loan===
===Retired numbers===
*21 – Cecil Lolo (Defender, 2009–15). Number retired on 30 October 2015 at Lolo's memorial service.http://www.ajaxct.co.za/jersey-no-21-belongs-to-lolo/
==Club officials/Technical team==
* Honorary Life Chairman: John Comitis
* Chief Executive Officer: Ari Efstathiou
* Chief Commercial Officer: Alexi Efstathiou
* General Manager of Football: Maximilian Grünewald
* Head coach: Stanley Menzo
* Assistant coach: Mich d'Avray
* Goalkeeper coach: Andre Petim
* Multichoice Diski Challenge team coach: Vladislav Heric
* ABC Motsepe team coach: Vladislav Heric
* Head of scouting: Sergio Dos Santos
==Notable former players==
==List of Ajax Cape Town managers==
* Leo van Veen (1999–00)
* Henk Bodewes (2000)
* Steve Haupt (interim) (2000–01)
* Rob McDonald (2001–02)
* Gordon Igesund (2002–06)
* Muhsin Ertuğral (2006–07)
* Craig Rosslee (2007–09)
* Muhsin Ertuğral and Jan Pruijn (interim) (2009)
* Foppe De Haan (2009–11)
* Maarten Stekelenburg (2011–12)
* Wilfred Mugeyi and Jan Pruijn (interim) (2012)
* Jan Versleijen and Muhsin Ertuğral (int.) (2013)
* Muhsin Ertuğral (2013–14)
* Ian Taylor (interim) (2014)
* Roger De Sá (2014–2016)
* Stanley Menzo (2016–)
==References==
==External links==
* 
* Premier Soccer League
* PSL Club Info
* South African Football Association
* Confederation of African Football
Cape Town
Category:Ajax Cape Town F.C.
Category:Association football clubs established in 1999
Category:Soccer clubs in South Africa
Category:Premier Soccer League clubs
Category:Soccer clubs in Cape Town
Category:1999 establishments in South Africa