U.K. friendlies return as pre-season campaign takes shape
18 April: Whatever the outcome of the historic climax in
the Eredivisie may be: there will always be a new season -
and Ajax's pre-season campaign for this summer is beginning to
take shape. The Ajax supporters (including the infamous posse
of Ajax USA regulars known as the Cockney
Cloggies) will surely be happy to hear that Ajax will
visit the United Kingdom again after a two-year departure from
the tradition of 'U.K. friendlies' in July. In 2005 and 2006
Ajax went to Germany instead, but for this
summer a trip to Scotland has been announced, with friendlies
against Glasgow powerhouse Rangers FC (24 July) and Falkirk (28
July).
The Rangers fixture will be played at The Gers'
impressive home ground of Ibrox on Glasgow. Kick-off time for
the fixture on Tuesday 24 July is 20:00 local time. Four days
later Ajax will drive to Falkirk for a friendly encounter with
the local pride, nicknamed The Bairns, at their new
Falkirk Stadium. Kick-off time on Saturday 28 July is
15:00 local time.
Ajax will start their pre-season campaign in week 28 (Monday
09 or Tuesday 10 July) with a week of training in Amsterdam, as
usual. The red and white normally play one friendly fixture in
the first week, against an amateur sparring-partner from the
Amsterdam area, but this fixture has not been announced
yet.
What we do know is that Ajax will spend the
second week of their pre-season campaign in De Lutte, the
village in the east of The Netherlands that has welcomed Ajax
in pre-season for more than 30 years straight. With Hotel De
Bloemenbeek as their operating base Ajax will play a string
of friendlies against amateur clubs (and one professional
outfit) from the east of the country. Matches against GFC (16
July), Quick '20 (18 July) and First Division outfit Go
Ahead Eagles (21 July) are already on the agenda. More games
are expected to be added.
Ajax also announced the date for the annual Open Day at the
Amsterdam ArenA and their youth complex
of De Toekomst. This year, the club will open the gates
for their fans on Wednesday 08 August. During the Open Day
players and coaches of Ajax-1 will present themselves on a
stage that will be built up in P2, the parking lot right next
to De Toekomst. In previous years the Open Day was concluded
with a friendly kickabout at the ArenA, but no opponent has
been announced so far.
Last but not least: the Amsterdam Tournament at the
Amsterdam ArenA. A number of media reports have claimed that
the 2007 edition will be played in the weekend of Friday
03, Saturday 04 and Sunday 05 August, but this is as yet
unconfirmed. Ajax did not mention the tournament on their
official website so far and the official website of the
International Event Partnership (IEP), organizers of the event,
does not confirm the dates yet ("the last weekend of July or
the first weekend of August 2007", the latest
update reads), let alone the participating teams.
Stay tuned to Ajax USA for news about the first team's
pre-season campaign and the Amsterdam Tournament. As soon
as the opponents are announced officially we will run
it as news. Ajax pre-season fixture list will be published in
its entirety in our 'matches' section on July
1st. (MP)
Sources: Ajax.nl, IEP Tournaments.com
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