Ajax women honored after all

The Ajax women, who won the national title earlier this month, were honored tonight after all. Starting at 6 p.m., there was a big party at club Levenslang in Amsterdam.

The whole team attended the inauguration and arrived in white and pink limousines. Hundreds of people attended the party.

The inauguration was an initiative of, among others, an Amsterdam beer brewery, online soccer channel FC Afkicken and former Ajax soccer star Leonne Stentler. There were performances by Elmer and FeestDJRuud, among others.

The Amsterdam municipality earlier put a stop to a tribute on Leidseplein after Ajax did not agree to the date and location. “The championship was a while ago (May 7) and so the momentum has passed. And the suspicion is that attendance is disappointing, which is not good for the image of women’s soccer,” the club said in a comment last week. The “lack of joy mood” because of the Ajax 1 men’s poor performance also played a role.

Ajax did not want the inauguration to take place until after the summer or in 2024, according to the municipality. This is denied by the club, by the way.

The decision not to honor the women led to many indignant reactions. People from the soccer world, politics and others reacted in disbelief.

The AFCA Supporters’ Club, one of Ajax’s two recognized supporters’ associations, announced earlier that it was against honoring the women because of the otherwise disappointing season and because it would be “a political statement.”