The champions of Dutch football league Ajax, have decided to mint their Eredivisie trophy so that the club’s ticket holders can have a piece of it.
Ajax won the Eredivisie title for the 35th time in the club’s history last weekend. They were declared champions of the league after playing 32 league games in which they garnered 82 points, 12 points above second-placed PSV.
Throughout the 32 games they played in the season, they were defeated twice and drew four times. They won in the other 26 league games.
Just like in other major leagues across the world, Ajax played most of their league’s fixtures behind closed doors due to the dreaded coronavirus pandemic that halted football in Europe between mid-March and May 2020.
Hence, the Dutch side decided to repay the club’s fans who had to watch the club from home due to the pandemic despite being ticket holders. To achieve that, the Eredivisie trophy has to be melted and shared with the 42,000 fans who are season-ticket holders.
According to a statement from the club, each of the 42,000 fans would get a star weighing 3.45g, 0.06g which must be made from the trophy.
Ajax’s General director Edwin van der Sar said: “This season, we have largely had to play without our fans. Well, without them sitting in the stands, at least. Despite this, we have felt their support every week. On the way to the stadium, on social media, and in our personal contacts.
“Previously, when we said ‘this title is for you’, we were expressing how we were doing it for the fans however sharing the trophy is the ultimate proof that we really are.’ After a turbulent year, we are ensuring our fans feel part of our championship.”
For the fans we miss in the @CruijffArenA every week. ⭐️❤️#XXXV https://t.co/YgRZ4GvEB5 pic.twitter.com/MZG0PWBEQM
— Dušan Tadić (@DT10_Official) May 12, 2021
While the captain of the club, Dusan Tadic said: “Playing without supporters has also been strange for the players.”
“Playing in an empty stadium doesn’t compare with an atmospheric Johan Cruijff Arena. We have really missed our supporters over the past season here in Amsterdam and during all our matches.”
Meanwhile, Ajax will continue to play their remaining league games of the season on Thursday, over three days after it was confirmed that they have been crowned the champions of this season’s Eredivisie.
Their next league game is against VVV Venlo. The game is scheduled to kick off at 13:30 on Thursday. The match will be held at the Amsterdam Arena, Ajax’s home ground.
