Full name | Ajax Cape Town Football Club |
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Nickname(s) | Urban Warriors |
Founded | 1999, merger of Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs |
Ground | Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |
Capacity | 55,000 |
Chairman | Ari Efstathiou |
Manager | Stanley Menzo |
League | ABSA Premiership |
2015–16 | ABSA Premiership, 10th |
Ajax Cape Town (Afrikaans: Ajax Kaapstad) is a South African football club based in the Parow suburb of the city of Cape Town that plays in the Premier Soccer League. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax is the parent club and acts as the majority shareholder.
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, 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.