Ajax fans join forces in brand-new AFCA Supportersclub
28 August: The old Independent Ajax Fanclub (OFA) and the
Ajax Supporters' Delegation (ASD) are no more. The two
fiercely independent fan groups have recently merged into one,
brand-new fanclub for the most devoted Ajax supporters: the AFCA Supportersclub,
now the one and only independent organization to look after the
interests of the passionate Ajax supporters. Ajax USA (a
fiercely independent Ajax fanclub itself!) supports
this initiative wholeheartedly and wishes the AFCA
Supportersclub good
luck. You, 'international Ajacied', will
soon be able to join, too.
The large-scale membership recruitment campaign of the
AFCA Supportersclub started on the day of the first home match
of the new season, against RKC Waalwijk. The webmasters of
almost every Ajax fansite received e-mail from the people
behind the new fanclub: "It is important that we,
Ajacieden, unite in one fanclub, acknowledged by all of us
as our fanclub. The larger our membership and the
larger the support, the more difficult it will become for
Ajax not to involve us in club politics.
Financially, we totally depend on the Ajax supporters.
That is why our membership recruitment campaign is so
important."
On the homepage of the
AFCA Supportersclub.nl website, the new fanclub introduces
itself with the following mission statement:
AFCA Supportersclub is the indepenent Ajax fanclub,
founded to look after the interests of the supporters,
especially those who actively support the club.
We are a fanclub founded by Ajax supporters. Financially we
are totally independent. This position allows us to totally
dedicate ourselves to the fans, without conflicting
interests. Like every Ajacied, we want Ajax to return to
the top of (European) football. However, we want this
to happen the 'Ajax way', which means: by playing
offensive football, with many youth players, respect for
genuine club people, affordable match tickets and the one and
only (classic) Ajax club crest.
What do we stand for?
The AFCA Supportersclub will guard Ajax's club
culture, think along with the Ajax board and
directors, stand up against their decisions if necessary
and make sure that club and
supporters don't become the victims
of financial targets and commercialism.
The supporters deserve to have an important voice within
the club. We booked our first result in 2006, when - for the
first time in history - the club decided that
supporters can be invited to become official club
members of Ajax. The next step: the different groups of
people within the club must be accurately represented in the
Members' Council. Only when the first supporters are elected
to take a seat in the Members' Council we can say that the
supporters finally have an important voice within
the club. We also want to ensure that every Ajacied can visit
the club's games the way they prefer, without too many
unnecessary restrictions being imposed on them by the local
government or the club.
[...]
Our slogan: one Ajax!
The club is more than just the first team. More than the
board and the directors. The club is more than the Amsterdam
ArenA and more than just TV contracts and
sponsors... The second team, all other youth
teams, the stewards, people who draw the chalk lines and
other volunteers are part of the club as well, and
so are De Toekomst [the sports complex of the Ajax
youth, ed.] and the supporters.
We are all in it together. Together we are the club:
one Ajax!
Our activities and objectives
- looking after and preserving club culture in the
broadest sense
- turning the ArenA into a real Ajax stadium (our
home!)
- getting the classic Ajax logo back as the official club
crest
- improving the relationship between players, club people
and supporters
- maintaining reasonable ticket prices for both home
and away games
- demanding acceptable numbers of tickets for away
games, and protesting against unnecessary 'combi'
travel
Why join?
Financially, the AFCA Supportersclub depends on the
supporters. We do not receive any financial support from
Ajax, and we don't want to, as this makes us independent.
Looking after the interests of the fans, setting up campaigns
(remember the
'Give Ajax its face back!' campaign) and organizing
special events for the supporters... we can never do these
things without the financial support of the supporters. You
can join the AFCA Supportersclub for only 10 euros a year.
Join Ajax's only independent supporters' club!
Ajax USA has been in touch with the chairman of
the AFCA Supportersclub. He ensured us that non-Dutch
Ajacieden are more than welcome to join. He did point out that
the club will primarily communicate in Dutch and that there
is, at the moment, insufficient time to work on quality
communication in English. These AFCA Supportersclub
is still in the middle of its membership
recruitment campaign and can hardly handle the stream of
subscription forms from Dutch fans. Therefore, Ajax
USA suggests that you, non-Dutch Ajacied, 'hold your fire' for
a while. Ajax USA will stay in touch with the AFCA
Supportersclub. When the first dust has settled we
will provide you with more information for Ajax
supporters from outside of The Netherlands, who wish to join
the AFCA Supportersclub. (MP)
Source: AFCA Supportersclub
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