Ajax and Como sign a three-year partnership

Early this month, Ajax announced a three-year partnership with Italian Serie A club Como 1907. The partnership is about creating links with another European club that plays at the highest level of the beautiful game.

Both clubs are delighted with the news

It seems that the partnership has been well received by both of the club’s hierarchies.

On the partnership, Como President Mirwan Suwarso said: “At Como 1907, we believe that collaboration drives innovation and growth. Partnering with a club of Ajax’s calibre allows us to combine our strengths, ensuring we both push the boundaries of football excellence. Together, we aim to create pathways that not only elevate our clubs but also set a new standard for the future of the game.”

Alex Kroes, Ajax’s Technical Director, stated: “With their innovative approach and the way they achieved promotion to Serie A, Como 1907 is a fantastic club to collaborate with.”

The partnership will help the two clubs share innovation, commercial, and other ideas as they strive to move forward in the future. Both clubs have ambitious plans and are looking to collaborate and improve together.

Who are Como 1907?

como 1907 supporters celebrate and wave flags in stand 2023
Fra Casa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

While Ajax is regarded as one of the most historic clubs in European football, Como 1907 is less likely to be as familiar to most fans of the game in Europe.

The Italian club have enjoyed a fantastic rise in recent years. The historic club earned promotion from Serie B to the Italian top flight last season, and this season is the first time that they have played in Serie A for more than two decades.

Interestingly, Como has the wealthiest owners of any club in the Italian top flight. They are owned by the Djarum Group, which is part of the business empire of Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono. The Indonesian brothers are billionaires who now run a large conglomerate.

Former Arsenal duo Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas are also minority shareholders in the club. Fabregas is also the current head coach of the team and is developing a good reputation as an up-and-coming young tactician.

Having former football greats like Henry and Fabregas around the club can only help the club progress and grow as they add football experience and know-how.

Ajax are used to having good partnerships with other clubs

The Dutch giant’s partnership with Como is not the first time that Ajax have looked to work with another football club. In fact, the club from the Netherlands capital have had links with numerous other clubs over the years.

In 2007, Ajax formed a notable partnership with Barcelona. Technical director Martin van Geel announced this collaboration in June of that year.

The Dutch giants have had a long-standing link with the Catalan giants, as Ajax legends Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels both had spells with Barcelona.

The partnership consisted of exchanging technical, medical and coaching ideas. It was a unique partnership, as in other arrangements, Ajax was always considered the mother club.

Ajax has also had various partnerships with the likes of Brazilian duo Cruzeiro and Palmeiras down the years, with the Dutch club often having first refusal on any of the promising young players coming through.

In South Africa, Ajax had a ‘sister’ club, Ajax Cape Town. The Dutch club owned 51 per cent of the shares of the club that was formed when Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs merged in 1999.

Ajax already had a good relationship with Cape Town Spurs, as they had brought in striker Benni McCarthy from the South African club a year before the clubs merged.

The club from Amsterdam benefitted from their partnership with Cape Town by signing South African international midfielder Steven Pienaar in 2001. He later moved on to play in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and, more notably, Everton.

The Dutch outfit maintained a positive outlook on its sister club despite it not always being profitable. In 2020, Ajax sold its shares in Ajax Cape Town to Ari Efstathiou, who was already CEO of the South African outfit. The sale ended a 21-year partnership between the two clubs.

Partnerships important for Ajax’s future

No football club likes to stand still, and most look to any advantage they can get to progress, as the beautiful game is ever-changing.

Over the years, Ajax has proven that partnerships with other clubs can benefit both parties involved. Hopefully, their latest collaboration with Como will be as useful as their previous ones.