Ajax hopes to become more popular in North America towards the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. The club opened an office on Broadway (New York) in 2018, and later opened a mini fan shop in Times Square, where Ajax players can also be seen on video screens before.
Visibility in such a busy space is what profiles Ajax as a global brand. The Amsterdam club mainly went to the United States for the 2026 World Cup. Ajax expects the game to become popular in the United States in the coming years. ‘If you want to use the World Cup and the setback of the tournament, you have to be now. When it’s loose, we’ve been awake for a few years, ‘says business director Menno Keelan in an interview. N.R.C..
Ajax has already hired Budweiser as a sponsor, and according to Keelan, Ajax may ‘probably’ enter into a partnership with a club in the United States. Ajax will be organizing football camps for young people last summer, however this was canceled due to corona activities. It is clear at what level Ajax is trying to succeed in the US market: youth academy, commercialization, sponsorship and fee content.
‘The main goal is to increase brand awareness in the United States’
In the United States, Ajax has already entered into a media partnership with Bleacher Report and ESPN. ‘Its main goal is to increase brand awareness,’ says Geelan. According to Ajax’s business director, the ETVTV CV is not in a good position to market well worldwide. ‘If you want to be known as a club in America, you can’t believe Americans will watch Ajax. We need big content parties. ‘
Ajax is now breaking even in the US, and the view statistics of Ajax content are increasing. ‘For us it’s mainly about creating a fan database. Who is watching us? What work? You change it. We know it will work well in the United States in two years. ‘
Photo: Roger Neve
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