Eredivisie
5th place — home opener drawn 2:2
Stadium
Johan Cruijff ArenA — 55,865
Europe
Conference League qualifiers
New coach
Míchel — since 02.06
About the stadium
The Johan Cruijff ArenA opened in 1996 and was the first stadium in Europe with a retractable roof. It's built as a closed bowl of 55,865 seats in southeast Amsterdam, inside the ArenAPoort complex, which also includes concert venues. The zoning is simple to navigate: the first ring is marked with 100-series numbers, the business and skybox level with 200-series numbers, and the upper second ring with 400-series numbers — and the sides are named in Dutch Noord, Oost, Zuid and West. The stadium is of course named after Johan Cruyff, the player who defined 'Total Football' for Ajax and the Dutch national team, and a statue of him stands at its entrance. Reputation-wise the atmosphere is mixed: on big nights it's electric, but the modern, large bowl has a longstanding criticism for acoustics that swallow the sound outside the south end. Address: ArenA Boulevard 1, 1101 AX Amsterdam.
FAQ
How do you buy tickets for an Ajax match?
Ajax tickets can only be bought through an identity-verified My Ajax account — even for tourists. This is one of the most closed systems in Europe, and it's important to understand it before booking a flight. The Dutch verify through their bank; anyone without a Dutch bank account — meaning every tourist — verifies through Ajax's official app by scanning their passport. Without this verification you can't buy at all. Season tickets have sold out: over 42,000 renewed and there's no waiting list, only an 'interest list'. There is one more tool open to tourists — the Club Card, a digital season club card anyone can buy, which gives priority ahead of the general public and for some matches is even a mandatory condition. Sale order: season-ticket holders, the supporters' association, Club Card holders, and only after that any verified account holder. Tickets are digital only, strictly personal, and everyone aged 12 and up must show ID at the entrance. Tickets bought on unofficial resale sites are declared void. TikTik obtains tickets for Ajax matches through channels that meet these rules.
How do you get to the Johan Cruijff ArenA?
The Johan Cruijff ArenA is reached by metro lines 50 or 54 to Bijlmer ArenA station. This is one of the most convenient hubs in the Netherlands. Two stations are within minutes' walk of the gates: the train and metro station Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA, and the metro station Strandvliet — and Ajax splits the crowd between them by entry gate, so it's worth checking the gate printed on your ticket. By metro: lines 50 and 54 stop at both, and from Amsterdam Centraal it's about a 16-minute ride on line 54. And from Schiphol Airport there's a direct train to Bijlmer ArenA station — 13 to 15 minutes, every quarter hour, without going through Centraal station at all. Buses 300, 356 and 370 stop nearby.
Is there parking at the Johan Cruijff ArenA?
There's an underground car park at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, but on matchday a prepaid parking ticket is mandatory. Parking here is on a large scale: the ArenAPoort complex includes an underground car park beneath the stadium plus more car parks in the surrounding area — but on matchday the car park is accessible only to those who bought a parking ticket in advance. Parking tickets are sold in limited numbers through Ajax's official ticket shop and open together with match ticket sales; if they sell out, you need to arrive early and follow signage to the alternative car parks. The maximum height in the car park is 2.25 meters, and there are 70 spaces for people with disabilities near the lifts to the north and south. Cyclists have two dedicated parking areas for a nominal fee.
How do you get from Israel to an Ajax match?
For an Ajax match you fly directly from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, and from Schiphol a direct train to the stadium. This is one of the simplest: there are many direct flights from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, and from Schiphol Airport a direct train runs to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station right next to the stadium — 13 to 15 minutes' ride, every quarter hour. In other words, from plane to pitch without going through the city center and without a single change. You can combine the match with a regular weekend in Amsterdam, with the stadium at one end of the metro line and the old town at the other.
Does an Israeli need a visa to fly to the match?
No. Israelis enter Schengen-area countries visa-free for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and all that's required is a valid passport. Worth knowing what's coming: the European Union is launching the ETIAS authorization system in the last quarter of 2026. Once it takes effect, an online authorization will be required in advance, at a cost of €7, valid for three years or until the passport expires — whichever comes first. As of today the system is not active and no action is required from you. Important warning: the EU warns that many sites impersonate the official site, use the EU logo and charge inflated fees or steal passport and credit card details. There is only one official site — europa.eu/etias — and any address not on the europa.eu domain is not official.
Where should you sit at the Johan Cruijff ArenA?
The loud end at the Johan Cruijff ArenA is the south end — the F-Side, in sections 126, 127 and 128. The famous supporter group F-Side, founded in 1976 and named after stand F at the old De Meer stadium, sits in the first ring in the south — sections 126, 127 and 128, with the diehard area in practice spanning 125 through 129 plus section 425 above them. Worth knowing: many still talk about 'VAK 410' as the ultras stand — that's a different group which disbanded in 2016, and the name no longer describes the active stand. Away fans sit in sections 416 and 417 in the upper ring on the north side, separated by transparent partitions; the allocation is flexible and expanded for European matches when the visiting club demands the full five percent. Access there involves about 130 steps.
What's special about Ajax?
Ajax is the club that invented modern football, and three-time consecutive European Cup winners. Under Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels they won three straight European Cups in the early 1970s with 'Total Football', and their youth academy is still considered to this day a model the whole of Europe tries to copy. After a particularly turbulent season — 2025/26 saw the club go through three coaches and finish only fifth — a permanent new coach has been appointed: the Spaniard Míchel, 50, presented on 2 June 2026 on a two-year contract. He arrives from Girona, with whom he spent five seasons and led them to third place in La Liga in 2023/24, that club's greatest achievement in its history, and to the Champions League. This is his first season in Amsterdam.
What's Ajax's big match of the 2026/27 season?
Ajax's big match is the Klassieker against Feyenoord — at home in late February 2027. The away match in Rotterdam is played in late November 2026, and the home match at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in late February 2027 — and it's worth knowing in advance that this match has no away fans at all, a mutual ban in effect since 2009. Next in importance: Ajax against PSV, the Dutch champions, at home on Saturday 5 September 2026 at 20:00. In Europe this season is different from usual — fifth place didn't earn a direct spot, Ajax had to go through the European playoff from the Eredivisie and the Conference League qualifiers, so their European status was only decided at the end of August. Ajax opened the league away against PEC Zwolle on 9 August 2026, and their first home match was played on 16 August at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, ending in a 2:2 draw against Heerenveen.
