Ajax Partners With Indonesian Football Association on Nationwide Youth Development Programme.

Roger Hampel

Image: Ajax

Ajax has signed a football development partnership with the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), extending the Dutch club’s international academy network into one of Asia’s largest football markets.

Under the agreement, Ajax and PSSI will develop a nationwide programme for players and coaches across Indonesia, based on the Amsterdam club’s coaching philosophy and youth development methodology.

A central part of the programme will be coach education. Ajax trainers and technical specialists will work with coaches across Indonesia, with the objective of transferring knowledge that can subsequently be applied within the country’s broader player development system.

Ajax Methodology to Be Applied Across Indonesia Ajax

The partnership is structured around developing local football expertise rather than establishing a single Ajax academy in one location.

Players across Indonesia will be given opportunities to develop through a programme based on Ajax’s football philosophy, while the club will train local coaches to increase the reach of its methodology.

The coach-education component gives the agreement potential scale beyond players participating directly in individual Ajax-led sessions.

PSSI has identified youth development as an area requiring further improvement and is looking to elements of the Dutch development system as a reference point.

The federation will leverage Ajax’s technical expertise as part of its wider investment in football development across the country.

Indonesia Joins Ajax’s International Football Network

The agreement adds PSSI to Ajax’s existing international football network.

The club already has relationships in Mexico, Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece, Uzbekistan and Japan, with Indonesia becoming another market in which Ajax will formally deploy its football-development expertise.

For Ajax, international technical partnerships provide a route to commercialise and internationalise one of the club’s most established assets: its reputation for developing players.

Indonesia also offers considerable scale. The country has a large population and football occupies a prominent position in its sports market.

Ajax CEO Menno Geelen specifically identified Indonesia as a relevant market for the club, citing its size, development potential and interest in football.

PSSI Targets Coach and Player Development

The partnership addresses both sides of Indonesia’s development structure.

PSSI President Erick Thohir acknowledged that the country continues to face challenges within its youth development system and said the federation wants to learn from successful structures in the Netherlands.

The programme will therefore place significant emphasis on the quality of coaching available to young Indonesian players.

Erick Thohir, President of PSSI, said:

“Football is the number one sport in Indonesia, but we must acknowledge that we still face challenges in our youth development system.”

Thohir said Ajax’s experience could contribute to improving both coaching standards and player development in the country.

He also highlighted the historical relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands as part of the context surrounding the agreement.

Academy Expertise as an International Asset

For Ajax, the partnership forms part of a broader strategy of sharing football knowledge in selected international markets while maintaining the club’s position in talent development.

Menno Geelen, CEO of AFC Ajax, said:

“We want to maintain our position as one of the best talent developers in the world and share our knowledge in markets that are relevant.”

Geelen described Indonesia as a large market with significant potential and strong interest in football, adding that Ajax and Indonesian football had already been in contact for several years before formalising the partnership.