Ajax-Feyenoord in the Arena is certainly not a one-off stunt in the Women’s Eredivisie

The ‘Ajax, Ajax, Ajax’ sounded a few octaves higher than usual in the Johan Cruijff Arena on Saturday afternoon. There was a wave every now and then wave over the stands of the stadium, but it remained fearfully quiet when Feyenoord took the lead in the 47th minute through a fumble goal by Maxime Bennink. Two minutes later, a record number of spectators (33,742 tickets sold) in the Women’s Eredivisie cheered at Ajax’s equalizer by Ashleigh Weerden. Daphne Koster was one of them. “This is another great milestone,” says Ajax’s women’s football manager. “But we’re not there yet.”

As a girl, Koster had many dreams that were considered impossible. Become a professional football player, wear the shirt of Ajax and Orange and play a Dutch classic in the Arena. To her surprise, almost everything came true, except an Ajax-Feyenoord in a large stadium. Koster experienced that on Saturday afternoon at the age of 41 as a non-playing employee of the Amsterdam football club. “Of course it is a pity that I never experienced this as a player,” says the former captain of the Dutch national team. “But I am proud that we have now also taken this step at Ajax.”

No away supporters

Football is a developing sport for women and that includes breaking records. The number of spectators in the Arena was more than twice as much as last year, when Feyenoord-Ajax was played in De Kuip for the first time. Supporters of Feyenoord were not welcome in Amsterdam because of disturbances in the past between fans of both clubs at men’s matches. Koster certainly does not see the duel in the Arena as a one-off stunt. “It would be nice if we played these kinds of matches more often in large stadiums,” says Koster. “There is still a world to be won.”

Koster himself is one of the pioneers when it comes to professional football for women in the Netherlands. In 1972, the KNVB opened up the competition to women under pressure from the European Football Association, but until sixteen years ago, the amateur league was the highest achievable. Koster played in the rearguard of AZ when the Eredivisie saw the light of day in 2007. But in practice there was no question of a ‘professional’ football competition. The women played against each other in a competition of six teams on an amateur basis. Those who wanted to earn money had to go abroad. Koster did that in 2010 when she signed a contract with Sky Blue FC from the American Piscataway, New Jersey. In 2012, after short adventures at AZ and SC Telstar VVNH, she was part of the first women’s team in the history of Ajax. “I accomplished that largely on my own. As a kind of survivor,” says Koster. “There was no structure in professional football for girls. And that is actually still missing. It is important that young girls can follow a top program just like boys. So that we can take further steps in ten years.”

Koster saw as a former international, with 139 international matches, how football for women in the Netherlands is an enormous one boost when the Orange won the European Championship in their own country in the summer of 2017 and became vice world champion in France two years later. The Women’s Eredivisie has lagged behind in recent years. For example, the record number of tickets sold at a women’s match in the Netherlands with 34,000 is still in the name of Orange, which played a match against Australia in Eindhoven in 2019. The world record is 91,648 spectators, at FC Barcelona against Wolfsburg in April last year.

At the professional section of the KNVB

An impossible number for the Women’s Eredivisie, which has been added to the professional section of the KNVB since this season. “Until recently, we could still be dismissed as amateurs,” Koster sighs. “You can see from that which battle has to be fought by the women compared to the men of Ajax, who already started in 1900. That is why we must continue to show that anything is possible. Like playing this Ajax-Feyenoord in the Arena.”

Koster is considered a figurehead for the women at Ajax, who play in a competition that has still not really got off the ground. For years there was disagreement about television broadcasts, resulting in far fewer matches being shown on TV and sponsors staying away. Ajax has only had a collective labor agreement for its women’s branch for a few years now, which guarantees the rights and working conditions of players. The Women’s Eredivisie will be expanded to twelve teams with FC Utrecht next season, but the number of full professionals remains small. “As Ajax you want to measure yourself against the best clubs in Europe,” says Koster. “But on the other hand, we also want to play in a strong Dutch competition.”

The vast majority of Dutch internationals are active in foreign competitions. For the time being, the Women’s Eredivisie is no more than a breeding ground for talent, such as striker Romée Leuchter (22), and a competition in which football players can reduce their age, such as the experienced Sherida Spitse (32) at Ajax.

International Spitse was the first Dutch football star for whom a transfer fee was paid in 2014 when she went from FC Twente to the Nordic Lillestrøm SK – for reportedly 25,000 euros. Spitse played with the Orange for full stadiums at European and World Cups. But the midfielder saw another dream come true in her twilight years as the proud captain of Ajax in the Arena. She encouraged her teammates in advance from a circle. However, the 1-1 draw was not the result that Spitse, Koster and the Ajax fans had in mind. “I am proud, but also disappointed,” said Spitse afterwards. “We should do this more often. You would rather play with Ajax in the stadium of AZ than that of VV Alkmaar.”