The Future Cup (officially known as the ABN AMRO Future Cup, and previously known as the AEGON Future Cup) is an annual friendly international youth tournament which is organized by the Dutch football club AFC Ajax.[1] The tournament is created for under-17 youth teams, and is held at De Toekomst, every year during the Easter weekend.[2] The tournament has been contested by some of the strongest under-17 teams in football, with FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich amongst the participating clubs.[3] The first five editions of the tournament were named after its main sponsor, the insurance company AEGON, before the Dutch state-owned bank ABN AMRO took over as the main sponsor of the event.[4] The tournament is broadcast on television in over 59 countries via Eredivisie Live, Eurosport and Fox Sports.[5][6][7]

ABN AMRO Future Cup
Founded2010
RegionWorldwide
Number of teams8
Current championsAjax (6th title)
Most successful club(s)Ajax (6 titles)
Television broadcastersESPN
Eurosport
Ziggo Sport
WebsiteOfficial website

Qualification

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8 teams participate in the Future Cup every year.[8] Since Ajax are the tournament hosts, they are automatically entered, leaving 7 additional places available in the tournament.[9] Six of the spots can be filled with a simple registration of an under-17 team from any club, while national teams are also able to register, such as the China U-17 team did when it competed in the first edition of the competition.[10] The eighth and final position is filled by the winners of the Brazilian 'Craques Mongeral AEGON Future Cup - Um Torneio do Ajax' a parallel running competition for under-17 youth teams in South America which shares the same sponsor. The winner of that tournament is automatically seeded for the Future Cup in Amsterdam the next year, completing the 8 participants in the Cup challenge.[11]

Format

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The draw takes place ahead of the last home match of the Ajax first team ahead of the Future Cup.[12] The 8 teams are then divided up into two groups during halftime of this match. The opening ceremony of the tournament takes place on the Friday evening before Easter, while the first matches are played on Holy Saturday. The first two group stage matches are played for each team on this day, while the last two group stage matches are then contested on Easter Sunday.[13] The finals are played on Monday, the second Easter day. The day starts with the matches for the 7th and 8th place, which are contested by the two teams who finished bottom of their groups.[14] Afterwards the two semi-finals are played.[15] The group winners of each group compete against the second place team of the other group, and after the two semi-finals the matches for 5th and 6th place are contested against the third place team from each group.[16] The matches for 3rd and 4th place are then contested amongst the losers of the Semi-finals, which is concluded by the Cup final, deciding the 1st and 2nd place.[17] The awards and trophies are awarded directly after the Final, at which all teams and coaches are present.[18]

Finals

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Statistics accurate as of ABN AMRO Future Cup 2024. [19]

Year Date Winner Result Finalist
2024 1 April 2024 Ajax   2–1   Partizan
2023 10 April 2023 Nordsjælland   3–0   Ajax
2020–22 Cancelled*
2019 22 April 2019 Juventus   2–1   Ajax
2018 2 April 2018 Ajax   2–0   Juventus
2017 17 April 2017 Ajax   2–0   Bayern Munich
2016 28 March 2016 Arsenal   0–0 (4-3 pen.)   Anderlecht
2015 6 April 2015 Anderlecht   0–0 (4-3 pen.)   Ajax
2014 21 April 2014 Ajax   2–1   Liverpool
2013 1 April 2013 Anderlecht   2–0   Ajax
2012 9 April 2012 Ajax   2–2 (5–3 pen.)   Manchester United
2011 25 April 2011 Anderlecht   1–0   Ajax
2010 5 April 2010 Ajax   1–0   China U-17

Prizes

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The winner of the Future Cup are obvious winners of the tournament. For this information please see the next segment below. Other prizes are however awarded in conclusion, which are handed out by prominent former and current Ajax members, with Frank de Boer, Martin Jol and Luis Suárez amongst those who have awarded the trophies.[20] The man of the tournament is selected and awarded the adidas Best player of ABN AMRO Future Cup award. Below is a list of the prize winners over the years:

Year Player Club:
2024   Jinairo Johnson   Ajax
2023   Villum Berthelsen   Nordsjælland
2019   Anouar Ait El Hadj   Anderlecht
2018   Naci Ünüvar   Ajax
2017   Ryan Gravenberch   Ajax
2016   Riqui Puig   Barcelona
2015   Matthijs de Ligt   Ajax
2014   Abdelhak Nouri   Ajax
2013   Nabil Jaadi   Anderlecht
2012   Queensy Menig   Ajax
2011   Dennis Praet   Anderlecht
2010   Davy Klaassen   Ajax

Every year the prize adidas Top Scorer of ABN AMRO Future Cup is awarded to the top-scorer of the tournament. Since the 2023 tournament, the award has been renamed the Noah Gesser Trophy in honour of the U16 Ajax talent who had died in a car accident in 2021.[21] Below is a list of the top-scorers for each year:

Year Topscorer Club Goals
2024   Rafael Camacho
  Oumar Camara
  Jinairo Johnson
  Divine Mukasa
  Lazar Radosavljević
  Sporting CP
  Paris Saint-German
  Ajax
  Manchester City
  Partizan
3
2023   Winsley Boteli   Borussia Mönchengladbach 4
2019   Anouar Ait El Hadj   Anderlecht 4
2018   Naci Ünüvar   Ajax 5
2014   Oluwaseyi Ojo
  Harry Wilson
  Liverpool 4
2013   Václav Černý
  Aaron Leya Iseka
  Ajax
  Anderlecht
3
2012   Elton Acolatse
  Ademir Candido
  Marco Pinato
  Alperen Doğan
  Ajax
  Desportivo
  Milan
  Beşiktaş JK
3
2011   Nicholas Pasifakis
  Patrick Foss
  Ajax Cape Town
  D.C. United
4
2010   Dominik Goßner   Bayern Munich 6

Statistics

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Appearances and best results

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Statistics accurate as of ABN AMRO Future Cup 2024.

Nr. Club Apps First App. Best result
1.   Ajax 12 2010 Winners
  Anderlecht 12 2010
  Juventus 5 2015
  Arsenal 2 2016
  Nordsjælland 2 2023
2.   Bayern Munich 4 2010 Runners-up
  China U-17 2 2010
  Liverpool 2 2010
  Manchester United 1 2012
  Partizan 1 2024
3.   Paris Saint-German 5 2017 Third place
  Barcelona 4 2010
  Benfica 4 2013
  Milan 3 2010
  J. League U-17 2 2017
  Porto 1 2015
4.   Sporting CP 2 2018 Fourth place
  Fluminense 1 2011
  São Paulo 1 2013
  Atlético Madrid 1 2019
5.   Celtic 3 2011 Fifth place
  Ajax Cape Town 2 2011
  Desportivo Brasil 1 2012
  Sydney FC 1 2018
  Boca Juniors 1 2019
  Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 2023
6.   Tottenham Hotspur 2 2013 Sixth place
  D.C. United 1 2011
  Toronto FC 1 2013
  Galatasaray 1 2015
  Right to Dream 1 2016
  Manchester City 1 2024
7.   Beşiktaş JK 1 2012 Seventh place
  Corinthians 1 2014
  Schalke 04 1 2015
  Red Bull Salzburg 1 2016
  Sevilla FC 1 2018
  Sagan Tosu 1 2019
  Chelsea 1 2023
8.   Pachuca 2 2023 Eighth place
  FC Dallas 1 2010
  Fenerbahçe 1 2014
  Olympiacos 1 2016

All-time cup winners

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Cups Club In:
6   Ajax 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2024
3   Anderlecht 2011, 2013, 2015
1   Nordsjælland 2023
1   Juventus 2019
1   Arsenal 2016

All-time top-scorers

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Statistics accurate as of AEGON Future Cup 2024.

Nr. Player Nationality Goals Club
1. Naci Ünüvar   Turkey 7 Ajax
2. Dominik Goßner   Germany 6 Bayern Munich
3. Winsley Boteli   Switzerland 4 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Anouar Ait El Hadj   Belgium 4 Anderlecht
Nicholas Pasifakis   South Africa 4 Ajax Cape Town
Patrick Foss   United States 4 D.C. United
Oluwaseyi Ojo   England 4 Liverpool
Harry Wilson   Wales 4 Liverpool
9. Václav Černý   Czech Republic 3 Ajax
Aaron Leya Iseka   Belgium 3 Anderlecht
Elton Acolatse   Netherlands 3 Ajax
Ademir Candido   Brazil 3 Desportivo Brasil
Marco Pinato   Italy 3 Milan
Alperen Doğan   Turkey 3 Beşiktaş JK
Rafael Camacho   Portugal 3 Sporting CP
Oumar Camara   France 3 Paris Saint-German
Jinairo Johnson   Netherlands 3 Ajax
Divine Mukasa   England 3 Manchester City
Lazar Radosavljević   Serbia 3 Partizan

Participation by country

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The under-17 youth teams of the following clubs have participated in the Future Cup tournament in the past.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Anderlecht winaar AEGON Future Cup". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  2. ^ "Paasweekend in teken van de AEGON Future Cup". FOX Sports. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Leren staat centraal bij AEGON Future Cup". Parool.nl. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Ajax introduceert ABN AMRO Future Cup". AjaxShowtime. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ "AEGON Future Cup geopend". Ajax.nl. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  6. ^ "AEGON Future Cup wereldwijd op TV". Ajax.nl. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  7. ^ "2014 World Cup: Is Belgium football's coming force?". CNN. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  8. ^ "FC Dallas Juniors Playing in AEGON Future Cup". ESPN. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  9. ^ "AEGON Future Cup: Ajax & Bayern München". Ajax.nl. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  10. ^ "Ajax Cape Town Finish Fifth At Future Cup". Soccer Laduma. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Responsabilidade Social no Esporte". Craques Mongeral Aegon. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  12. ^ "Wim Jonk opent AEGON Future Cup". Ajax.nl. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  13. ^ "Ajax B1 na drie zeges groepswinnaar op Future Cup". Ajaxlife. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Aegon Future Cup Wrap Up". TorontoFC.ca. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  15. ^ "AEGON Future Cup: Uitslag van Poulefase". Ajax1.nl. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Anderlecht defeat Ajax to clinch Aegon Future Cup". Goal.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  17. ^ "Young Reds through to final". manutd.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  18. ^ "AEGON Future Cup mooi meetmoment". Ajax.nl. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  19. ^ "Uitslagen AEGON Future Cup". AEGON - Hoofdsponsor van Ajax. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  20. ^ "Klaassen uitgeroepen tot beste speler". Ajax.nl. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  21. ^ "FC Nordsjælland wint Future Cup". Ajax.nl. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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