From Amsterdam, Netherlands, this club is historically one of the top-10 football clubs in the world, Ajax is one of only four clubs to have won all three major European trophies at least once (the European Champions Cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Cup). They were the first team to win what has become the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Founded in Amsterdam on March 18, 1900 Ajax originally played in an all black uniform with a red sash tied around the players' waists, but that uniform was soon replaced by a red/white striped shirt and black shorts. Red, black and white are the three colours of the flag of Amsterdam. However, when, under manager John Kirwan, the club got promoted to the top flight of Dutch football for the first time in 1911 (then the Eerste Klasse or First Class, later named the Eredivisie), Ajax were forced to change their colours, because Sparta Rotterdam already had the exact same outfit.

Special kits for away fixtures did not exist at the time and according to football association regulations, the newcomers had to change their colours if two teams in the same league had identical uniforms. Loosely inspired by the kit of Arsenal, Ajax opted for white shorts and white shirt with a broad, vertical red stripe over chest and back, which still is Ajax's outfit. Today, it is one of the most recognised football jerseys in the world.

A dominant force in European club football during the early 1970's Ajax won the European Champion Club's Cup in 1971, 1972 and 1973. The success had two main causes: the highly disciplined coaching by Rinus Michels and the genius of Johan Cruijff. From the 1960's onwards Ajax had developed the concept of 'total football'.

Their youth program is second to none and has introduced a many great footballers - Cruijff being the best example. Its satellite club is the Ajax Cape Town of South Africa from where youth players have been drafted into the Eredivisie squad, such as Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena. In 1995, the year that they won the UEFA Champions League, Ajax was the team that could best represent the Dutch national team in all departments, with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, players such as Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer and Danny Blind in defense, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in midfield, and Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars in attack. The team was coached by Louis van Gaal, and also featured foreign stars such as Jari Litmanen, Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George. Its current successes are mostly domestic, notwithstanding some minor successes in the 2002-03 Champions League. Its youth team continues to develop fairly talented individuals like Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong and Ryan Babel who regularly represent their nation.

In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the Amsterdam ArenA. The stadium is capable of holding approximately 52,000 people. The Arena has a retractable roof and was the example for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years.