Ajax melt down Eredivisie trophy into 42,000 ‘champion stars’ for fans

Dutch giants won title in 2019 and now in 2021, after last year’s championship was abandoned due to the pandemic

(ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Eredivisie champions Ajax have announced they are melting down their trophy to ensure supporters can share in their triumph.

Like most leagues around Europe, the Dutch top flight has been played largely behind closed doors during 2020/21.

The club say that as a result, they want fans to be able to experience the title celebrations in a unique way - by giving them a tiny part of the Eredivisie shield as a gift.

To that end, the Amsterdam club say the trophy will be melted and turned into “over 42,000 small champion stars”, which will be sent out to all season ticket holders as “a piece of Ajax”.

Each small star will weigh 3.45g, containing 0.06g from the trophy itself, with the Royal Dutch Football Association giving Ajax a one-off second shield to display instead.

Club general director Edwin van der Sar said “sharing the trophy is the ultimate proof” that the team were winning the title for the supporters.

Ajax were top of the table last season when the campaign was curtailed early, with the season abandoned rather than crowning a winner.

They did win the last full campaign too, in 18/19, and are 14 points clear of PSV this term with two games to play.