Renaming Amsterdam ArenA after Johan Cruijff: agreement nearing

The management of the Amsterdam ArenA and the family of Johan Cruijff are nearing an agreement on naming the stadium after the football legend. According to newspaper AD, there is only one obstacle that needs to be cleared.

The obstacle in the way of the agreement is that the Cruijff family would prefer that the stadium does not also carry the name of a sponsor. They do not want Johan Cruijff's name and memory to be connected with a random company.

This may not be good news for the shareholders. Blocking the possibility of the stadium being sponsored would mean missing out on a considerable source of revenue. The municipality of Amsterdam has 48 percent of the stadium's shares, Ajax has 13 percent and private investors have the rest.

After football legend Johan Cruijff passed away on March 24th, it was almost immediately suggested that the Amsterdam ArenA be renamed after him. But the Cruijff family wanted some time to consider.