AZ's Alkmaar‑born squad swells as local talent floods first team

Voor Kees Smit, the journey began at De Foresters, and Peer Koopmeiners first kicked a ball for Vitesse ’22, as captured by photographer Pim Ras. Today AZ boasts a record thirteen academy graduates in its first‑team squad, with 69.7 percent of minutes in the opening seven matches coming from home‑grown talent.

The club’s current slogan, Opgeleid in Noord‑Holland, appears on social‑media graphics and roadside posters, drawing attention to every player who graduated from the province’s own academy. Thirteen former youngsters now feature in the senior squad – the highest tally the club has ever recorded. Het initiative underlines AZ’s belief that local talent can compete at the highest level.

Homegrown surge in the first team

In the first seven official matches of the 2026‑2027 season, home‑grown players logged 69.7 percent of all playing minutes, the highest proportion among clubs worldwide, according to an AZ press release. The ambition is to field an entire eleven of academy graduates, a goal inspired by FC Barcelona’s historic line‑up. Dan the club hopes the target will be met before the season ends.

Local roots around Alkmaar

Most of the home‑grown squad hail from villages that dot the countryside surrounding Alkmaar and the training complex in Wijdewormer, some 16 kilometres from the stadium. A number also come from Amsterdam, but the majority grew up in the immediate region that feeds the club’s talent pipeline. The proximity allows scouts to monitor youngsters from an early age.

Roadtrip to Fortuna Wormerveer

Our reporters set off on the A9, heading north toward the club’s campaign route, and made their first stop at the sportpark Wateringscomplex, home of third‑tier Fortuna Wormerveer. The covered stand, now approaching ninety years old, sits opposite the Forbo flooring factory and overlooks the water. The scene is captured in a photograph by Pim Ras, who also documented the earlier De Foresters visit.

Fortuna Wormerveer’s community spirit

Joost Cornelissen, former chairman of Fortuna Wormerveer, greeted us with a wry comment: “You know we always worked with Ajax?” He explained that the club’s volunteers are largely in their seventies, bustling about the canteen, clearing autumn leaves and collecting old paper for recycling. “It’s a modest operation, but it still brings in money,” he added, noting the container marked ‘Oud‑papier ploeg Fortuna Wormerveer’.

Emerging talent Elijah Dijkstra

Fortuna Wormerveer also nurtured right‑back Elijah Dijkstra, who broke through spectacularly this season for AZ. Should AZ decide to sell him, the club is likely entitled to a percentage of the future transfer fee, although Cornelissen admitted he could not even pronounce the youngster’s name correctly. “E‑li‑jah? I have no idea,” he laughed.

Evolving ties with Ajax

In 2016 Fortuna Wormerveer became a partner club of Ajax, exchanging coaching insight and occasional match tickets for a reservation on the club’s most promising talents. Cornelissen recalled, “If players were followed by several professional clubs, we told them the best path was to Ajax.” Last year he removed the Ajax partnership billboard from the main field, replacing it with a sign that now generates revenue for Fortuna.

AZ’s “Opgeleid in Noord‑Holland” campaign continues to showcase the province’s footballing depth, and the club remains determined to realise its vision of an all‑academy starting eleven. The roadtrip through Alkmaar’s surrounding villages has highlighted how tightly woven the local network is, feeding the first team with home‑grown quality season after season.