Amsterdam Tournament
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The Amsterdam Tournament is an annual association football tournament played in the pre-season, hosted by Ajax Amsterdam.
The tournament involves four teams, one of which is always the host. Other teams to have competed in the tournament since its inauguration in 1999 include Arsenal, Galatasaray, Lazio and Valencia.
The tournament has four matches, all played at Ajax's home ground, the Amsterdam ArenA. The games take place over three days in July or August, the second of which is used to rest between the first and third days. The only exception to this is the 1999 tournament, which took place over only two days, with no rest day in between.
The Amsterdam Tournament uses an unusual points-scoring system. As with most football, a victory results in three points; a draw in one; and a defeat in none. However, teams are rewarded one extra point for every goal they score. For example, a 3-3 draw brings the same number of points as a 1-0 victory. This system is designed to encourage more attacking football.
As it is a pre-season friendly tournament, games are typically not played as competitively as matches during the main season. In spite of this, it is still taken as a useful gauge of each team's ability going into the new season.