AZ or AZ Vrouwen is a women's association football club based in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. They are affiliated with the AZ men's team. They were founding members of the Eredivisie Vrouwen in 2007 and won the league's first three championships. In February 2011, AZ announced they were withdrawing support for their women's club for financial reasons.[1]
As AZ folded, Telstar fielded a team in the 2011–12 season, and most of the AZ players signed with the newly formed club.[2] Telstar was replaced in the region by VV Alkmaar in 2017.[3]
In January 2022, AZ announced they were exploring restarting a women's club.[4] Two months later, AZ announced they were going to financially support and were working closely with VV Alkmaar.[5] As AZ and VV Alkmaar intensified their collaboration in 2022, AZ took the place of VV Alkmaar in the Women's Eredivisie starting in the 2023–24 season.[6]
On 23 March 2023, Mark De Vries was named the team's manager.[7][8] The club finished 9th out of 12 teams in its first year back in the Eredivisie.
