By Mark Gleeson BBC Sport, South Africa

Benfica are currently coached by Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni

Two former European champions have announced that they are to visit Africa next year.

Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam will be holding their winter break training camp in South Africa in January, while Benfica plan to send a team to the Cape Verde Islands at the end of May.

Ajax, who have won the European Cup four times, will visit South Africa from 10-18 January, and will play a match against their affiliated club, Ajax Cape Town, in that period.

The game will be played at Cape Town's Newlands Stadium on 12 January.

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It is the second trip to South Africa for Ajax who previously held a training camp in the African country in 1998 yet have since held all their winter break camps in Portugal.

Benfica, who won the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, are travelling to the Cape Verde Islands to participate in a tournament organised by local side Sporting de Praia.

This follows a protocol of co-operation signed between the two clubs and following the transfer of Cape Verdian prospect Biju to Benfica, an academy has been built with Benfica's help as part of the agreement.

The Portuguese side plan to offer the opportunity for more players and coaches to travel to Portugal from the island archipelago, which is a former Portuguese colony.

On Friday, Manchester United rejected an approach from South African side Orlando Pirates to play a friendly in Johannesburg in January.