De Graafschap is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste divisie, the second professional tier of football in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. The stadium was opened on 12 August 2000 and stands on the site of the club's old pitch. The club name is Dutch for "The County". They are nicknamed Superboeren. While not a large club by European club football standards, the club has remained a semi-permanent fixture in the Eredivisie ; although to date it has never won any silverware of importance. It also has a large stadium and a large fan base when compared to many other Dutch teams, particularly those in the Eerste Divisie. They had a fierce rivalry with Vitesse Arnhem, but during the years due several circumstances Go Ahead Eagles began to be a rival as well. The club's colors are blue and white hooped shirts with white shorts and blue socks. The club's major sponsors are Pincvision and. De Graafschap's home base, De Vijverberg has been voted as the most atmospheric stadium in the Eredivisie for the 2018-19 campaign
History
De Graafschap had their longest streak in the Dutch top tier from 1995 until 2003. In the 1995-96 season De Graafschap finished in 8th place, an all time high. After this season results went down and in 2003 the club was relegated after finishing in last place. Since 2003, De Graafschap was relegated four times and gained promotion five times. They were crowned champions of the Eerste Divisie in 2007 and 2010, and won the promotion playoffs in 2004 and 2015. De Graafschap never finished last in the Eredivisie since 2003 but lost relegation playoffs after finishing in 17th place in 2005, 2009 and 2012. In the 2015-16 Eredivisie season De Graafschap were once again relegated through playoffs after finishing 17th but not before drawing 1-1 against AFC Ajax on the final day of the season, denying Ajax the championship. In 2018, the club gained promotion again by winning the promotion playoffs, beating Almere City FC in the playoffs finals. They were relegated in 2019, and the next season ended in further heartbreak on April 24, 2020 as they were denied a possible promotion back to the top flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the Eredivisie to declare their season void with no promotion or relegation.
Honours
Eerste Divisie
* Winner: 1991, 2007, 2010
Tweede Divisie
* Winner: 1969
Promoted to Eredivisie
* Promotion: 1973, 1981, 1995, 2004, 2015, 2018
Promoted to Eerste Divisie
* Promotion: 1966
Results
Below is a table with De Graafschap's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.
The players below had senior international cap for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for De Graafschap.
Mike Snoei