Eredivisie


The Eredivisie is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. As of the 2019–20 season it is ranked the 9th best league in Europe by UEFA.
The Eredivisie consists of 18 clubs. Each club meets every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, the two clubs at the bottom are automatically relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the Eerste Divisie, while the champion and runner-up of the Eerste Divisie are automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. The club finishing third from the bottom of the bottom of the Eredivisie goes to separate promotion/relegation play-offs with eight high-placed clubs from the Eerste Divisie.
The winner of the Eredivisie claims the Dutch national championship. Ajax Amsterdam has won most titles, 26. PSV Eindhoven are next with 21, and Feyenoord Rotterdam follow with 10. Since 1965, these three clubs have won all but three Eredivisie titles. Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord are known as the "Big Three" or "Traditional Top Three" of Dutch football. They are the only clubs in their current forms to have never been relegated out of the Eredivisie since its formation. A fourth club, FC Utrecht, is the product of a 1970 merger between three of that city's clubs, one of which, VV DOS, had also never been relegated out of the Eredivisie.
From 1990 to 1999, the official name of the league was PTT Telecompetitie, which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie and to KPN Eredivisie in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, the league was called the Holland Casino Eredivisie. Since the 2005–06 season, the league has been sponsored by the Sponsorloterij, but for legal reasons its name could not be attached to the league.
On 8 August 2012 it was made public that tycoon Rupert Murdoch had secured the rights to the Eredivisie for 12 years at the expense of 1 billion euros, beginning in the 2013–14 season. Within this deal the five largest Eredivisie clubs should receive 5 million euros per year for the duration of the contract. In 2020, the Eredivisie was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

From the foundation of the Dutch national football championship in 1898 until 1954, the title was decided through play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league. The competition was purely an amateur one; the Royal Dutch Football Association rejected any form of payment and suspended players who were caught receiving salary or transfer fees. The call for professional football grew in the early fifties after many national team members left to play abroad in search for financial benefits. The KNVB would usually suspend these players, preventing them from appearing for the Dutch national team. After the North Sea flood of 1953, the Dutch players abroad organised a charity match against the French national team in Paris. The match was boycotted by the KNVB, but after the assembled Dutch players defeated the French, the Dutch public witnessed the heights that could be achieved through professional football. To serve the growing interest, a dissident professional football association and league were founded for the 1954–55 season. On 3 July 1954, the KNVB met with a group of concerned amateur club chairmen, who feared the best players would join the professional teams. The meeting, dubbed the slaapkamerconferentie, led to the Association reluctantly accepting semi-professionalism.
Meanwhile, both the KNVB and the NBVB started their separate competition. The first professional football match was contested between Alkmaar and Venlo. The leagues went on for eleven rounds, before a merger was negotiated between the two federations in November. Both leagues were cancelled and a new, combined competition emerged immediately. De Graafschap, Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Fortuna '54 from the NBVB were accepted to the new league. Other clubs merged, which led to new names like Rapid J.C., Holland Sport and Roda Sport. The first professional league was won by Willem II. For the 1956–57 season, the KNVB abandoned the regional league system. The Eredivisie was founded, in which the eighteen best clubs nationwide directly played for the league title without play-offs. The inaugural members of the Eredivisie in 1956 were Ajax, BVC, BVV, DOS, EVV, Elinkwijk, SC Enschede, Feijenoord, Fortuna '54, GVAV, MVV, NAC, NOAD, PSV, Rapid J.C., Sparta, VVV '03 and Willem II. Ajax was the first team to claim the title that season.

Current teams (2019–20)

* FC Twente finished first in the Eerste Divisie. Sparta Rotterdam finish second and won against De Graafschap in the playoff final. RKC Waalwijk finished 8th and defeated Go Ahead Eagles in the playoff final.
a Founding member of the Eredivisie
b Never been relegated from the Eredivisie
c Founding member of the Eredivisie

Maps

Champions

ClubWinnerRunner-upWinning years
Ajax34
231917–18, 1918–19, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19
PSV Eindhoven24
141928–29, 1934–35, 1950–51, 1962–63, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
Feyenoord15
211923–24, 1927–28, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1998–99, 2016–17
HVV Den Haag10
11890–91, 1895–96, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1913–14
Sparta Rotterdam6–1908–09, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1958–59
RAP531891–92, 1893–94, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99
Go Ahead Eagles451916–17, 1921–22, 1929–30, 1932–33
Koninklijke HFC331889–90, 1892–93, 1894–95
Willem II311915–16, 1951–52, 1954–55
HBS Craeyenhout3–1903–04, 1905–06, 1924–25
AZ231980–81, 2008–09
Heracles Almelo211926–27, 1940–41
ADO Den Haag2–1941–42, 1942–43
RCH2–1922–23, 1952–53
NAC Breda141920–21
FC Twente132009–10
DWS131963–64
Roda JC Kerkrade*121955–56
Be Quick121919–20
FC Eindhoven121953–54
SC Enschede111925–26
DOS111957–58
FC Den Bosch111947–48
De Volewijckers1–1943–44
HFC Haarlem1–1945–46
Limburgia1–1949–50
SVV1–1948–49
Quick Den Haag1–1907–08
VV Concordia1–1888–89

* As Rapid JC.

Playoffs

European competition

Relegation

Attendance

ClubAttendance
Ajax52,987
Feyenoord42,065
PSV34,071
FC Utrecht18,846
SC Heerenveen18,743
NAC Breda18,262
FC Groningen18,025
Vitesse15,422
AZ15,027
PEC Zwolle13,478
Willem II12,998
ADO Den Haag12,561
De Graafschap12,321
Heracles Almelo10,993
Fortuna Sittard9,100
FC Emmen8,238
VVV Venlo6,828
Excelsior4,223
Average18,010

Since the beginning of the league, there have been three clubs with an attendance much higher than the others: Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. Clubs like Heerenveen, FC Utrecht and FC Groningen also have fairly large fanbases. The regular season average league attendance was just over 7,000 in 1990, but this figure has risen sharply over the years thanks to the opening of new stadiums and the expansion of existing ones nationwide. Average attendance for the 2018-19 season was 18,010, with Ajax having the largest and Excelsior having the smallest. Ajax's figures however differ from those provided by the Johan Cruyff Arena since the club counts all tickets sold instead of the number of people going through the turnstiles.

All-time ranking (since 1956)

Playing in the Eredivisie
Playing in the Eerste Divisie
Playing in the amateur leagues
Club has been disestablished or merged into another club

Player records

Appearances

Goals

RankNameGoalsGamesGoals per gamePlaying positionFirst goalLast goal
1 Willy van der Kuijlen3115450.57Forward1964–651981–82
2 Ruud Geels2663920.68Forward1964–651983–84
3 Johan Cruijff2163090.70Forward1964–651983–84
4 Kees Kist2123720.60Forward1972–731983–84
5 Tonny van der Linden 208--Forward1956–571966–67

Top scorers

SeasonTop ScorerGoalsClub
1956–57 Coen Dillen43PSV
1957–58 Leo Canjels32NAC
1958–59 Leo Canjels34NAC
1959–60 Henk Groot37Ajax
1960–61 Henk Groot41Ajax
1961–62 Dick Tol27FC Volendam
1962–63 Pierre Kerkhofs22PSV
1963–64 Frans Geurtsen28DWS
1964–65 Frans Geurtsen23DWS
1965–66 Willy van der Kuijlen
Piet Kruiver		23PSV
Feyenoord
1966–67 Johan Cruijff33Ajax
1967–68 Ove Kindvall28Feyenoord
1968–69 Dick van Dijk
Ove Kindvall		30FC Twente
Feyenoord
1969–70 Willy van der Kuijlen26PSV
1970–71 Ove Kindvall24Feyenoord
1971–72 Johan Cruijff25Ajax
1972–73 Cas Janssens
Willy Brokamp		18NEC
MVV
1973–74 Willy van der Kuijlen27PSV
1974–75 Ruud Geels30Ajax
1975–76 Ruud Geels29Ajax
1976–77 Ruud Geels34Ajax
1977–78 Ruud Geels30Ajax
1978–79 Kees Kist34AZ'67
1979–80 Kees Kist27AZ'67
1980–81 Ruud Geels22Sparta
1981–82 Wim Kieft32Ajax
1982–83 Peter Houtman30Feyenoord
1983–84 Marco van Basten28Ajax
1984–85 Marco van Basten22Ajax
1985–86 Marco van Basten37Ajax
1986–87 Marco van Basten31Ajax
1987–88 Wim Kieft29PSV
1988–89 Romário19PSV
1989–90 Romário23PSV
1990–91 Romário
Dennis Bergkamp		25PSV
Ajax
1991–92 Dennis Bergkamp24Ajax
1992–93 Dennis Bergkamp26Ajax
1993–94 Jari Litmanen26Ajax
1994–95 Ronaldo30PSV
1995–96 Luc Nilis21PSV
1996–97 Luc Nilis21PSV
1997–98 Nikos Machlas34Vitesse
1998–99 Ruud van Nistelrooy31PSV
1999–2000 Ruud van Nistelrooy29PSV
2000–01 Mateja Kežman24PSV
2001–02 Pierre van Hooijdonk24Feyenoord
2002–03 Mateja Kežman35PSV
2003–04 Mateja Kežman31PSV
2004–05 Dirk Kuyt29Feyenoord
2005–06 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar33SC Heerenveen/Ajax
2006–07 Afonso Alves34SC Heerenveen
2007–08 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar33Ajax
2008–09 Mounir El Hamdaoui23AZ
2009–10 Luis Suárez35Ajax
2010–11 Björn Vleminckx23NEC
2011–12 Bas Dost32SC Heerenveen
2012–13 Wilfried Bony31Vitesse
2013–14 Alfreð Finnbogason29SC Heerenveen
2014–15 Memphis Depay22PSV
2015–16 Vincent Janssen27AZ
2016–17 Nicolai Jørgensen21Feyenoord
2017–18 Alireza Jahanbakhsh21AZ
2018–19 Luuk de Jong
Dušan Tadić		28PSV
Ajax
2019–20 Steven Berghuis
Cyriel Dessers		15Feyenoord
Heracles Almelo

Media coverage

CountryNetworkDetails
NetherlandsFox Sports Eredivisie; NOSFox Sports Eredivisie airs all matches live and the NOS broadcasts match summaries on the open channels NPO 1 and 3
AzerbaijanCBC SportLive Eredivisie matches
BelgiumPlay SportsTwo matches per week, since 2015
Indian subcontinentDream11Two–three matches per week on Fancode
ItalyDAZN
AlbaniaDigitAlb / SuperSport Two matches per week and highlights
PolandPolsat Sport
Polsat Sport Extra
Polsat Sport News		2–5 matches every week and highlights, since the 2002-03 season.
TurkeyLive Eredivisie matches
Russia:ru: Футбол |Telekanal FutbolLive matches every week, two or three times
BalkansSport KlubLive matches every week, two or three times
PortugalSport TVTwo or three live matches every week
SlovakiaArena SportTwo or three live matches every week
Austria, GermanySportdigital.tv, DAZNUp to three matches per week, and highlights
South KoreatvNLive PSV matches
United Kingdom and IrelandPremier SportsLive Eredivisie matches
United StatesESPN+Three live matches every week
NorwayViasat FotballOne match live on Sunday 11.30 CET
LithuaniaSport1Up to two matches per week and highlights
BulgariaMax SportTwo or three live matches every week
Pan-AfricaESPNThree live matches every week, sometimes four
Latin AmericaESPNTwo matches every week are broadcast live, one only on ESPN Play.
IndonesiaMNC MediaUp to three live matches every week, through 2021. Live on iNews, MNC Vision, and RCTI+. From 2019–20, delayed coverage every Monday 01.45 WIB on iNews and everyday 18.00 WIB on MNC Vision.
MalaysiaAstro SuperSportUp to three live matches every week.
PhilippinesUp to three live matches every week.
SingaporeSingtel TVUp to three live matches every week.
MENAAbu Dhabi SportsUp to three live matches every week.

Eredivisie teams and major UEFA and FIFA competitions

The following sixteen international tournaments were won by Eredivisie teams:
The UEFA Super Cup was founded by a Dutch reporter named Anton Witkamp and Ajax's 1973 win was the first time the tournament was contested officially.
The following 24 European finals took place at Dutch venues, or are scheduled to take place at them: