Countries | Netherlands |
---|---|
Confederation | UEFA |
Founded | 1956 |
Number of teams | 18 |
Levels on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Eerste Divisie |
Domestic cup(s) | KNVB Cup Johan Cruijff Shield |
International cup(s) | Champions League Europa League |
Current champions | AFC Ajax (2010–11) |
Most championships | AFC Ajax (30) |
TV partners | Eredivisie Live NOS |
Website | Eredivisie.nl |
2011–12 Eredivisie |
The Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrə.di.ˌvi.zi]; Honorary Division) is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.
The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club faces every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, the bottom club is automatically relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the Eerste Divisie (First Division), with the champion of the Eerste Divisie automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. The next two clubs from the bottom of the Eredivisie go to separate promotion/relegation playoffs. The playoffs are played in two groups. Each group has one Eredivisie club and three high-placed clubs from the Eerste Divisie. In both promotion/relegation playoff groups, each club plays a home-and-away series with the other clubs. The winner of each playoff group plays in the following season's Eredivisie, with the other teams going to the Eerste Divisie.
The winner of the Eredivisie claims the Dutch national championship. AFC Ajax has won the most titles, 22 (30 national titles). PSV Eindhoven is next with 18 (21), and Feyenoord follows with 9 (14). Since 1965, these three clubs have won all except for three titles (the 1981 and 2009 titles went to AZ and FC Twente won the 2010 title).
From 1990 to 1999, the official name of the league was PTT Telecompetitie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpeː ˈteː ˈteː ˈteː.lə.kɔm.pə.ˌti.(t)si]) (after the sponsor, PTT Telecom), which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaː ˈpeː ˈɛn ˈteː.lə.kɔm.pə.ˌti.(t)si]) in 1999 and to KPN Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaː ˈpeː ˈɛn ˈerə.di.ˌvi.zi]) in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, the league was called the Holland Casino Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɔ.lɑnt ˈkaː.sɪ.no ˈerə.di.ˌvi.zi]). Since the 2005–06 season, the league has been sponsored by the Sponsorloterij lottery, but for legal reasons, its name is not attached to the league.
Club |
City | Position in 2010–11 |
First season in Eredivisie |
Number of seasons in Eredivisie |
First season of current spell in Eredivisie |
Number of seasons of current spell in Eredivisie |
Eredivisie titles 1 |
National titles |
Most recent title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ADO Den Haag | The Hague | 7th | 1957–58 | 38 | 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1943 |
Ajax | Amsterdam | 1st | 1956–57 | 56 | 1956–57 | 56 | 22 | 30 | 2011 |
AZ | Alkmaar | 4th | 1960–61 | 36 | 1998–99 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 2009 |
De Graafschap | Doetinchem | 14th | 1973–74 | 19 | 2010–11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - |
Excelsior | Rotterdam | 16th | 1970–71 | 17 | 2010–11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - |
FC Groningen | Groningen | 5th | 1956–57 | 46 | 2000–01 | 12 | 0 | 0 | - |
FC Twente | Enschede | 2nd | 1956–57 | 50 | 1984–85 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2010 |
FC Utrecht | Utrecht | 9th | 1970–71 | 42 | 1970–71 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 1958 2 |
Feyenoord | Rotterdam | 10th | 1956–57 | 56 | 1956–57 | 56 | 9 | 14 | 1999 |
Heracles Almelo | Almelo | 8th | 1962–63 | 12 | 2005–06 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1941 |
NAC Breda | Breda | 13th | 1956–57 | 45 | 2000–01 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1921 |
NEC | Nijmegen | 11th | 1967–68 | 36 | 1994–95 | 18 | 0 | 0 | - |
PSV | Eindhoven | 3rd | 1956–57 | 56 | 1956–57 | 56 | 18 | 21 | 2008 |
RKC Waalwijk | Waalwijk | Eerste Divisie | 1st,1988–89 | 21 | 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
Roda JC | Kerkrade | 6th | 1956–57 | 45 | 1973–74 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1956 3 |
SC Heerenveen | Heerenveen | 12th | 1990–91 | 20 | 1993–94 | 19 | 0 | 0 | - |
Vitesse | Arnhem | 15th | 1971–72 | 27 | 1989–90 | 23 | 0 | 0 | - |
VVV-Venlo | Venlo | 17th | 1956–57 | 19 | 2009–10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - |
1 Only the Eredivisie titles (starting in the 1956–57 season) are displayed here
2 Obtained as DOS
3 Obtained as Rapid JC
Club | Number of titles |
---|---|
Ajax | 30 |
PSV Eindhoven | 21 |
Feyenoord | 14 |
HVV | 10 |
Sparta Rotterdam | 6 |
RAP Amsterdam | 5 |
Go Ahead Eagles | 4 |
HBS Craeyenhout, HFC, Willem II | 3 |
ADO Den Haag, AZ Alkmaar, Heracles Almelo, RCH | 2 |
Be Quick 1887, DOS, BVV Den Bosch, DWS, De Volewijckers, FC Eindhoven, Haarlem, Limburgia, NAC Breda, Quick Den Haag, Rapid JC, SVV, VV Concordia, FC Twente, SC Enschede | 1 |
Club | Number of titles |
---|---|
Ajax | 22 |
PSV Eindhoven | 18 |
Feyenoord | 9 |
AZ Alkmaar | 2 |
Sparta Rotterdam | 1 |
FC Twente | 1 |
DWS | 1 |
DOS | 1 |
Town or city | Number of titles | Clubs |
---|---|---|
Amsterdam |
|
Ajax (30), RAP Amsterdam (5), DWS (1), De Volewijckers (1) |
Eindhoven |
|
PSV (21), FC Eindhoven (1) |
Rotterdam |
|
Feyenoord (14), Sparta (6), VV Concordia (1) |
The Hague |
|
HVV (10), HBS Craeyenhout (3), ADO Den Haag (2), Quick Den Haag (1) |
Haarlem |
|
HFC (3), RCH (2), Haarlem (1) |
Deventer |
|
Go Ahead Eagles (4) |
Tilburg |
|
Willem II (3) |
Alkmaar |
|
AZ Alkmaar (2) |
Almelo |
|
Heracles (2) |
Enschede |
|
SC Enschede (1), FC Twente (1) |
Breda |
|
NAC Breda (1) |
Brunssum |
|
Limburgia (1) |
Den Bosch |
|
BVV Den Bosch (1) |
Groningen |
|
Be Quick 1887 (1) |
Kerkrade |
|
Rapid JC (1) |
Schiedam |
|
SVV (1) |
Utrecht |
|
DOS (1) |
Position | Playoff | Qualification to |
---|---|---|
1 | – | Champions League group stage |
2 | – | Champions League 3rd qualifying round for non-champions |
3 | – | Europa League 3rd qualifying round |
4 – 7 | Europa League | 4th vs 7th and 5th vs 6th; the two winners play each other to qualify for: Europa League 2nd qualifying round |
Cup winner | – | Europa League play-off round |
When the cup winner also qualifies for European football through the league, the number eight finishers will play in the Europa League play-offs and the number four finishers will not have to.
Position | Playoff | Following season |
---|---|---|
16 – 17 | Nacompetitie | Two Eredivisie teams each play two teams from the Eerste Divisie against relegation |
18 | – | Relegation to Eerste Divisie |
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 Twente 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 2008–09 season was 19,827, with AFC Ajax having the largest (49,014) and FC Volendam having the smallest (5,460). Ajax' figures however differ from those provided by the Amsterdam ArenA since the club counts all tickets sold instead of the number of people going through the turnstiles.
Season 2008–09 average attendance
Club | Attendance |
---|---|
Ajax | 49,014 |
Feyenoord | 44,044 |
PSV | 33,406 |
Heerenveen | 25,594 |
FC Twente | 23,338 |
FC Groningen | 21,905 |
FC Utrecht | 20,276 |
Vitesse | 18,059 |
NAC Breda | 16,455 |
AZ | 16,462 |
Roda JC | 14,641 |
Willem II | 13,256 |
NEC | 12,341 |
De Graafschap | 12,206 |
Sparta Rotterdam | 10,843 |
ADO Den Haag | 10,319 |
Heracles Almelo | 8,459 |
FC Volendam | 5,460 |
Average | 19,827 |
Rank | Club | Seasons | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | Avg. Points | Goals for | Goals against | Goal difference | Champions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ajax | 57 | 1855 | 1225 | 326 | 304 | 3999 | 2.16 | 4712 | 1935 | 2777 | 22 |
2 | PSV | 57 | 1855 | 1109 | 422 | 334 | 3729 | 2.01 | 4231 | 1948 | 2283 | 18 |
3 | Feyenoord | 57 | 1855 | 1045 | 440 | 370 | 3575 | 1.93 | 3978 | 2041 | 1837 | 9 |
4 | FC Twente (including games played as Sportclub Enschede) | 56 | 1821 | 800 | 485 | 536 | 2885 | 1.58 | 2969 | 2393 | 576 | 1 |
5 | Sparta Rotterdam | 52 | 1719 | 603 | 485 | 631 | 2294 | 1.33 | 2601 | 2667 | -66 | 1 |
6 | Roda JC | 46 | 1497 | 585 | 389 | 523 | 2144 | 1.43 | 2316 | 2176 | 140 | |
7 | FC Groningen | 46 | 1471 | 496 | 414 | 571 | 1902 | 1.29 | 2093 | 2247 | -190 | |
8 | FC Utrecht | 43 | 1405 | 504 | 359 | 532 | 1871 | 1.33 | 1940 | 2092 | -152 | |
9 | NAC Breda | 46 | 1485 | 481 | 388 | 616 | 1830 | 1.23 | 2015 | 2463 | -446 | |
10 | AZ/Alkmaar'67 | 36 | 1157 | 475 | 298 | 384 | 1723 | 1.49 | 1879 | 1597 | 271 | 2 |
11 | ADO/FC Den Haag | 38 | 1242 | 418 | 314 | 511 | 1565 | 1.26 | 1808 | 2015 | -207' | |
12 | Willem II | 37 | 1251 | 387 | 285 | 579 | 1446 | 1.16 | 1776 | 2250 | -474 | |
13 | MVV | 36 | 1208 | 350 | 357 | 501 | 1407 | 1.16 | 1527 | 1990 | -463 | |
14 | NEC | 37 | 1191 | 329 | 340 | 521 | 1328 | 1.11 | 1357 | 1839 | -482 | |
15 | Vitesse | 28 | 885 | 327 | 257 | 301 | 1238 | 1.40 | 1273 | 1253 | 20 | |
16 | Go Ahead Eagles | 28 | 940 | 302 | 249 | 389 | 1155 | 1.23 | 1293 | 1500 | -207 | |
17 | sc Heerenveen | 20 | 647 | 270 | 158 | 219 | 968 | 1.50 | 1080 | 970 | 110 | |
18 | FC Volendam | 25 | 842 | 228 | 215 | 399 | 899 | 1.07 | 994 | 1513 | -519 | |
19 | RKC Waalwijk | 21 | 680 | 211 | 170 | 299 | 803 | 1.18 | 891 | 1108 | -217 | |
20 | Fortuna Sittard | 19 | 646 | 179 | 193 | 274 | 730 | 1.13 | 756 | 1005 | -249 | |
21 | HFC Haarlem | 18 | 612 | 172 | 178 | 262 | 694 | 1.13 | 695 | 978 | -283 | |
22 | VVV-Venlo | 19 | 613 | 174 | 162 | 277 | 684 | 1.12 | 811 | 1114 | -289 | |
23 | Door Wilskracht Sterk | 15 | 498 | 167 | 137 | 194 | 638 | 1.28 | 691 | 774 | -83 | 1 |
24 | DOS | 14 | 460 | 168 | 109 | 183 | 613 | 1.33 | 790 | 848 | -58 | 1 |
25 | De Graafschap | 20 | 613 | 138 | 156 | 319 | 570 | 0.93 | 661 | 1166 | -505 | |
26 | FC Den Bosch | 15 | 510 | 132 | 133 | 245 | 529 | 1.04 | 617 | 928 | -311 | |
27 | Fortuna '54 | 12 | 392 | 141 | 99 | 152 | 522 | 1.33 | 635 | 700 | -65 | |
28 | Excelsior | 17 | 545 | 122 | 133 | 290 | 498 | 0.91 | 591 | 1007 | -416 | |
29 | Stormvogels Telstar | 14 | 464 | 117 | 141 | 210 | 492 | 1.06 | 528 | 754 | -226 | |
30 | FC Zwolle/PEC | 12 | 408 | 99 | 120 | 189 | 417 | 1.02 | 496 | 745 | -249 | |
31 | Heracles Almelo | 12 | 359 | 100 | 87 | 173 | 384 | 1.07 | 447 | 683 | -236 | |
32 | USV Elinkwijk | 7 | 234 | 65 | 50 | 119 | 245 | 1.05 | 306 | 483 | -177 | |
33 | FC Amsterdam | 6 | 204 | 61 | 56 | 87 | 239 | 1.17 | 263 | 321 | -58 | |
34 | Blauw-Wit Amsterdam | 6 | 196 | 65 | 42 | 89 | 237 | 1.21 | 334 | 401 | -67 | |
35 | Holland Sport | 4 | 136 | 37 | 34 | 65 | 138 | 1.01 | 168 | 279 | -101 | |
36 | RBC Roosendaal | 5 | 170 | 35 | 26 | 109 | 131 | 0.77 | 164 | 358 | -194 | |
37 | NOAD | 4 | 136 | 33 | 30 | 73 | 129 | 0.95 | 187 | 311 | -124 | |
38 | Sittardia | 4 | 132 | 32 | 29 | 71 | 125 | 0.95 | 148 | 256 | -108 | |
39 | FC Dordrecht/Dordrecht '90 | 5 | 170 | 27 | 38 | 105 | 119 | 0.70 | 184 | 387 | -203 | |
40 | Cambuur Leeuwarden | 4 | 136 | 25 | 38 | 73 | 113 | 0.83 | 139 | 252 | -113 | |
41 | Xerxes | 2 | 68 | 26 | 17 | 25 | 95 | 1.40 | 92 | 95 | -3 | |
42 | FC Eindhoven | 3 | 102 | 23 | 25 | 54 | 94 | 0.92 | 107 | 209 | -102 | |
43 | BV Veendam | 2 | 68 | 12 | 23 | 33 | 59 | 0.87 | 74 | 127 | -53 | |
44 | FC Wageningen | 2 | 68 | 13 | 18 | 37 | 57 | 0.84 | 72 | 137 | -65 | |
45 | De Volewijckers | 2 | 64 | 15 | 10 | 39 | 55 | 0.86 | 99 | 189 | -90 | |
46 | Helmond Sport | 2 | 68 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 54 | 0.79 | 93 | 162 | -69 | |
47 | SVV | 2 | 68 | 13 | 13 | 42 | 52 | 0.77 | 62 | 142 | -80 |
Current national league ranking
(see UEFA coefficients full list for more information)
Country | Network | Details |
---|---|---|
Netherlands | Eredivisie Live; NOS | Eredivisie Live (a pay-TV channel) airs all matches live and the NOS broadcasts match summaries on the open channels Nederland 1 and 3 |
Australia | Setanta Sports | Covers one match per week featuring one of the big clubs (Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, AZ or FC Twente)[1] |
UK; Ireland |
ESPN[2] | ESPN covers two live matches per week |
India | Ten Action | One match per week |
Italy | Sportitalia | One match per week, and highlights, since 2004 |
Sweden | TV4 Sport | One match every Sunday at 14:30 CET |
Hungary | Sport 1 and Sport 2 | Live matches every week, two or three times |
Spain | Digital + | Three matches every week, and highlights |
Portugal | Sport TV | Two or three live matches every week |
USA | ESPN3 and LIVEDUTCHEREDIVISIE.TV (Online only) | Same two live matches as ESPN UK |
The following sixteen international tournaments were won by Eredivisie teams:
The European 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:
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