Eredivisie

This article is about the top men's football league in the Netherlands. For the top women's football league in the Netherlands, see Eredivisie (women).

For other uses, see Eredivisie (disambiguation).

Eredivisie

Organising body	KNVB
Founded	1956 (1956)
Country	Netherlands
Confederation	UEFA
Number of clubs	18 (since 1966–67)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Eerste Divisie
Domestic cup(s)	KNVB Cup Johan Cruyff Shield
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	PSV (25th title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Ajax (36 titles)
Most appearances	Pim Doesburg (687)
Top goalscorer	Willy van der Kuijlen (311)
TV partners	ESPN & NOS
Website	eredivisie.eu
Current: 2024–25 Eredivisie

The Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrədiˌvizi]; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") 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 2024–25 season, it is ranked the sixth-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 relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the Eerste Divisie (First Division), 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 Eredivisie goes to separate promotion/relegation play-offs with six high-placed clubs from the Eerste Divisie.

The winner of the Eredivisie claims the Dutch national championship. Ajax have won the most titles with 36. PSV Eindhoven are next with 25, and Feyenoord follow with 16. Since 1965, these three clubs have won all but three Eredivisie titles (the 1981 and 2009 titles went to AZ and Twente won in 2010). 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 form to have never been relegated out of the Eredivisie. A fourth club, 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 (after the sponsor, PTT Telecom), which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie (because PTT Telecom changed its name to KPN Telecom) in 1999 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 Vriendenloterij (lottery), but for legal reasons its name could not be attached to the league (the Dutch government was against the name, because the Eredivisie would, after Holland Casino's sponsorship, yet again be sponsored by a company providing games of chance).

In August 2012, it was made public that tycoon Rupert Murdoch had secured the rights to the Eredivisie for 12 years at the expense of one billion euros, beginning in the 2013–14 season. Within this deal, the five largest Eredivisie clubs were to receive five million euros per year. 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 (KNVB) 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 (mainly playing in the French league) organised a charity match against the France national team in Paris. The match was boycotted by the KNVB, but after the assembled Dutch players defeated the French (2–1), the Dutch public witnessed the heights that could be achieved through professional football. To serve the growing interest, a dissident professional football association (the NBVB) 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 ('bedroom conference'), 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 (semi-)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. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

• 18 clubs: 1956–1962
• 16 clubs: 1962–1966
• 18 clubs: 1966–present

Current teams (2024–25)

Club	City	Capacity	Position in 2023–24	1st season in Eredivisie	No. of seasons in Eredivisie	1st season of current spell	No. of seasons of current spell	Eredivisie titles	National titles	Last title
Ajaxa b	Amsterdam	55,865	5th	1956–57	69	1956–57	69	26	36	2022
Almere City	Almere	4,501	13th	2023–24	2	2023–24	1	0	0	-
AZ	Alkmaar	19,478	4th	1968–69	46	1998–99	23	2	2	2009
Feyenoorda b	Rotterdam	51,137	2nd	1956–57	69	1956–57	69	10	16	2023
Fortuna Sittard	Sittard	10,300	10th	1968–69	26	2018–19	7	0	0	-
Go Ahead Eagles	Deventer	10,000	9th	1963–64	35	2021–22	4	0	4	1933
Groningen	Groningen	22,500	promoted	1971–72	22	2024–25	1	0	0	-
Heerenveen	Heerenveen	27,224	11th	1990–91	33	1993–94	32	0	0	-
Heracles	Almelo	12,080	14th	1962–63	24	2023–24	2	0	2	1941
NAC Bredaa	Breda	19,000	promoted	1970–71	25	2024–25	1	0	0	-
NEC	Nijmegen	12,500	6th	1967–68	44	2021–22	4	0	0	-
PEC Zwolle	Zwolle	13,250	12th	1978-79	24	2023–24	2	0	0	-
PSVa b	Eindhoven	36,500	1st	1956–57	69	1956–57	69	23	25	2024
RKC Waalwijk	Waalwijk	7,500	15th	1988–89	29	2019–20	6	0	0	-
Sparta Rotterdama	Rotterdam	11,026	8th	1956–57	59	2019–20	6	1	6	1959
Twentec	Enschede	30,205	3rd	1956–57	65	2019–20	5	1	1	2010
Utrechtb d	Utrecht	23,750	7th	1970–71	55	1970–71	55	0	0	-
Willem IIa	Tilburg	14,700	promoted*	1956–57	47	2024-25	1	0	3	1955

^* Willem II finished first and FC Groningen finished second in the 2023–24 Eerste Divisie. NAC finished 8th and defeated Excelsior in the playoff final.

^a Founding member of the Eredivisie
^b Never been relegated from the Eredivisie
^c Founding member of the Eredivisie (as Sportclub Enschede)
^d Founding member of the Eredivisie (as VV DOS and USV Elinkwijk)

Maps

Ajax

Almere C

AZ

Feyenoord
Sparta

Fortuna

Groningen

GA Eagles

Heerenveen

Heracles

NAC

NEC

PEC

PSV

RKC

Twente

Utrecht

Willem II

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the 2024–25 Eredivisie teams

Champions

Main article: List of Dutch football champions

Please note that the table below totals all winners of the Dutch top division, which included the Netherlands Football League Championship that preceded the Eredivisie. The Eredivisie was only founded in 1956 so many of these teams did not win the Eredivisie title.

Club	Winner	Runner-up	Winning years
Ajax	36	23	1917–18, 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, 2020–21, 2021–22
PSV	25	16	1928–29, 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, 2023–24
Feyenoord	16	22	1923–24, 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, 2022–23
HVV Den Haag	10	1	1890–91, 1895–96, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1913–14
Sparta Rotterdam	6	–	1908–09, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1958–59
RAP	5	3	1891–92, 1893–94, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99
Go Ahead Eagles	4	5	1916–17, 1921–22, 1929–30, 1932–33
Koninklijke HFC	3	3	1889–90, 1892–93, 1894–95
Willem II	3	1	1915–16, 1951–52, 1954–55
HBS Craeyenhout	3	–	1903–04, 1905–06, 1924–25
AZ	2	3	1980–81, 2008–09
Heracles	2	1	1926–27, 1940–41
ADO Den Haag	2	–	1941–42, 1942–43
RCH	2	–	1922–23, 1952–53
NAC Breda	1	4	1920–21
Twente	1	3	2009–10
DWS	1	3	1963–64
Roda JC Kerkrade*	1	2	1955–56
Be Quick	1	2	1919–20
FC Eindhoven	1	2	1953–54
SC Enschede	1	1	1925–26
DOS	1	1	1957–58
Den Bosch	1	1	1947–48
De Volewijckers	1	–	1943–44
Haarlem	1	–	1945–46
Limburgia	1	–	1949–50
SVV	1	–	1948–49
Quick Den Haag	1	–	1907–08
VV Concordia	1	–	1888–89

^* As Rapid JC.

Playoffs

European competition

Position	Playoff	Qualification to
1st	–	Champions League group stage
2nd	–	Champions League third qualifying round of the League Path.
3rd	–	Europa League play-off round
4th	–	Europa Conference League third qualifying round
5th–8th/6th-9th	European competition play-offs	4th vs 7th and 5th vs 6th or 5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th; the two winners play each other to qualify for: Europa Conference League second qualifying round
KNVB Cup winners	–	Europa League play-off round (group stage if the Europa Conference League winners have already qualified for the UCL through their domestic league)

Relegation

Position	Playoff	What happens next
16th	Nacompetitie	The 3rd to 8th placed teams in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie compete against each other for a spot in the semi finals. The remaining 3 teams and the 16th placed team from the Eredivisie then face off in a double legged knock out system for the final place in the Eredivisie.
17th-18th	–	Direct relegation to the Keuken Kampioen Divisie

Attendance

2018–19 Attendance

Club	Attendance
Ajax	52,987
Feyenoord	42,065
PSV	34,071
FC Utrecht	18,846
Heerenveen	18,743
NAC Breda	18,262
Groningen	18,025
Vitesse	15,422
AZ	15,027
PEC Zwolle	13,478
Willem II	12,998
ADO Den Haag	12,561
De Graafschap	12,321
Heracles Almelo	10,993
Fortuna Sittard	9,100
FC Emmen	8,238
VVV Venlo	6,828
Excelsior	4,223
Average	18,010

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, Utrecht and 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 (52,987) and Excelsior having the smallest (4,223). 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)

Last updated following the 2018–19 season

Playing in the Eredivisie

Playing in the Eerste Divisie

Playing in the amateur leagues

Club has been disestablished or merged into another club

Rank	Club	Seasons	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Avg. Points	Goals for	Goals against	Goal difference
1.	Ajax	63	2126	1413	381	329	4620	2,17	5386	2167	+3219
2.	PSV	63	2126	1298	453	375	4347	2,04	4912	2234	+2678
3.	Feyenoord	63	2126	1208	489	429	4113	1,93	4540	2440	+2100
4.	Twente	52	1764	771	475	518	2788	1,58	2806	2247	+559
5.	Sparta Rotterdam	53	1764	619	498	669	2355	1,32	2676	2801	-125
6.	FC Utrecht	49	1666	618	427	621	2281	1,37	2385	2505	-120
7.	AZ	41	1394	598	346	450	2140	1,54	2330	1917	+413
8.	Roda JC Kerkrade	44	1496	563	391	542	2080	1,39	2260	2208	+52
9.	NAC Breda	50	1688	529	440	719	2027	1,20	2239	2812	-573
10.	ADO Den Haag	45	1514	501	387	626	1890	1,25	2172	2486	-314
11.	Groningen	40	1360	464	375	521	1767	1,30	1925	2098	-173
12.	Vitesse	34	1156	445	329	382	1664	1,44	1757	1605	+152
13.	Willem II	43	1455	443	331	680	1660	1,14	2027	2608	-581
14.	NEC	40	1360	379	382	599	1519	1,12	1565	2132	-567
15.	MVV	36	1208	350	356	502	1406	1,16	1527	1992	-465
16.	Heerenveen	27	918	373	233	312	1352	1,47	1546	1429	+117
17.	Go Ahead Eagles	31	1042	325	268	449	1243	1,19	1399	1701	-302
18.	RKC Waalwijk	23	782	240	197	345	917	1,17	1014	1269	-255
19.	Volendam	25	842	228	215	399	899	1,07	994	1513	-519
20.	VVV-Venlo	22	748	207	197	344	818	1,09	968	1367	-399
21.	Fortuna Sittard	20	680	188	200	292	764	1,12	806	1085	-279
22.	Heracles	19	630	193	143	294	722	1,15	860	1173	-313
23.	PEC Zwolle	19	646	180	175	291	715	1,11	825	1124	-299
24.	Haarlem	18	612	172	178	262	694	1,13	695	978	-283
25.	Excelsior	22	748	168	186	394	690	0,92	830	1399	-569
26.	De Graafschap	21	714	157	175	382	646	0,90	773	1373	-600
27.	DOS	14	460	168	109	183	613	1,33	790	848	-58
28.	AFC DWS	13	430	147	117	166	558	1,30	588	644	-56
29.	Fortuna '54	12	392	141	99	152	522	1,33	635	700	-65
30.	Telstar	14	468	118	140	210	494	1,06	530	754	-224
31.	GVAV	13	392	123	115	154	484	1,23	533	595	-62
32.	Den Bosch	12	442	114	123	205	465	1,05	491	756	-265
33.	SC Enschede	9	294	121	77	96	440	1,50	565	490	+75
34.	Rapid JC	6	204	73	47	84	266	1,30	307	350	-43
35.	USV Elinkwijk	7	234	65	50	119	245	1,05	306	483	-177
36.	FC Amsterdam	6	204	61	56	87	239	1,17	263	321	-58
37.	Blauw-Wit	6	196	65	42	89	237	1,21	334	401	-67
38.	Cambuur	7	238	49	64	125	211	0,89	258	437	-179
39.	Holland Sport	4	136	37	34	65	145	1,07	168	279	-111
40.	Dordrecht	6	204	31	46	127	139	0,68	208	463	-255
41.	RBC Roosendaal	5	170	35	26	109	131	0,77	164	358	-194
42.	TSV NOAD	4	136	33	30	73	129	0,95	187	311	-124
43.	Sittardia	4	132	32	29	71	125	0,95	148	256	-108
44.	Xerxes/DHC	2	68	26	17	25	95	1,40	92	95	-3
45.	EVV	3	102	23	25	54	94	0,92	107	209	-102
46.	BVC Amsterdam	2	68	20	20	28	80	1,18	103	130	-27
47.	BVV	2	68	18	10	40	64	0,94	126	172	-46
48.	SC Veendam	2	68	12	23	33	59	0,87	74	127	-53
49.	FC Wageningen	2	68	13	18	37	57	0,84	72	137	-65
50.	De Volewijckers	2	64	15	10	39	55	0,86	99	189	-90
51.	Helmond Sport	2	68	12	18	38	54	0,79	93	162	-69
52.	SVV	2	68	13	13	42	52	0,76	62	142	-80
53.	Emmen	1	34	10	8	16	38	1,12	41	72	-31
54.	Almere City	1	34	7	13	14	34	1,00	33	59	-26

Player records

Appearances

Rank	Name	Games	Playing position	First match	Last match
1	Pim Doesburg	687	Goalkeeper	1962–63	1986–87
2	Jan Jongbloed	684	Goalkeeper	1959–60	1985–86
3	Piet Schrijvers	576	Goalkeeper	1963–64	1984–85

Goals

Main article: List of Eredivisie top scorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Games	Goals per game	Playing position	First goal	Last goal
1	Willy van der Kuijlen	311	545	0.57	Forward	1964–65	1981–82
2	Ruud Geels	266	392	0.68	Forward	1964–65	1983–84
3	Johan Cruijff	216	309	0.70	Forward	1964–65	1983–84
4	Kees Kist	212	372	0.57	Forward	1972–73	1983–84
5	Tonny van der Linden	208	456	0.46	Forward	1956–57	1966–67

Top scorers

See also: List of Eredivisie hat-tricks

The top goalscorer of the league season is awarded the Willy van der Kuijlen Trophy.

Last updated following the 2023–24 season.

Season	Top Scorer(s)	Goals	Club(s)
1956–57	Coen Dillen	43	PSV
1957–58	Leo Canjels	32	NAC
1958–59	Leo Canjels (2)	34	NAC
1959–60	Henk Groot	37	Ajax
1960–61	Henk Groot (2)	41	Ajax
1961–62	Dick Tol	27	Volendam
1962–63	Pierre Kerkhoffs	22	PSV
1963–64	Frans Geurtsen	28	DWS
1964–65	Frans Geurtsen (2)	23	DWS
1965–66	Willy van der Kuijlen Piet Kruiver	23	PSV Feyenoord
1966–67	Johan Cruyff	33	Ajax
1967–68	Ove Kindvall	28	Feyenoord
1968–69	Dick van Dijk Ove Kindvall (2)	30	Twente Feyenoord
1969–70	Willy van der Kuijlen (2)	26	PSV
1970–71	Ove Kindvall (3)	24	Feyenoord
1971–72	Johan Cruyff (2)	25	Ajax
1972–73	Cas Janssens Willy Brokamp	18	NEC MVV
1973–74	Willy van der Kuijlen (3)	27	PSV
1974–75	Ruud Geels	30	Ajax
1975–76	Ruud Geels (2)	29	Ajax
1976–77	Ruud Geels (3)	34	Ajax
1977–78	Ruud Geels (4)	30	Ajax
1978–79	Kees Kist	34	AZ
1979–80	Kees Kist (2)	27	AZ
1980–81	Ruud Geels (5)	22	Sparta
1981–82	Wim Kieft	32	Ajax
1982–83	Peter Houtman	30	Feyenoord
1983–84	Marco van Basten	28	Ajax
1984–85	Marco van Basten (2)	22	Ajax
1985–86	Marco van Basten (3)	37	Ajax
1986–87	Marco van Basten (4)	31	Ajax
1987–88	Wim Kieft (2)	29	PSV
1988–89	Romário	19	PSV
1989–90	Romário (2)	23	PSV
1990–91	Romário (3) Dennis Bergkamp	25	PSV Ajax
1991–92	Dennis Bergkamp (2)	24	Ajax
1992–93	Dennis Bergkamp (3)	26	Ajax
1993–94	Jari Litmanen	26	Ajax
1994–95	Ronaldo	30	PSV
1995–96	Luc Nilis	21	PSV
1996–97	Luc Nilis (2)	21	PSV
1997–98	Nikos Machlas	34	Vitesse
1998–99	Ruud van Nistelrooy	31	PSV
1999–2000	Ruud van Nistelrooy (2)	29	PSV
2000–01	Mateja Kežman	24	PSV
2001–02	Pierre van Hooijdonk	24	Feyenoord
2002–03	Mateja Kežman (2)	35	PSV
2003–04	Mateja Kežman (3)	31	PSV
2004–05	Dirk Kuyt	29	Feyenoord
2005–06	Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	33	Heerenveen/Ajax
2006–07	Afonso Alves	34	Heerenveen
2007–08	Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (2)	33	Ajax
2008–09	Mounir El Hamdaoui	23	AZ
2009–10	Luis Suárez	35	Ajax
2010–11	Björn Vleminckx	23	NEC
2011–12	Bas Dost	32	Heerenveen
2012–13	Wilfried Bony	31	Vitesse
2013–14	Alfreð Finnbogason	29	Heerenveen
2014–15	Memphis Depay	22	PSV
2015–16	Vincent Janssen	27	AZ
2016–17	Nicolai Jørgensen	21	Feyenoord
2017–18	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	21	AZ
2018–19	Luuk de Jong Dušan Tadić	28	PSV Ajax
2019–20	Steven Berghuis Cyriel Dessers	15	Feyenoord Heracles Almelo
2020–21	Giorgos Giakoumakis	26	VVV-Venlo
2021–22	Sébastien Haller	21	Ajax
2022–23	Anastasios Douvikas Xavi Simons	19	Utrecht PSV
2023–24	Luuk de Jong (2) Vangelis Pavlidis	29	PSV AZ

Eredivisie teams and major UEFA and FIFA competitions

The following sixteen international tournaments were won by Eredivisie teams:

• 1970 European Cup Final – Feyenoord
• 1970 Intercontinental Cup – Feyenoord
• 1971 European Cup Final – Ajax
• 1972 European Cup Final – Ajax
• 1972 Intercontinental Cup – Ajax
• 1973 European Cup Final – Ajax
• 1973 European Super Cup – Ajax
• 1974 UEFA Cup Final – Feyenoord
• 1978 UEFA Cup Final – PSV
• 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup Final – Ajax
• 1988 European Cup Final – PSV
• 1992 UEFA Cup Final – Ajax
• 1995 UEFA Champions League Final – Ajax
• 1995 UEFA Super Cup – Ajax
• 1995 Intercontinental Cup – Ajax
• 2002 UEFA Cup Final – Feyenoord

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.

Sponsorship names for seasons

• Eredivisie (1956–1990)
• PTT-Telecompetitie (1990–1999)
• KPN-Telecompetitie (1999–2000)
• KPN Eredivisie (2000–2002)
• Holland Casino Eredivisie (2002–2005)
• Eredivisie (2005–present)

See also

• Eerste Divisie
• KNVB Cup
• Johan Cruyff Shield
• List of Dutch football champions
• List of foreign players in the Eredivisie
• List of sports attendance figures – Eredivisie in a global context

References

• Eredivisie Football Score – Alles over Eredivisie resultaten,uitslagen en standen

External links

• Official website (in Dutch)