Eerste Divisie

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Eerste Divisie

Founded	1956; 62 years ago (1956)
Country	Netherlands
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	20
Level on pyramid	2
Promotion to	Eredivisie
Relegation to	Tweede Divisie
Domestic cup(s)	KNVB-beker
Current champions	Jong Ajax 1st time (2017-18 Eerste Divisie)
Most championships	FC Volendam 6 times
TV partners	Fox Sports (Netherlands) (Matches of highly ranked clubs) & Veronica TV (Summary and highlights of all played matches)
Website	http://www.jupilerleague.nl/
2018–19 Eerste Divisie

The Eerste Divisie ([Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrstə diˈvizi]) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship,^[1] while previously it was known as Jupiler League for the same reason.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Attendance record
  


• 
  3 Current Teams
  


• 
  4 League table
  
  • 
    4.1 Season 2016-17
    
  
  


• 
  5 Champions
  


• 
  6 Playoffs
  
  • 
    6.1 Promotion
    
    • 
      6.1.1 Round 1
      
    
    
    • 
      6.1.2 Semi Finals
      
    
    
    • 
      6.1.3 Finals
      
    
    
  
  
  • 
    6.2 Relegation
    
  
  


• 
  7 See also
  


• 
  8 References
  


• 
  9 External links
  

History

The Eerste Divisie consists of 20 clubs, who play each other in a double round-robin league, with each club playing the other club home and away. Each club plays every other club once in the first half of the season before the league takes a winter break around the Christmas and New Year's holiday season. The second half of the season sees the same fixtures as the first half, with the stadiums changed, although the two halves are not played in the same order.

At the end of each season, the champion of the Eerste Divisie is automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. Eight other clubs enter the Nacompetitie [ˈnaːkɔmpəˌti(t)si], a promotion/relegation playoff that includes the 16th- and 17th-place clubs in the Eredivisie. The following teams qualify for the Nacompetitie:

• The club with the best record in the "first period" of the season (after 8 rounds).


• The club with the best record in the "second period" of the season (rounds 9–16).


• The club with the best record in the "third period" of the season (rounds 17–24).


• The club with the best record in the "fourth period" of the season (rounds 25–32).


• The two remaining spots are filled at the season's end by the highest-placed clubs that have not already earned automatic promotion or qualified for the Nacompetitie.

If the club that wins a period has qualified for the Nacompetitie by winning a previous period, its place is filled by the next-best club in that period that has not already qualified. Usually, the clubs that qualify for the Nacompetitie turn out to be the 2nd- through 9th-placed clubs in the final table. Clubs in the Nacompetitie face each other in a knock-out system with the numbers 16 and 17 of the Eredivisie for two places in next season's Eredivisie.

Between seasons 1971/1972 and 2007/2009 teams could not relegate from the Eerste Divisie. From the 2009/2010 season onwards, one team has been relegated from the Eerste Divisie to the Hoofdklasse (then the main amateur league of Dutch football). From the 2010/2011 to 2015/2016 seasons, the KNVB introduced a third and highest amateur tier called Topklasse, and Hoofdklasse clubs have been able to get promoted to that new division.

Before the 2008/2009 season, Hoofdklasse clubs could promote by obtaining a professional licence. However, only a club going bankrupt or losing their license could result in clubs leaving professional football. The last clubs leaving professional football in that way were FC Wageningen and VCV Zeeland in 1992, and more recently HFC Haarlem and RBC Roosendaal, who went bankrupt in January 2010 and June 2011 respectively. The most recent additions to the league were AGOVV Apeldoorn in 2003 and FC Omniworld in 2005, expanding the league to 19 and later 20 clubs. However, for the 2010/11 season, the league returned to 18 clubs, as HFC Haarlem went bankrupt and FC Oss were relegated to the newly formed Topklasse. The 2012/13 season ended with 16 teams after AGOVV and BV Veendam went bankrupt. Four teams have been added to bring the division back up to 20 teams in 2013. Achilles '29 has been promoted from the Topklasse with the reserve teams of Ajax, FC Twente and PSV being added as well.

Since the 2016/2017 season there is automatic relegation to the third-tier, semi-professional Tweede Divisie. Clubs in the Tweede Divisie had to announce in mid-season if they want to be eligible for promotion. Only if one of those clubs won the Tweede Divisie championship is a team relegated from the Eerste Divisie.

Attendance record

Clubs with larger fanbases suffered relegation in the 2000s, with Roda JC setting the Eerste Divisie attendance record at 16,150 during their home game against N.E.C. in the 2014/15 season. NAC Breda bettered it a season later in their home match against Go Ahead Eagles, which had an attendance of 17800 people.

Current Teams

Club	City
Jong Ajax	Amsterdam
Almere City FC	Almere
Jong AZ	Alkmaar
SC Cambuur	Leeuwarden
FC Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch
FC Dordrecht	Dordrecht
FC Eindhoven	Eindhoven
FC Emmen	Emmen
Go Ahead Eagles	Deventer
Fortuna Sittard	Sittard
De Graafschap	Doetinchem
Helmond Sport	Helmond
MVV	Maastricht
NEC Nijmegen	Nijmegen
FC Oss	Oss, Netherlands
Jong PSV	Eindhoven
RKC Waalwijk	Waalwijk
SC Telstar	Velsen-Zuid
Jong Utrecht	Utrecht
FC Volendam	Volendam

League table

Season 2016-17

Club	City	Capacity	Position in 2016-17 Eerste Divisie	First season in Eerste Divisie	Number of seasons in Eerste Divisie	First season of current spell in Eerste Divisie	Number of seasons of current spell in Eerste Divisie	Eerste Divisie titles 1	National titles	Most recent title
Achilles '29	Groesbeek	350	01520th, Relegated	2013–14	4	2013–14	4	0	0	-
Jong Ajax	Amsterdam	2,050	0092nd	2013–14	4	2013–14	4	0	0	-
Almere City FC	Almere	3,200	0088th	2005–06	11	2005–06	11	0	0	-
SC Cambuur	Leeuwarden	10,400	0023rd	1965–66	45	2016–17	1	2	0	–
FC Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	8,500	01714th	1958–59	40	2005–06	11	4	1	1948
FC Dordrecht	Dordrecht	4,100	01419th	1956–57	31	2015–16	2	2	0	-
FC Eindhoven	Eindhoven	4,200	00411th	1957–58	55	1977–78	39	0	1	19542
FC Emmen	Emmen	8,600	0079th	1985–86	31	1985–86	31	0	0	-
Fortuna Sittard	Sittard	12,511	01617th	1956–57	37	2002–03	14	4	0	-
De Graafschap	Doetinchem	12,600	00112th	1956–57	34	2016–17	1	3	0	–
Helmond Sport	Helmond	4,200	01313th	1956–57	50	1984–85	31	1	0	-
MVV	Maastricht	8,800	0107th	1976–77	24	2000–01	16	2	0	-
NAC Breda	Breda	19,000	0035th, Promoted	1965–66	13	2015–16	2	1	1	1921
FC Oss	Oss	4,700	01915th	1992–93	25	2012–13	5	0	0	-
Jong PSV	Eindhoven	2,500	0114th	2013–14	4	2013–14	4	0	0	-
RKC Waalwijk	Waalwijk	7,508	01810th	1984–85	10	2014–15	3	2	0	-
SC Telstar	Velsen	3,260	01216th	1956–57	45	1978–79	38	0	0	-
Jong Utrecht	Utrecht	23,750	02018th	2016–17	1	2016–17	1	0	0	-
FC Volendam	Volendam	7,384	0066th	1956–57	36	2009–10	7	6	0	-
VVV-Venlo	Venlo	8,000	0021st, Promoted	1963–64	36	2013–14	4	3	1	2017

¹ Only the Eerste Divisie titles (starting in the 1956–57 season) are displayed here
² Obtained as EVV

Champions

Season	Winner	Runner Up
1956–57	ADO / Blauw Wit	Alkmaar '54 / Stormvogels
1957–58	Willem II / SHS	DFC / Stormvogels
1958–59	FC Volendam / Sittardia	Leeuwarden / Stormvogels
1959–60	GVAV / Alkmaar '54	Vitesse / DFC
1960–61	FC Volendam / Blauw Wit	De Volewijckers / DHC
1961–62	Heracles / Fortuna Vlaardingen	Excelsior / DHC
1962–63	DWS	Go Ahead
1963–64	Sittardia	Telstar
1964–65	Willem II	USV Elinkwijk
1965–66	Sittardia	Xerxes
1966–67	FC Volendam	NEC
1967–68	Holland Sport	AZ'67
1968–69	SVV	HFC Haarlem
1969–70	FC Volendam	Excelsior
1970–71	FC Den Bosch	GVAV
1971–72	HFC Haarlem	AZ'67
1972–73	Roda JC	PEC Zwolle
1973–74	Excelsior	Vitesse
1974–75	NEC	FC Groningen
1975–76	HFC Haarlem	FC VVV
1976–77	Vitesse	PEC Zwolle
1977–78	PEC Zwolle	MVV Maastricht
1978–79	Excelsior	FC Groningen
1979–80	FC Groningen	FC Volendam
1980–81	HFC Haarlem	SC Heerenveen
1981–82	Helmond Sport	Fortuna Sittard
1982–83	DS '79	FC Volendam
1983–84	MVV Maastricht	FC Twente
1984–85	SC Heracles	FC VVV
1985–86	FC Den Haag	PEC Zwolle
1986–87	FC Volendam	Willem II
1987–88	RKC Waalwijk	SC Veendam
1988–89	Vitesse	FC Den Haag
1989–90	SVV	NAC Breda
1990–91	De Graafschap	NAC Breda
1991–92	SC Cambuur	BVV Den Bosch
1992–93	VVV-Venlo	SC Heerenveen
1993–94	Dordrecht '90	NEC
1994–95	Fortuna Sittard	De Graafschap
1995–96	AZ	FC Emmen
1996–97	MVV Maastricht	SC Cambuur
1997–98	AZ	SC Cambuur
1998–99	FC Den Bosch	FC Groningen
1999–2000	NAC Breda	FC Zwolle
2000–01	FC Den Bosch	Excelsior
2001–02	FC Zwolle	Excelsior
2002–03	ADO Den Haag	FC Emmen
2003–04	FC Den Bosch	Excelsior
2004–05	Heracles Almelo	Sparta Rotterdam
2005–06	Excelsior	VVV-Venlo
2006–07	De Graafschap	VVV-Venlo
2007–08	FC Volendam	RKC Waalwijk
2008–09	VVV-Venlo	RKC Waalwijk
2009–10	De Graafschap	SC Cambuur
2010–11	RKC Waalwijk	FC Zwolle
2011–12	FC Zwolle	Sparta Rotterdam
2012–13	SC Cambuur	FC Volendam
2013–14	Willem II	FC Dordrecht
2014–15	NEC	FC Eindhoven
2015–16	Sparta	VVV-Venlo
2016-17	VVV-Venlo	Jong Ajax
2017-18	Jong Ajax	Fortuna Sittard

¹Blauw Wit, De Volewijckers and DWS merged into FC Amsterdam, which folded in 1982. Now reformed as Blauw-Wit Amsterdam
² Fortuna 54 merged with Sittardia to form FSC, later renamed Fortuna Sittard.
³ ADO merged with Holland Sport into FC Den Haag, later renamed ADO Den Haag
⁴ Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging (SVV) and Drecht Steden 79 (DS'79) merged into SVV/Dordecht'90. Now FC Dordrecht.

Playoffs

Promotion

Position	Playoff	Following season
1	Direct promotion	Eredivisiea
period champion	Round 1 if it is a low ranked club, Semi finals if it is a highly ranked club.	Eredivisie or Eerste Divisie depends on whether the team wins the pools final.
highly ranked clubs	Playoff Semi finals	Eredivisie or Eerste Divisie depends on whether the team wins the pools final.
Lower ranked club	Playoff Round 1	Eredivisie or Eerste Divisie depends on whether the team wins the pools final.

^aA Jong (reserve) team can become the champion. But they can't promote, the direct promotion or the playoff ticket will then be giving to the next non Jong team in the end table.

Round 1

Round 1 will be played against lower ranked teams, in both pools (Pool A or Pool B).
Winner Round 1 will compete in the Semi finals against the number 17th or 16th from the Eredivisie.

Semi Finals

In both Pools of the semi finals, there two matches played (Match A and Match B).
Match A is the winner of Round 1 against the number 17th or 16th of the Eredivisie.
Match B is against two highly ranked clubs.
Winner of Match A and Match B will go to the finals

Finals

Both pools have their own finals, the finals are played against the winner of Match A and Match B of the semi finals.
The winner of the finals will go to the Eredivisie.

Relegation

Position	degradation	Following season
20	directa	Relegation to Tweede Divisie

^ano relegation in season 2017/18

See also

• Eredivisie


• KNVB Cup


• Johan Cruijff Shield


• Football in the Netherlands


• Sports league attendances

References

1. 
   ^ "Eerste Divisie wordt Keuken Kampioen Divisie". Retrieved 29 June 2018. 
   

External links

• 
  JupilerLeague.nl – official website Eerste Divisie (in Dutch)
  


• 
  KNVB.nl – official website KNVB (in Dutch) / (in English)
  


• 
  League321.com – Dutch football league tables, records & statistics database (in English)
  

v t e Eerste Divisie
2018–19 Clubs	Jong Ajax Almere City FC Jong AZ SC Cambuur FC Den Bosch FC Dordrecht FC Eindhoven Go Ahead Eagles Helmond Sport MVV N.E.C. TOP Oss Jong PSV RKC Roda JC Sparta Telstar FC Twente Jong FC Utrecht FC Volendam

v t e Eerste Divisie top scorers

1957: D. Tol 1958: Hofman 1959: Spierings 1960: Schuman 1961: Aspers 1962: Schuman 1963: Bouman 1964: Leusink 1965: Roordink & Senders 1966: Beets 1967: D. Tol 1968: Roggeveen 1969: Koudijzer 1970: Deijkers 1971: Jensen 1972: Hazelhekke 1973: Zuidema 1974: Veenendaal 1975: Heskamp 1976: Van den Berg 1977: Engbersen 1978: Houtman 1979: Schapendonk 1980: Houtman & Hazelhekke 1981: W. Tol 1982: Den Boer 1983: Rontberg 1984: R. Boere 1985: Van Velzen 1986: R. Boere & Van Velzen 1987: Grim 1988: Van de Wiel 1989: Velten 1990: Van Velzen 1991: Cornelissen 1992: Tammer 1993: Graef 1994: Breetveld 1995: Mutsaers 1996: Van Oostrum 1997: Van Oostrum 1998: Van der Laan 1999: Van der Laan 2000: Connolly 2001: Jansen 2002: Tsvetkov 2003: De Groot 2004: Huntelaar 2005: Koevermans 2006: Kolk & Powel 2007: Powel 2008: Tuyp 2009: Calabro 2010: De Leeuw 2011: Voskamp 2012: Tuyp 2013: Tuyp 2014: Veldwijk 2015: Ars 2016: Seuntjens 2017: T. Boere 2018: Lieder

v t e Football in the Netherlands
Overview	Football Association League system Clubs Stadiums Champions Players Managers Referees Footballer of the Year
International	Men Netherlands U-21 U-19 U-17 U-16 Variants (Beach Futsal) Women Netherlands women
Leagues	Men Eredivisie (1956–) Eerste Divisie (1956–) Tweede Divisie (1956–71, 2016–) Derde Divisie (2010–) Hoofdklasse (1974–) Eerste Klasse (1890–) Tweede Klasse (1890–) Derde Klasse (1898-) Vierde Klasse (1923–) Vijfde Klasse (1996–) Zesde Klasse (1996–2015) Zevende Klasse (1996–2010) Achtste Klasse (1996–2001) Women BeNe League (with Belgium, 2012–15) Eredivisie (2007–12, 2015–) Topklasse (2011–) Hoofdklasse (1973–) Eerste Klasse (1994–) Tweede Klasse Derde Klasse Vierde Klasse Vijfde Klasse
Cups	Men Johan Cruyff Shield (1949–) KNVB Cup (1898–) KNVB Amateur Cup (1980–2016) KNVB Reserve Cup (1997–2012) KNVB District Cup (1959–) Women BeNe Super Cup (with Belgium, 2011–13) KNVB Women's Cup (1980–)
Tournaments	Men Amsterdam Tournament (1975–2009) Copa Amsterdam Eurovoetbal Feyenoord Tournament (1978–91) Future Cup Otten Cup

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