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List of football clubs in the Netherlands facts for kids

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The Dutch Football League is where professional football teams in the Netherlands play. It's organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association, also known as KNVB.

Some of the most successful teams in Dutch football history are Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord. These clubs have won many championships over the years. Older teams like HVV, Sparta Rotterdam, and Willem II also had a lot of success in the past.

Each football season kicks off with a special match called the Johan Cruijff Schaal, or Johan Cruyff Shield. This game is played between the team that won the league championship and the team that won the cup in the previous season. It's an exciting way to start the new football year!

Dutch Professional Football Clubs

The Netherlands has many professional football clubs spread across the country. These teams compete in different leagues, including the top league called the Eredivisie and the second league, the Eerste Divisie.


Here is a list of some of the professional football clubs in the Netherlands, along with their home cities, stadiums, and how many fans their stadiums can hold:

Club Location Venue Capacity Manager
ADO Den Haag The Hague Cars Jeans Stadion 15,000 Serbia Darije Kalezić
Ajax Amsterdam Johan Cruyff Arena 53,490 Italy Francesco Farioli
AZ Alkmaar AFAS Stadion 17,023 Netherlands Maarten Martens
Excelsior Rotterdam Stadion Woudestein 4,400 Netherlands Marinus Dijkhuizen
Feyenoord Rotterdam Stadion Feijenoord 51,177 Denmark Brian Priske
Go Ahead Eagles Deventer Adelaarshorst 10,400 Netherlands René Hake
Groningen Groningen Noordlease Stadion 22,550 Netherlands Dick Lukkien
Heerenveen Heerenveen Abe Lenstra Stadion 27,224 Netherlands Robin van Persie
Heracles Almelo Almelo Polman Stadion 13,500 Germany Erwin van de Looi
NEC Nijmegen Stadion de Goffert 12,500 Netherlands Rogier Meijer
PEC Zwolle Zwolle MAC³PARK Stadion 13,250 Netherlands Johnny Jansen
PSV Eindhoven Philips Stadion 36,500 Netherlands Peter Bosz
Roda JC Kerkrade Parkstad Limburg Stadion 19,979 Netherlands Bas Sibum
Sparta Rotterdam Rotterdam Het Kasteel 11,026 Netherlands Jeroen Rijsdijk
Twente Enschede De Grolsch Veste 30,205 Netherlands Joseph Oosting
Utrecht Utrecht Stadion Galgenwaard 23,750 Netherlands Ron Jans
Vitesse Arnhem GelreDome 25,500 Netherlands Edward Sturing
Willem II Tilburg Tilburg Koning Willem II Stadion 14,500 Netherlands Peter Maes
Almere City Almere Yanmar Stadion 3,000 Netherlands Hedwiges Maduro
Cambuur Leeuwarden Cambuur Stadion 10,500 Netherlands Henk de Jong
De Graafschap Doetinchem Stadion De Vijverberg 12,600 Netherlands Jan Vreman
Den Bosch 's-Hertogenbosch De Vliert 9,000 Netherlands David Nascimento
Dordrecht Dordrecht GN Bouw Stadion 4,235 Netherlands Melvin Boel
FC Eindhoven Eindhoven Jan Louwers Stadion 4,200 Netherlands Willem Weijs
Emmen Emmen Univé Stadion 8,600 Netherlands Fred Grim
Fortuna Sittard Sittard Fortuna Sittard Stadion 12,500 Netherlands Danny Buijs
Helmond Sport Helmond Stadion De Braak 4,100 Netherlands Bob Peeters
MVV Maastricht De Geusselt 10,234 Bosnia and Herzegovina Maurice Verberne
NAC Breda Breda Rat Verlegh Stadion 19,000 Netherlands Carl Hoefkens
TOP Oss Oss Heesen Yachts Stadion 4,700 Netherlands Ruud Brood
RKC Waalwijk Waalwijk Mandemakers Stadion 7,508 Netherlands Henk Fraser
Telstar Velsen TATA Steel Stadion 3,625 Netherlands Anthony Correia
Volendam Volendam Kras Stadion 6,260 Netherlands Regillio Simons
VVV-Venlo Venlo De Koel 8,000 Netherlands Rick Kruys

How Dutch Football Clubs Have Changed

Over the years, many Dutch football clubs have changed. Some have merged with other teams, while others have stopped being professional. Here are a few examples:

  • AVV RAP from Amsterdam was one of the first official champions in 1899. They won 5 national titles before becoming a Cricket club in 1916.
  • In 1968, two clubs from Sittard, Fortuna 54 and Sittardia, joined together to form Fortuna Sittard.
  • Three Amsterdam clubs – Blauw Wit, DWS, and De Volewijckers – merged in 1972 to create FC Amsterdam. This club later stopped playing in 1982.
  • PEC and Zwolsche Boys merged in 1971 to form PEC Zwolle. It was later renamed FC Zwolle in 1990.
  • Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys combined to form FC Twente in 1965.
  • DOS, Elinkwijk, and Velox merged in 1970 to create FC Utrecht.
  • GVAV became FC Groningen in 1971.
  • Alkmaar 54 and FC Zaanstreek merged in 1967 to form AZ.
  • Roda Sport and Rapid JC merged in 1962 to form Roda JC.
  • Some clubs, like FC Wageningen and HFC Haarlem, were professional for many years but later went bankrupt.

See also

External links

  • Midfield Dynamo's list of the Dutch football league's 'Big 3' and 'Best of the Rest' of the other clubs, midfielddynamo.com
  • Orange Football Blog - Weekly summaries from the Eredivisie and other articles, nlplanet.com
  • Official Eredivisie site: http://www.eredivisie.nl/clubs
  • Official Eerste Divisie website: https://web.archive.org/web/20091004172645/http://www.jupilerleague.nl/
  • League321.com - Club stats records.



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