Eredivisie

Lore & Background

The Eredivisie was founded in 1956, replacing the regional league system that had previously determined the national champion through play-offs. The inaugural members included 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 in the 1956–57 season. The league has been sponsored under various names, including PTT Telecompetitie (1990–1999), KPN Telecompetitie (1999–2000), KPN Eredivisie (2000–2002), Holland Casino Eredivisie (2002–2005), and VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (from the 2025–2026 season). In August 2012, Rupert Murdoch secured the rights to the Eredivisie for 12 years at a cost of €1 billion, beginning in the 2013–14 season. In 2020, the Eredivisie was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Their Own Story

The rain turned De Meer into a churning cauldron of mud and emerald, but the roar from the stands drowned out the storm. In the dying seconds of a season-defining clash, the scoreline hung by a thread—a single point separating PSV's triumph from Ajax's crown. The ball spiraled through the damp Amsterdam air, skipping off a defender's boot before finding the net in a moment of pure, chaotic drama. That goal didn't just secure three points; it ignited a fire in the city that would burn for decades.

Reader's Guide

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, while the champions and runners-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.

Did You Know?

• Ajax have won the most Eredivisie titles with 36.
• PSV Eindhoven have 27 titles, and Feyenoord have 16.
• Since 1965, Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord 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 the only clubs in their current form to have never been relegated out of the Eredivisie.
• 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.