【原文】The competitive model of the Dutch Football League

Original title: COMPETITIEMODEL

Source: KNVB.NL (Official website of the Royal Dutch Football Association)

After the 2016-2017 season, the Netherlands established a new national football league competition model. The league system consists of the Eredivisie, the First Division, the Second Division, two Division III leagues (Saturday and Sunday) and four first division leagues.

Eredevisie : 18 teams, no U23 team (youth)

The highest level of Dutch football is the Eredivisie. 18 teams compete for the national championship as well as a ticket to the Europa League. The top 2 go directly to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers and the 3rd place goes to the UEFA Cup qualifiers. Places 4-7 will compete in the play-offs for the final spot in the UEFA Cup.

Every season, the last 2 of the Eredivisie are relegated to the First Division. The 16th place will compete with the top 4 of the First Division, and the third and fourth places of the First Division will compete for the last Eredivisie place.

First Division (Eerste Devisie): 20 teams, including 4 U23 teams

The First Division, also known as the Keuken Champions Cup (named after the sponsor), consists of 20 teams, including 4 youth teams. The top 2 in the league go directly to the Eredivisie.

Second Division (Tweede Devisie): 18 teams, including 2 U23 teams

The purpose of setting up the Second Division is to facilitate the transformation of amateur football into professional football. Clubs can choose whether their home games are on Saturday or Sunday. The 15th, 16th and 17th places in the second division will be directly relegated to the third division.

Division C (Derde Devisie): divided into Saturday League (Zaterdag) and Sunday League (Zondag), each with 17 teams, including 1 U23 team

The C-League is the foundation leading to the B- and higher leagues. The first place in the league on Saturday and Sunday is directly promoted to the second league. The 13th and 14th places in the second division will compete with the 2nd and 3rd places in the league on Saturday and Sunday to compete for the remaining 2 places in the second division.

The first league (Hoofdklassen): divided into Saturday league and Sunday league, each with 2 groups, each group of 16 teams, no U23 team

The champions of each group go directly to the League C. The 13th and 14th places in the League C Saturday and Sunday will compete with the 3rd to 6th places in the first league groups for the last two places in the League C.

Below the first-tier leagues, there are also regional leagues from the first to fifth tiers, which also have a similar promotion and relegation system.