The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division"), also known as VriendenLoterij Eredivisie for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. 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 seventh-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 (First Division), while the champion and runner-up of the 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 .
The winner of the Eredivisie claims the Dutch national championship. Ajax have won the most titles with 36. PSV Eindhoven are next with 27, 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). From the 2025–2026 season the eredivisie will be rebranded to VriendenLoterij Eredivisie.
In August 2012, it was made public that tycoon Rupert Murdoch had secured the rights to the Eredivisie for 12 years at a cost of €1 billion, beginning in the 2013–14 season. Within this deal, the five largest Eredivisie clubs were to receive €5 million per season. 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. 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.
:Last updated following the 2025–26 season.
{| class=wikitable style="font-size:90% class="
|-
! Season
! Top Scorer(s)
! Goals
! Club(s)
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1956–57
| Coen Dillen
| style="text-align:center;"|43
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1957–58
| Leo Canjels
| style="text-align:center;"|32
|NAC
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1958–59
| Leo Canjels (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|34
|NAC
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1959–60
| Henk Groot
| style="text-align:center;"|37
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1960–61
| Henk Groot (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|PSV<hr />Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1991–92
| Dennis Bergkamp (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1992–93
| Dennis Bergkamp (3)
| style="text-align:center;"|26
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1993–94
| Jari Litmanen
| style="text-align:center;"|26
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1994–95
| Ronaldo
| style="text-align:center;"|30
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1995–96
| Luc Nilis
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1996–97
| Luc Nilis (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997–98
| Nikos Machlas
| style="text-align:center;"|34
|Vitesse
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1998–99
| Ruud van Nistelrooy
| style="text-align:center;"|31
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1999–2000
| Ruud van Nistelrooy (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000–01
| Mateja Kežman
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2001–02
| Pierre van Hooijdonk
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|Feyenoord
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2002–03
| Mateja Kežman (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|35
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2003–04
| Mateja Kežman (3)
| style="text-align:center;"|31
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2004–05
| Dirk Kuyt
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|Feyenoord
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005–06
| Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
| style="text-align:center;"|33
|Heerenveen/Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2006–07
| Afonso Alves
| style="text-align:center;"|34
|Heerenveen
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2007–08
| Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (2)
| style="text-align:center;"|33
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2008–09
| Mounir El Hamdaoui
| style="text-align:center;"|23
|AZ
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2009–10
| Luis Suárez
| style="text-align:center;"|35
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2010–11
| Björn Vleminckx
| style="text-align:center;"|23
|NEC
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2011–12
| Bas Dost
| style="text-align:center;"|32
|Heerenveen
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2012–13
| Wilfried Bony
| style="text-align:center;"|31
|Vitesse
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2013–14
| Alfreð Finnbogason
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|Heerenveen
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2014–15
| Memphis Depay
| style="text-align:center;"|22
|PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2015–16
| Vincent Janssen
| style="text-align:center;"|27
|AZ
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2016–17
| Nicolai Jørgensen
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|Feyenoord
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2017–18
| Alireza Jahanbakhsh
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|AZ
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2018–19
| Luuk de Jong<hr> Dušan Tadić
| style="text-align:center;"|28
|PSV<hr>Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2019–20
| Steven Berghuis<hr> Cyriel Dessers
| style="text-align:center;"|15
|Feyenoord<hr>Heracles Almelo
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2020–21
| Giorgos Giakoumakis
| style="text-align:center;"|26
|VVV-Venlo
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2021–22
| Sébastien Haller
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|Ajax
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2022–23
| Anastasios Douvikas<hr> Xavi Simons
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|Utrecht<hr />PSV
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2023–24
| Luuk de Jong (2)<hr> Vangelis Pavlidis
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|PSV<hr />AZ
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|2024–25
| Sem Steijn
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|Twente
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|2025–26
| Ayase Ueda
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|Feyenoord
|}
Eredivisie teams in major UEFA and FIFA competitions
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.
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="border:1px solid #aaa; padding:5px;">
Table 1: International Tournament Finals featuring Eredivisie Teams
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! Year !! Competition !! Winner !! Score (Ref) !! Runner-up
|-
| 1969 || style="background:silver;" | European Cup || style="background:silver;" | Milan || style="background:silver;" | 4–1 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1970 || style="background:gold;" | European Cup || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | 2–1 || style="background:gold;" | Celtic
|-
| style="background:gold;" | 1970 Intercontinental Cup || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | 2–2, 1–0 || style="background:gold;" | Estudiantes
|-
| 1971 || style="background:gold;" | European Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 2–0 || style="background:gold;" | Panathinaikos
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1972 || style="background:gold;" | European Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 2–0 || style="background:gold;" | Inter Milan
|-
| style="background:gold;" | 1972 Intercontinental Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 1–1, 3–0 || style="background:gold;" | Independiente
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1973 || style="background:gold;" | European Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 1–0 || style="background:gold;" | Juventus
|-
| style="background:gold;" | 1973 European Super Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 0–1, 6–0 || style="background:gold;" | Milan
|-
| 1974 || style="background:gold;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | 2–2, 2–0 || style="background:gold;" | Tottenham Hotspur
|-
| 1975 || style="background:silver;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:silver;" | Borussia Mönchengladbach || style="background:silver;" | 0–0, 5–1 || style="background:silver;" | Twente
|-
| 1978 || style="background:gold;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:gold;" | PSV || style="background:gold;" | 0–0, 3–0 || style="background:gold;" | Bastia
|-
| 1981 || style="background:silver;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:silver;" | Ipswich Town || style="background:silver;" | 3–0, 2–4 || style="background:silver;" | AZ
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987 || style="background:gold;" | Cup Winners' Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 1–0 || style="background:gold;" | Lokomotive Leipzig
|-
| style="background:silver;" | 1987 European Super Cup || style="background:silver;" | Porto || style="background:silver;" | 1–0, 1–0 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1988 || style="background:gold;" | European Cup || style="background:gold;" | PSV || style="background:gold;" | 0–0 || style="background:gold;" | Benfica
|-
| style="background:silver;" | Cup Winners' Cup || style="background:silver;" | Mechelen || style="background:silver;" | 1–0 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax
|-
| style="background:silver;" | 1988 Intercontinental Cup || style="background:silver;" | Nacional || style="background:silver;" | 2–2 || style="background:silver;" | PSV
|-
| style="background:silver;" | 1988 European Super Cup || style="background:silver;" | Mechelen || style="background:silver;" | 3–0, 0–1 || style="background:silver;" | PSV
|-
| 1992 || style="background:gold;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 2–2, 0–0 || style="background:gold;" | Torino
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1995 || style="background:gold;" | Champions League || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 1–0 || style="background:gold;" | Milan
|-
| style="background:gold;" | 1995 UEFA Super Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 1–1, 4–0 || style="background:gold;" | Real Zaragoza
|-
| style="background:gold;" | 1995 Intercontinental Cup || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | 0–0 || style="background:gold;" | Grêmio
|-
| 1996 || style="background:silver;" | Champions League || style="background:silver;" | Juventus || style="background:silver;" | 1–1 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002 || style="background:gold;" | UEFA Cup || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | 3–2 || style="background:gold;" | Borussia Dortmund
|-
| style="background:silver;" | 2002 UEFA Super Cup || style="background:silver;" | Real Madrid || style="background:silver;" | 3–1 || style="background:silver;" | Feyenoord
|-
| 2017 || style="background:silver;" | Europa League || style="background:silver;" | Manchester United || style="background:silver;" | 2–0 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax
|-
| 2022 || style="background:silver;" | Conference League || style="background:silver;" | Roma || style="background:silver;" | 1–0 || style="background:silver;" | Feyenoord
|}
</div>
</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="border:1px solid #aaa; padding:5px; margin-top:10px;">
Table 2: Summary of Performance by Competition and Club
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; width:100%"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Club !! colspan="2" | Champions League !! colspan="2" | Europa League / UEFA Cup !! colspan="2" | Cup Winners' Cup !! colspan="2" | Super Cup !! colspan="2" | Intercontinental Cup !! colspan="2" | Conference League !! rowspan="2" | Total Won !! rowspan="2" | Total Lost
|-
! W !! L !! W !! L !! W !! L !! W !! L !! W !! L !! W !! L !!
|-
| align="left" | Ajax || 4 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 10 || 5
|-
| align="left" | Feyenoord || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 2
|-
| align="left" | PSV || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
| align="left" | AZ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
| align="left" | Twente || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total !! 6 !! 2 !! 4 !! 3 !! 1 !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 3 !! 1 !! 0 !! 1 !! 16 !! 11
|}
</div>
</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="border:1px solid #aaa; padding:5px; margin-top:10px;">
Table 3: Dutch Club Managers in International Finals
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! Year !! Club !! Manager !! Status
|-
| 1969 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax || style="background:silver;" | Rinus Michels || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1970 || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | Ernst Happel || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | Ernst Happel || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| 1971 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Rinus Michels || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1972 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Ștefan Kovács || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Ștefan Kovács || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1973 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Ștefan Kovács || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Ștefan Kovács || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| 1974 || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | Wiel Coerver || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| 1975 || style="background:silver;" | Twente || style="background:silver;" | Spitz Kohn || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| 1978 || style="background:gold;" | PSV || style="background:gold;" | Kees Rijvers || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| 1981 || style="background:silver;" | AZ || style="background:silver;" | Georg Keßler || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Johan Cruyff || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:silver;" | Ajax || style="background:silver;" | Johan Cruyff || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1988 || style="background:gold;" | PSV || style="background:gold;" | Guus Hiddink || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:silver;" | Ajax || style="background:silver;" | Barry Hulshoff || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| style="background:silver;" | PSV || style="background:silver;" | Guus Hiddink || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| style="background:silver;" | PSV || style="background:silver;" | Guus Hiddink || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| 1992 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Louis van Gaal || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1995 || style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Louis van Gaal || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Louis van Gaal || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:gold;" | Ajax || style="background:gold;" | Louis van Gaal || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| 1996 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax || style="background:silver;" | Louis van Gaal || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002 || style="background:gold;" | Feyenoord || style="background:gold;" | Bert van Marwijk || style="background:gold;" | Winner
|-
| style="background:silver;" | Feyenoord || style="background:silver;" | Bert van Marwijk || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| 2017 || style="background:silver;" | Ajax || style="background:silver;" | Peter Bosz || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|-
| 2022 || style="background:silver;" | Feyenoord || style="background:silver;" | Arne Slot || style="background:silver;" | Runner-up
|}
</div>
</div>
Sponsorship names for seasons
- Eredivisie (1956–1990)
- PTT-Telecompetitie (1990–1999)
- KPN-Telecompetitie (1999–2000)
- KPN Eredivisie (2000–2002)
- Holland Casino Eredivisie (2002–2005)
- VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (2025–present) (de jure) (2005–present) (de facto)
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