Football in the Netherlands

Football is the most popular sport in the Netherlands. Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club. Over the next 30 years, football gained popularity in the Netherlands and the late 1890s and early 1900s saw the foundation of many new clubs, notably Sparta Rotterdam in 1888, Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax in 1900, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1908 and Philips Sport Vereniging Eindhoven in 1913.

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) was founded on December 8, 1889 and joined FIFA in 1904 as one of the founding members alongside the Football Associations of France, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Professional football was introduced in 1954, with the establishment of the Dutch Professional Football Association (Nederlandse Beroeps Voetbal Bond, or NBVB). The first professional game was played on August 14, 1954, between Alkmaar '54 and SC Venlo. The KNVB had opposed professional football for a long time, but eventually submitted to pressure and merged with the NBVB in November 1954 to form a new football association and a new (professional) league.

The highest level in Dutch football is now known as the Eredivisie (Honorary Division). The second level became the Eerste Divisie (First Division). Below that are two amateur divisions: the third level is the Topklasse and the fourth level the Hoofdklasse. The Topklasse was launched in 2010, before that time promotion to or relegation from the Eerste Divisie was not possible.

Dutch football is well known for its national football team, usually dressed in orange. They won the European Championship in 1988, and have competed in many European and World Cups. They finished second in the 1974,1978 and 2010 World Cups and third in the UEFA Euro 1976 tournament. They have reached many finals (1974 World Cup, 1978 World Cup, Euro 1988, 2010 World Cup) and semi-finals (Euro 1976, 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, Euro 2004).