The Eredivisie is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. 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 sixth-best league in Europe by UEFA.
The Johan Cruyff Shield is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football league, Eredivisie, and the winner of the national KNVB Cup. In the event of a team winning both the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup, the Johan Cruyff Shield will be contested between that team and the runner up in the national league.
The Netherlands national rugby league team is the national rugby league team of The Netherlands. It was formed in January 2003. The national team played its first international match in 2003 against Scotland A, where they lost 22–18.
Rugby league in the Netherlands is a minor sport played by five clubs.
IJshockey Nederland (IJNL) is the official governing body of ice hockey in the Netherlands. It was founded as the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond in 1933 as a three team league with The Hague, Amsterdam and Tilburg. It joined the International Ice Hockey Federation on 20 January, 1935. In 1946, it created the Eredivisie. The organisation’s name was changed from NIJB to IJNL in 2017.
The Royal Dutch Hockey Association is the official governing body of Field hockey in the Netherlands. It governs both the indoor and outdoor field hockey leagues, as well as the Netherlands national field hockey team and the Netherlands women's national field hockey team.
The Netherlands national rugby union team represents Netherlands in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Oranges (Oranje), is considered one of the stronger tier 3 teams in European rugby and currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top 6 countries in Europe compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup.
American football in the Netherlands has been on the map both nationally and internationally since the 1980s. However, it took almost 40 years before the first American Football game played in the Netherlands was followed up. In 1946 two American University teams played an exhibition game in the Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam). Not until 1980 did the following step appear, when René Koningferander issued a request on the TV sports programme 'Sprekershoek' for people who were interested in the sport.
The Amsterdam Crusaders are an American Football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands founded in 1984. Together with the Rotterdam Trojans and Alphen Eagles, the Amsterdam Crusaders are the oldest surviving Dutch American Football club.
Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club is a football club based in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is the oldest existing club in Dutch football, founded by Pim Mulier in 1879. During the club's early years, the team only played rugby, but due to financial problems, they then switched to association football. The first official football match in the Netherlands was played in 1886 between HFC and Amsterdam Sport.
The North Sea Cup was a short-lived hockey league that temporarily succeeded the Dutch Eredivisie from 2010-2012. It was the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond and sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation during the years that it operated.
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, which is the oldest professional football club in the country, AFC Ajax in 1900, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1908, and PSV Eindhoven in 1913.
The Dutch Cup, better known in Dutch as the "Beker" or "Bekercompetitie", is the national ice hockey cup in the Netherlands. It was held from 1938 to 1939, and 1971-present. The Dutch Cup is usually an autumn competition that precedes or runs simultaneously with the regular season of the BeNe League, the Dutch and Belgian semi-professional ice hockey league.
The Eredivisie was, during its existence, the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition organized by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond. Formed in 1945 and playing continuously since 1964, the league mainly featured Dutch teams, although in some seasons certain Belgian teams competed. The league featured a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players. The winner of the Eredivisie was crowned the Dutch National Champion and represented the Netherlands in the IIHF Continental Cup. In 2015, with most of its teams facing financial problems and its top team, Tilburg Trappers, joining the German Oberliga, the Eredivise was suspended with the remaining teams joining the BeNe League.
Alexander Baart is a Dutch field hockey player of Belgian descent who plays as a defender or midfielder for Belgian club Antwerp.
The Nederlandse Rugby league Bond Championship, also known as NRLB Championship, is a Semi-Professional competition and the top-tier of branded Rugby League of the Netherlands. It currently consists of five teams. It was formed in 2015. The league consists of Netherlands Internationals, along with foreign players of various nations, including; England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Luxembourg and Germany.
The Netherlands Rugby League Bond (NRLB) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in the Netherlands. Formed in 2009, they obtained observer status with the RLEF in February 2012, and affiliate membership in June 2017.
The Rotterdam Pitbulls are a rugby league football club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They compete in the Netherlands Rugby League Bond (NRLB) domestic competition called Dutch Rugby League Competition, as well as internationally.
The Den Haag Knights are a rugby league football club based in The Hague, Netherlands. They compete in the Netherlands Rugby League Bond (NRLB) domestic competition called Dutch Rugby League Competition, as well as internationally.
Basketball Netherlands is the governing body of basketball in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1947, and are headquartered in Nieuwegein.
Daan van Rossum
Brett Davidson
James Adams
