The KNVB Beker (pronounced[ˌkaːʔɛɱveːˈbeːˈbeːkər]; English: KNVB Cup), branded as the Eurojackpot KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898.[1] It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from the top four tiers of Dutch league football (Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie, Tweede Divisie and Derde Divisie), as well as the 24 semi-finalists (or replacements) of the six KNVB District Cups. The finals of the tournament traditionally takes place in De Kuip, and has been held there every season since the 1989 final. The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruyff Shield, (equivalent to a super cup) which acts as the curtain raiser for the following season.
The first attempt to hold a knock-out competition open to all clubs in the Netherlands was made in 1894, with the winners receiving a trophy offered by H.M.C. Holdert, former president of V.V.A. (Amsterdam).[2] Seven teams entered and the first ever cup match in the Netherlands was thus held on 11 February, between Haarlem and HFC, ending in a 3–1 win to the latter.[2] However, no other match was played due to the withdraws of several teams, and the lack of interest shown by the clubs caused Holdert to withdraw his trophy, so the final between HFC and R.A.P. was canceled,[2] but four years later, in January 1898, Holdert offered another cup, to be contested just like the English FA Cup, and thus the KNVB Cup was conceived during a board meeting of the Dutch Football Association, in The Hague, on 19 January 1898.[3] Initially, it was decided to stage a competition for this new trophy already in the ongoing 1897–98 season, but the board had to cancel it after a prolonged stretch of bad weather in the first weeks of February had led to numerous match postponements in the western leagues.[3]
In 1946, the trophy was changed to one made out of silver, which was extremely rare in the immediate aftermath of World War II. That trophy remains in use today.
Recent history
In 2018, a trophy colored in gold was commissioned to commemorate the 100th edition of the tournament.[7]
Name changes
Like many national cup competitions, the name of the tournament has changed with sponsorship. From 1995, the competition went from being the KNVB Beker to being known as the Amstel Cup after the then sponsor Amstel. On 16 August 2005, the name was changed to the Gatorade Cup after the drinks company Gatorade. In 2006, the name returned to being the KNVB Beker with Gatorade remaining as the principal sponsor.
On 12 January 2018, it was announced that TOTO would be the name sponsor of the KNVB Cup, until the 2021–22 season. The competition was renamed the TOTO KNVB Beker with immediate effect.[7]
European competition
Up until 1998, the winner of the cup entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but with the abandonment of that tournament, the winner now goes into the UEFA Europa League. If the winning team has finished in the top two of the Eredivisie and thus gained entry into the UEFA Champions League, the berth will be redistributed to that season's Eredivisie.
In 1998, both KNVB Cup finalists, Ajax and PSV, gained entry in the Champions League, so a third-place play-off was played between the beaten semi-finalists, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente, to determine who would take the Cup Winners' Cup place.
1914–15 Koninklijke HFC (3/3) 1915–16 Quick Den Haag (4/4) 1916–17 Ajax (1/19) 1917–18 RHC (1/2) 1918–19 not played 1919–20 CVV 1920–21 Schoten 1921–22 not played 1922–23 not played 1923–24 not played 1924–25 ZFC 1925–26 LONGA 1926–27 VUC Den Haag 1927–28 RHC (2/2) 1928–29 not played 1929–30 Feyenoord (1/14)
1930–31 not played 1931–32 DFC (2/2) 1932–33 not played 1933–34 Velocitas 1897 1934–35 Feyenoord (2/14) 1935–36 Roermond 1936–37 EVV 1937–38 VSV 1938–39 FC Wageningen (1/2) 1939–40 not played 1940–41 not played 1941–42 not played 1942–43 Ajax (2/19) 1943–44 Willem II (1/2) 1944–45 not played
1945–46 not played 1946–47 not played 1947–48 FC Wageningen (2/2) 1948–49 Quick 1888 1949–50 PSV (1/11) 1950–51 not played 1951–52 not played 1952–53 not played 1953–54 not played 1954–55 not played 1955–56 not played 1956–57 Fortuna '54 (1/2) 1957–58 Sparta (1/3) 1958–59 VVV 1959–60 not played
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2025–26 KNVB Cup 
