Women's football in the Netherlands

Women's football in the Netherlands
Women's football in the Netherlands
	Netherlands women's national football team in May 2014
Country	Netherlands
Governing body	KNVB
National team(s)	Women's national team
National competitions
	KNVB Women's Cup ; Eredivisie Cup [nl] ; Dutch Women's Super Cup [nl]
Club competitions
	Eredivisie (established in 2007 and re-established in 2015) ; Hoofdklasse ; Topklasse ; Historical: ; BeNe League
International competitions
	Champions League ; FIFA Women's World Cup (national team) ; European Championship (national team) ; Olympics (national team)
Audience records
Single match	28,182

Women's football in the Netherlands has traditionally had a low profile and female players had to play abroad.^[1]^[2]^[3] However, the national team began having success in the 2010s, notably in winning the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament and the domestic Eredivisie began expanding.

History

Women first started trying playing football in the 1890s but were banned by the KNVB.^[4]^[5] In 1896 Sparta Rotterdam tried to form a women's football team but were thwarted.^[6]^[7] IDecades later, the Dutch Ladies Football Association was formed in 1955 and even created a women's football league but was banned by the KNVB.^[8] Women's football was played regionally in the Netherlands until the 1970s, when UEFA declared all its members must invest in women's football.^[9]

National team

On 17 April 1971, the French team played the first women's international football match recognized by FIFA against the Netherlands.^[10] The match took place in Hazebrouck, France and resulted in a 4–0 defeat for the Netherlands, with Jocelyne Ratignier scoring a hattrick.^[11]

The Netherlands did not have a strong track record in women's international football until the 2010s. They did not qualify for the UEFA Women's Championship until 2009^[12] and did not qualify for their first Women's World Cup until 2015, when the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams.^[13] In 2017, the national team won the UEFA Women's Euro 2017, which the country also hosted.^[14]^[15] Four out of 5 Dutch television viewers watched the Netherlands win the championship.^[16] Two years later, in their second World Cup, the Dutch advanced all the way to the final before losing to the United States, 0–2.^[17]

Domestic League

The professional women's Eredivisie formed in 2007. In 2012, the KNVB and its Belgian counterpart, the KBVB/URBSFA, created a new top league for both countries, the BeNe League. From the Dutch perspective, the move was intended to improve the Netherlands women's national football team.^[18]^[19] However, the two federations scrapped the BeNe League after the 2014–15 season, with the KNVB choosing to restart the women's Eredivisie with the same seven clubs that had formed the Dutch contingent in the final season of the joint league. The Eredivisie has since expanded to twelve teams.^[20] The league does not have promotion and relegation.

Level	Level Name	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Eredivisie	Eredivisie 12 clubs
2	Topklasse	Topklasse 12 clubs
3	Hoofdklasse	Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs								Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs
4	Eerste Klasse	Eerste Klasse Group A, Saturday 12 clubs				Eerste Klasse Group B, Saturday 12 clubs				Eerste Klasse Group C, Sunday 12 clubs				Eerste Klasse Group D, Sunday 12 clubs
5	Tweede Klasse	2 A Saturday, West 1		2 B Saturday, West 2		2 C Saturday, East 1		2 D Saturday, East 2		2 E Sunday, West		2 F Sunday, South 1		2 G Sunday, South 2		2 H Sunday, South 1
6	Derde Klasse	Sat 3A West	Sat 3B West	Sat 3C South	Sat 3D West	Sat 3E East	Sat 3F East	Sat 3G East	Sat 3H East	Sun 3A West	Sun 3B West	Sun 3C West	Sun 3D South	Sun 3E South	Sun 3F South	Sun 3G East	Sun 3H East

References

^ "For Sky Blue's Dutch Defender, Pay and a Platform". The New York Times. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
^ "Women's Soccer in the United States and the Netherlands: Differences and Similarities in Regimes of Inequalities". ResearchGate. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
^ "Gevonden in Delpher - Het vrĳe volk : democratisch-socialistisch dagblad". www.delpher.nl.
^ Hoog, Michiel de (November 13, 2018). "De KNVB en de politiek zaten het vrouwenvoetbal decennia dwars. Tijd om dit te herstellen". De Correspondent.
^ Parrish, Charles; Nauright, John (21 April 2014). Soccer around the World: A Cultural Guide to the World's Favorite Sport. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610693035. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Spartaans vrouwenvoetbal wordt verboden". Sparta Rotterdam.
^ Vooren, Jurryt van de (November 24, 2017). "De eerste voetbalwedstrijd van het Nederlands vrouwenelftal was in 1956".
^ "Vrouwenvoetbal | Kennis". Atria. November 12, 2015.
^ "Geschiedenis | KNVB". www.knvb.nl.
^ Longman, Jeré (2019-06-25). "In Women's World Cup Origin Story, Fact and Fiction Blur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
^ "First ladies pave the way". FIFA.com. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
^ "Oranje masterplan: meet the woman that transformed Dutch women's football". Aipsmedia.com.
^ Haisley, Billy (3 June 2015). "Finally, A Netherlands Women's Team That Lives Up To The Name". Deadspin. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
^ "Netherlands Women 4-2 Denmark Women". BBC Sport. August 6, 2017.
^ "Netherlands to host 2017 women's European Championships". BBC Sport. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
^ Ramesh, Priya (7 August 2017). "Holland victory a triumph for Dutch flair and Sarina Wiegman's tactical nous". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
^ Goff, Steven; Giambalvo, Emily (7 July 2019). "U.S. wins Women's World Cup title with 2–0 defeat of Netherlands". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^ "Women's football about to break through". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
^ "Data analysis is really helping the Dutch national women's soccer team". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
^ "FC Utrecht-vrouwen stunten bij rentree in de eredivisie: 4-2 winst op Feyenoord". www.rtvutrecht.nl (in Dutch). 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.

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[1] "For Sky Blue's Dutch Defender, Pay and a Platform". The New York Times. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-30.

[2] "Women's Soccer in the United States and the Netherlands: Differences and Similarities in Regimes of Inequalities". ResearchGate. Retrieved 26 July 2017.

[3] "Gevonden in Delpher - Het vrĳe volk : democratisch-socialistisch dagblad". www.delpher.nl.

[4] Hoog, Michiel de (November 13, 2018). "De KNVB en de politiek zaten het vrouwenvoetbal decennia dwars. Tijd om dit te herstellen". De Correspondent.

[5] Parrish, Charles; Nauright, John (21 April 2014). Soccer around the World: A Cultural Guide to the World's Favorite Sport. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610693035. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books.

[6] "Spartaans vrouwenvoetbal wordt verboden". Sparta Rotterdam.

[7] Vooren, Jurryt van de (November 24, 2017). "De eerste voetbalwedstrijd van het Nederlands vrouwenelftal was in 1956".

[8] "Vrouwenvoetbal | Kennis". Atria. November 12, 2015.

[9] "Geschiedenis | KNVB". www.knvb.nl.

[10] Longman, Jeré (2019-06-25). "In Women's World Cup Origin Story, Fact and Fiction Blur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.

[11] "First ladies pave the way". FIFA.com. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 24 November 2022.

[12] "Oranje masterplan: meet the woman that transformed Dutch women's football". Aipsmedia.com.

[13] Haisley, Billy (3 June 2015). "Finally, A Netherlands Women's Team That Lives Up To The Name". Deadspin. Retrieved 13 July 2017.

[14] "Netherlands Women 4-2 Denmark Women". BBC Sport. August 6, 2017.

[15] "Netherlands to host 2017 women's European Championships". BBC Sport. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.

[16] Ramesh, Priya (7 August 2017). "Holland victory a triumph for Dutch flair and Sarina Wiegman's tactical nous". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2017.

[WaPo-17] Goff, Steven; Giambalvo, Emily (7 July 2019). "U.S. wins Women's World Cup title with 2–0 defeat of Netherlands". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2022.

[18] "Women's football about to break through". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-07-30.

[19] "Data analysis is really helping the Dutch national women's soccer team". Retrieved 13 July 2017.

[20] "FC Utrecht-vrouwen stunten bij rentree in de eredivisie: 4-2 winst op Feyenoord". www.rtvutrecht.nl (in Dutch). 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.

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v t e Women's football in Europe
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History

National team

Domestic League

See also

References