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Topklasse

Countries	Netherlands
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	2010
Number of teams	32 (2 Groups of 16)
Promotion to	Eerste Divisie
Relegation to	Hoofdklasse
Levels on pyramid	Level 3
Domestic cup(s)	KNVB Cup
Topklasse 2010-11

Topklasse (Top Class) is the new third tier of football in the Netherlands which will have its inaugural season in 2010/2011. The league will be placed between the Eerste Divisie and the Hoofdklasse.^[1] The new structure resulted from discussions between the Royal Netherlands Football Association, the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie (the clubs in the Eerste Divisie) and the Centraal Overleg Hoofdklassers (the clubs in the Hoofdklasse).

[edit] Background

A national football competition in the Netherlands was established in 1956. Prior to that, the districts of the Dutch football association held their own competitions, and the champions of these competitions faced each other for the national title. The highest national division in the new league structure became the Eredivisie, followed by the Eerste Divisie and the Tweede Divisie. The Tweede Divisie was disbanded in 1971; six clubs were promoted to the Eerste Divisie (champions De Volewijckers along with FC Eindhoven, VVV, Fortuna Vlaardingen, PEC and Roda JC), while the remaining ten clubs became amateur clubs. The Eerste Divisie subsequently became the lowest league in professional football in the Netherlands

The amateur football clubs had a separate league system, the highest league of which was the Eerste Klasse (later: Hoofdklasse). There was no promotion and relegation between professional football and amateur football; a professional football club could only drop to the amateur leagues if its licence for professional football was revoked, while an amateur football club could only be promoted after application and meeting a number of criteria.

The calls for a Topklasse largely stem from a professionalization of amateur football clubs in the Netherlands in recent years, in the sense that many players of Hoofdklasse clubs now receive a salary.^[2] This has closed the gap between the top of the Hoofdklasse and the bottom of the Eerste Divisie. Chairman of the Dutch football association Henk Kesler has therefore repeatedly called for the creation of the Topklasse, which would establish promotion and relegation between professional and amateur football, creating a league pyramid akin to the English football league system.

The first plans for a Topklasse were rejected by the Eerste Divisie clubs in 1999.^[3]

[edit] Confirmed structure

The KNVB will introduce the new level from the 2010/11 season. After the 2009/10 season the bottom 2 teams in the Eerste Divisie (which size will be reduced to 18 clubs) and the top 4 in each of the 6 Hoofdklasse leagues will join the new level. These clubs will be joined by 6 playoff winners who finish 5th or 6th. The 32 clubs will be divided in 2 leagues of 16 clubs. One league will be a "Saturday"-league and one league will be a "Sunday"-league. At the end of the season both clubs finishing top in their division will play each other. The winner of that tie will be allowed to promote to the Eerste Divisie, replacing the team that finishes 18th. If the winner refuses promotion, the runners-up will promote. If both teams refuse promotion, no team from Eerste Divisie will get relegated.

A definite decision about introducing the new level has been taken at an amateur clubs meeting at 6th June 2009.^[4]

[edit] Perception among amateur clubs

IJsselmeervogels, the most successful amateur football club in the Netherlands, is a strong opponent of the plans. Chairman Arian van de Vuurst has stated that "professional football does not fit in with our culture."^[2] -->

[edit] References

1. ^ "KNVB wil topklasse in amateurvoetbal" (in Dutch). Voetbalprimeur.nl. 2007-06-09. http://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/index.php?t=news&id=52637&c=4. Retrieved 2007-11-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Robert Missèt (2007-06-18). "‘Kesler heeft geen idee wat amateurvoetbal inhoudt’" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. p. 17. http://zoek.volkskrant.nl/artikel?text=ijsselmeervogels&FDOC=0&SORT=presence&PRD=20y&SEC=%2A&SO=%2A&DAT=%2A&ADOC=9. Retrieved 2007-11-15. 
3. ^ Erik Oudshoorn (1999-06-01). "Clubs eerste divisie dwarsbomen Topklasse" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. p. 11. http://archief.nrc.nl/?modus=l&text=kesler+topklasse&hit=5&set=2. Retrieved 2007-11-15. 
4. ^ http://voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=80053