Derde Divisie

Derde Divisie

Country	Netherlands
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	2010 as Topklasse
Divisions	2
Number of teams	36
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	Tweede Divisie
Relegation to	Hoofdklasse
Domestic cup(s)	KNVB Cup
Current champions	Excelsior Maassluis (2015–16)
Most championships	IJsselmeervogels, Achilles '29, Katwijk, Spakenburg, Lienden and Excelsior Maassluis (1 each)
2016–17 Derde Divisie

The Derde Divisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɛrdə diˈvizi]; English: Third Division), formerly known as Topklasse (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɔpklɑsə]; English: Top Class), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league is placed between the Tweede Divisie and the Hoofdklasse, the third and fifth tiers of Dutch football, respectively.^[1] The introduction of the then Topklasse resulted from discussions between the Royal Dutch Football Association, the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie (the clubs in the Eerste Divisie) and the Centraal Overleg Hoofdklassers (the clubs in the Hoofdklasse).

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football; a professional football club could only drop to the amateur leagues if its licence for professional football was revoked, while an amateur football club could only be promoted after application and meeting a number of criteria.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 stemmed from the professionalization of amateur football clubs in the Netherlands in recent years, in the sense that many Hoofdklasse club players 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 had therefore repeatedly called for the creation of the Topklasse to 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]

Confirmed structure

Former Topklasse logo.

The new league structure was approved at an amateur clubs meeting on 6 June 2009.^[4] The KNVB introduced the new level for the 2010–11 season, comprising 32 clubs. After the 2009–10 season, the bottom 2 teams in the Eerste Divisie, whose size was reduced from 20 to 18 clubs, and the top four clubs from each of the six Hoofdklasse divisions – a total of 26 clubs – automatically joined the new level. These clubs were joined by six playoff winners from a pool of 12 clubs that finished in 5th or 6th place in their group within the Hoofdklasse.

The 32 clubs within the Topklasse were divided into two leagues comprising 16 clubs. One league is a "Saturday" league and the other a "Sunday" league, a setup that is still in place. At the end of the season, both clubs that finished at the top of their division play each other. The winner of that tie was promoted to the Eerste Divisie, replacing the team that finished 18th. If the winner refused promotion or was ineligible for promotion, the runners-up were promoted. If both teams refused promotion, no promotion and relegation took place between the Eerste Divisie and Topklasse.

In January 2010, the exclusion of bankrupt HFC Haarlem from the Eerste Divisie reduced the number of scheduled relegations to one only, and led the KNVB to announce that this vacancy would be filled by an additional Hoofdklasse club. On May 12, 2010 it was announced that BV Veendam had declared bankruptcy, possibly giving (otherwise relegated) FC Oss a chance to stay in the Eerste Divisie, with the extra slot filled by another Hoofdklasse club. Veendam's bankruptcy was then reversed on appeal, thus confirming FC Oss' relegation into the Topklasse.

After the 2015–16 season promotion to the reintroduced Tweede Divisie, placed between the Eerste Divisie and the Topklasse, renamed Derde Divisie, was implemented. Thus, the Derde Divisie and lower leagues were decremented by one step in the pyramid, with the latter expanding to 36 clubs, 18 in each division.^[1][5] The division winners are promoted and no longer compete for the amateur championship which was made redundant.^[6]

Reforms from the 2016–17 season

There were several reforms from the 2016–17 season. The league was reformed as follows:

A proposal to split the two divisions determined by region and not by playing date has been rejected.^[7]

Perception among amateur clubs

IJsselmeervogels, one of the most successful amateur football clubs in the Netherlands, was a strong opponent of the plans; chief Arian van de Vuurst has stated that "professional football does not fit in with our culture."^[2] Because of these objections, promotion to the Eerste Divisie was not mandatory for the champion of the former Topklasse. After 2016, however, promotion to the Tweede Divisie is required.

Current teams (2016–17)

Saturday League

Club	City	Province	Stadium	Capacity	Manager	2015/16
ASWH	Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht	South Holland	Sportpark Schildman	3,000	Jack van den Berg	3rd Hoofdklasse B
VV Capelle	Capelle aan den IJssel	South Holland	Sportpark 't Slot	4,000	Ton van Bremen	11th
DVS'33	Ermelo	Gelderland	Sportlaan	1,500	Jan Veldhuizen	9th
Harkemase Boys	Harkema	Friesland	Sportpark De Bosk		Jan Vlap	1st Hoofdklasse C
SV Huizen	Huizen	North Holland	Sportpark De Wolfskamer		Henk van de Pol	2nd Hoofdklasse A
IJsselmeervogels	Spakenburg	Utrecht	Sportpark De Westmaat	8,000	Frans Adelaar	12th
Jong Almere City FC	Almere	Flevoland	Yanmar Stadion	3,200		7th Beloften Eredivisie
Jong FC Groningen	Groningen	Groningen			Alfons Arts	5th Beloften Eredivisie
Jong FC Volendam	Volendam	North Holland	Kras Stadion	7,200		8th Beloften Eredivisie
FC Lisse	Lisse	South Holland	Sportpark Ter Specke	5,000	Arjan van der Laan	15th (Playoff winners)
ODIN '59	Heemskerk	North Holland	Sportpark Assumburg		Richard Plug	1st Hoofdklasse A
ONS Boso Sneek	Sneek	Friesland	Sportpark Zuidersportpark	950	Richard Karrenbelt	10th
Quick Boys	Katwijk	South Holland	Sportpark Nieuw Zuid	8,500	Jan Zoutman	1st Hoofdklasse B
Rijnsburgse Boys	Rijnsburg	South Holland	Sportpark Middelmors	6,100	Niek Oosterlee	8th
FC Rijnvogels	Katwijk	South Holland	Sportpark De Kooltuin	3,000	Hein van Heek	4th Hoofdklasse B
SVV Scheveningen	Scheveningen	South Holland	Sportpark Houtrust	3,500	John Blok	13th
SteDoCo	Hoornaar	South Holland	Sportpark Stedoco		Virgil Breetveld	14th
VVOG	Harderwijk	Gelderland	Sportpark De Strokel	10,000	Ed Engelkes	2nd Hoofdklasse C

Sunday League

Club	City	Province	Stadium	Capacity	Manager	2015/16
JVC Cuijk	Cuijk	North Brabant	Sportpark De Groenendijkse	3,000	Ruud Kaiser	9th
Be Quick 1887	Groesbeek	Gelderland	Sportpark Zuid	4,000	Mischa Visser	2nd Hoofdklasse C
EVV	Echt	Limburg	Sportpark In de Bandert	2,000	Leo Beckers	11th
HBS Craeyenhout	The Hague	South Holland	Sportpark Daal en Bergselaan	1,000	André Wetzel	12th
ASV De Dijk	Amsterdam	North Holland	Sportpark Schellingwoude	1,500	Jochem Twisker	2nd Hoofdklasse A
VV Dongen	Dongen	North Brabant	Sportpark De Biezen	1,800	Ron Timmers	1st Hoofdklasse B
Hercules	Utrecht	Utrecht	Sportpark Voordorp	800	Eric Speelziek	10th
HSC '21	Haaksbergen	Overijssel	Sportpark Groot Scholtenhagen	4,500	Eddy Boerhof	8th
Jong Achilles '29	Groesbeek	Gelderland	Sportpark De Heikant	4,500	Dennis Krijgsman	11th Beloften Eredivisie
Jong De Graafschap	Doetinchem	Gelderland	Sportpark Varsselder	1,500	Jochem Twisker	9th Beloften Eredivisie
Jong FC Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	North Brabant	Stadion De Vliert	8,500	Arnold Scholten	10th Beloften Eredivisie (as Brabant United)
Juliana '31	Malden	Gelderland	Sportpark De Broeklanden	1,500	Arnold Brehler	1st Hoofdklasse C
Magreb'90	Utrecht	Utrecht	Sportpark Papendorp	1,000	Alami Ahannach	13th
OFC	Oostzaan	North Holland	Sportpark OFC	1,500	Imdat Ilguy	4th Hoofdklasse A
OJC Rosmalen	Rosmalen	North Brabant	Sportpark De Groote Wielen	3,000	Dennis Dekkers	14th
Quick '20	Oldenzaal	Overijssel	Vondersweijders	7,000	Rob Sneijders	3rd Hoofdklasse C
UDI '19	Uden	North Brabant	Sportpark Parkzicht	5,000		4th Hoofdklasse B (Playoff winners)
RKVV Westlandia	Naaldwijk	South Holland	Sportpark De Hoge Bomen	2,000	Edwin Grünholz	1st Hoofdklasse A

Champions

References

External links

• Topklasse.com - Latest news from and about the Derde Divisie. (Dutch)
• League321.com - Dutch football league tables, records & statistics database. (English)

Football in the Netherlands
Overview	Football Association League system Clubs Stadiums Champions Players Managers Referees Footballer of the Year
International	Men Netherlands U-21 U-19 U-17 U-16 Variants (Beach Futsal) Women Netherlands women
Leagues	Men Eredivisie Eerste Divisie Tweede Divisie (from 2016) Derde Divisie Hoofdklasse Eerste Klasse Tweede Klasse Derde Klasse Vierde Klasse Vijfde Klasse Zesde Klasse (defunct) Zevende Klasse (defunct) Women Eredivisie BeNe League (with Belgium, 2012–2015) Topklasse Hoofdklasse
Cups	Men KNVB Cup Johan Cruijff Shield KNVB Amateur Cup KNVB District Cup KNVB Reserve Cup Women KNVB Women's Cup BeNe Super Cup (with Belgium)
Others	Amsterdam Tournament Copa Amsterdam Eurovoetbal Feyenoord Tournament Future Cup Otten Cup