# Women's football in the Netherlands

Women's football in the Netherlands has traditionally had a low profile and female players had to play abroad. 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. In 1896 Sparta Rotterdam tried to form a women's football team but were thwarted. 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. Women's football was played regionally in the Netherlands until the 1970s, when UEFA declared all its members must invest in women's football.

## National team

On 17 April 1971, the French team played the first women's international football match recognized by FIFA against the Netherlands. The match took place in Hazebrouck, France and resulted in a 4–0 defeat for the Netherlands, with Jocelyne Ratignier scoring a hattrick.
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 and did not qualify for their first Women's World Cup until 2015, when the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams. In 2017, the national team won the UEFA Women's Euro 2017, which the country also hosted. Four out of 5 Dutch television viewers watched the Netherlands win the championship. 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.

## 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. 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. The league does not have promotion and relegation.
| Level | Level Name | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) | League(s)/Division(s) |
| 1 | Eredivisie | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs | Eredivisie 12 clubs |
| 2 | Topklasse | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs | Topklasse 12 clubs |
| 3 | Hoofdklasse | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse A Saturday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs | Hoofdklasse B Sunday 12 clubs |
| 4 | Eerste Klasse | Eerste Klasse Group A, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group A, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group A, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group A, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group B, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group B, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group B, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group B, Saturday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group C, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group C, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group C, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group C, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group D, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group D, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group D, Sunday 12 clubs | Eerste Klasse Group D, Sunday 12 clubs |
| 5 | Tweede Klasse | 2 A Saturday, West 1 | 2 A Saturday, West 1 | 2 B Saturday, West 2 | 2 B Saturday, West 2 | 2 C Saturday, East 1 | 2 C Saturday, East 1 | 2 D Saturday, East 2 | 2 D Saturday, East 2 | 2 E Sunday, West | 2 E Sunday, West | 2 F Sunday, South 1 | 2 F Sunday, South 1 | 2 G Sunday, South 2 | 2 G Sunday, South 2 | 2 H Sunday, South 1 | 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 |