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Eredivisie NV |
Country > Netherlands
Foundation Year > Founded in 1946
EPFL Affilation > 1997 Founding Member
No.ofAffiliated Clubs > Eredivisie: 18 Clubs
Official Website > www.eredivisie.nl
E-mail Address > info@eredivisie.nl
Phone > +31 343 438480
Fax > +31 434 438489
President > Peter Vogelzang
Chief Executive Officer > Frank Rutten
President
Peter Vogelzang
History
The Eredivisie (English translation meaning Honorary Division) is the highest football league in the Netherlands. From 1990 to 1999, the official name of the league was PTT Telecompetitie (after the sponsor, PTTTelecom), which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie in 1999 and to KPN Eredivisie in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, the league was called the Holland Casino Eredivisie. From the 2005-06 season onwards, the league will be sponsored by the Sponsorloterij lottery.
The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club faces every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, the bottom club is automatically relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the Eerste Divisie (First Division), with the Champion of the Eerste Divisie automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. The next two clubs from the bottom of the Eredivisie go to separate promotion/relegation playoffs. The playoffs are played in two groups. Each group has one Eredivisie club and three high-placed clubs from the Eerste Divisie. In both promotion/relegation playoff groups, each club plays a home-and-away series with the other clubs. The winner of each playoff group plays in the following season's Eredivisie, with the other teams going to the Eerste Divisie.
