FM 2016 Competitions Preview: Holland

Hi guys, today we are going to show you a preview of the competitional system from Holland, also known as the Netherlands. Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club. Over the next 30 years, football gained popularity in the Netherlands and the late 1890s and early 1900s saw the foundation of many new clubs, notably Sparta Rotterdam in 1888, Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax in 1900, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1908 and Philips Sport Vereniging Eindhoven in 1913.

Top League & Continental Winners

Eredivisie: Ajax (33), PSV Eindhoven (22), Feyenoord (14), HVV Den Haag (10), Sparta Rotterdam (6), RAP (5), Go Ahead Eagles (4), HFC, Willem II, Craeyenhout (3), AZ Alkmaar, Heracles, ADO Den Haag, RCH (2), NAC, Twente, DWS, Rapid JC, Be Quick, FC Eindhoven, SC Enschede, DOS, Den Bosch, De Volewijckers, Harlem, Limburgia, SVV, Quick Den Haag, VV Concordia (1).

UEFA Champions League: Ajax (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995), Feyenoord (1970), PSV Eindhoven (1988). UEFA Europa League: Feyenoord (1974, 2002), PSV Eindhoven (1978), Ajax (1992).

Tier I: Eredivisie

• 34 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: No trialists allowed
• Match Rules: 7 subs named, maximum 3 used
• Continental Qualification: 2 places for CL, 3 places for EL
• Relegation: Bottom team is relegated

Eredivisie is the highest echelon of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club meets every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, teams go into a playoff/playout system.

Eredivisie Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

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Tier II: Jupiler League

• 36 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: Teams are not allowed to sign non-EU players
• Match Rules: 7 subs named, maximum 3 used
• Promotion: Top team promoted
• Relegation: None

The Eerste Divisie (also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. At the end of each season, the champion of the Jupiler League is automatically promoted to the Eredivisie.

Jupiler League Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

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The Cups

• KNVB Cup — knockout tournament open to all clubs
• Johan Cruijff-schaal — single match between Eredivisie champions and winner of KNVB Cup

Next time we’ll take a quick look at some other playable nations in the game. Below are some of the conventions I took in order to show more information in a compact view in the tables. Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave any comments or feedback. Happy managing!

Table Conventions

• Under INT – CL, EL = Europe during first season / (p) = promoted club / (r) = relegated club
• Under Finance – asterisk sign (*) = club is under transfer embargo due to breach of financial regulations
• Under Estimated Value – loan debt is shown in parenthesis ().