Dutch Tour
Estadio
Brilliant Orange
Han van Eijden helps us take a look at some decent Dutch
architecture
Groundtastic took the opportunity to explore the Dutch grounds scene during
their visit to the Euro 2000 in The Low Countries. Resident expert and regular contributor to this
magazine, Han van Eijden, took us on a tour of some of the best football grounds in the region.
It is of interest to know that professional football came into being in Holland in 1954. In the early
Seventies the League comprised four divisions. This meant that support was spread far and wide
and thus professional football scene fell victim to a major clean-up. Many clubs, the majority of
them involved in our short tour, were doomed to non-league status.
Today, the top sites play in the KPN Eredivisie (equivalent to the English Premier League) and 18
clubs form the Totocompetitie (first division). There are no relegation schemes to the ranks of the
Amateurs (non-league). The Dutch equivalent to the Football Conference is called Hoofdklasse
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