KNVB Cup

The KNVB Cup (Dutch: KNVB beker) is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from the top two leagues of Dutch football (the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), as well as the top four teams from each of the six third tier of Dutch football (Hoofdklasse), while the remaining teams are drawn from the fourth tier (Eerste Klasse). The finals of the tournament usually takes place in De Kuip, and has been held there every season since 1988. The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruijff Shield, which is the first game of the following season.

The competition was created during a board meeting of the Dutch National Football Association, in the Hague, on 19 January 1898. The tournament began the following season, 1898–1899. The first final was played on 9 May 1899 between RAP Amsterdam and HVV Den Haag. In 1946, the trophy was changed to one made out of silver, which was very rare in after World War II.

Name changes

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Like many national cup competitions, the name of the tournament has changed with sponsorship. From 1995, the competition went from being the KNVB Cup Tournament to being known as the Amstel Cup after the then sponsor Amstel. On 16 August 2005, the name was changed to the Gatorade Cup after the drinks company Gatorade. In 2006, the name returned to being the KNVB Cup Tournament with Gatorade remaining as the principal sponsor.

European competition

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Up until 1998, the winner of the cup entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but with the abandonment of that tournament, the winner now goes into the UEFA Europa League. If the winning team has won the Eredivisie and thus entry into the UEFA Champions League, then the beaten KNVB Cup finalist will take the place in the UEFA Europa League.

In 1998, both teams in the KNVB final, Ajax and PSV, had won places into the Champions League. So a game was played between the beaten semi-finalists, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente, to determine who would take the Cup Winners' Cup place.

Number of titles

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Club # Wins Winning Years
1 Ajax 18 1917, 1943, 1961, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986,
1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010
2 Feyenoord 11 1930, 1935, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995,
2008
3 PSV 8 1950, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2005
4 Quick Den Haag[winners 1] 4 1909, 1910, 1911, 1916
5 AZ 3 1978, 1981, 1982
HFC 3 1904, 1913, 1915
Sparta Rotterdam 3 1958, 1962, 1966
FC Utrecht 3 1985, 2003, 2004
9 ADO Den Haag 2 1968, 1975
DFC 2 1914, 1932
Twente 2 1977, 2001
Fortuna'54 2 1957, 1964
Haarlem 2 1902, 1912
HBS Den Haag[winners 2] 2 1901, 1908
RCH 2 1918, 1928
Roda JC 2 1997, 2000
VOC Rotterdam 2 1905, 1907
Wageningen 2 1939, 1948
Willem II 2 1944, 1963
20 Heerenveen 1 2009
Concordia 1 1906
CVV 1 1920
FC Eindhoven 1 1937
HVV Den Haag 1 1903
LONGA 1 1926
NAC Breda 1 1973
Quick 1888 1 1949
RAP Amsterdam 1 1899
Roermond 1 1936
Schoten 1 1921
Velocitas Breda 1 1900
Velocitas Groningen 1 1934
VSV 1 1938
VUC Den Haag 1 1927
VVV 1 1959
ZFC 1 1925
  1. Includes 2 for second team.
  2. Includes 1 for second team.

References

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Other websites

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