The 2025–26 Eerste Divisie, also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the 70th season of the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of football in the Netherlands since its establishment in 1956.
Teams A total of 20 teams took part in the league: 17 teams from the 2024–25 Eerste Divisie and 3 teams relegated from the 2024–25 Eredivisie. Almere City replaced 2024–25 Eerste Divisie champions Volendam after two seasons in the Eredivisie. RKC Waalwijk replaced second-placed Excelsior after six seasons in the Eredivisie. Willem II replaced Telstar following their loss in the promotion play-offs after one season in the Eredivisie.
On 31 July 2025, it was confirmed that Vitesse had lost their professional license due to financial issues, and therefore the club was not eligible to play in the Eerste Divisie. The KNVB announced that no other team was eligible to be promoted, and as a result the competition began to be played with 19 teams. Period titles would have been decided on the first 8 or 9 matches each team played within a period, depending on whether such a period would have had 9 or 10 match days.
On 3 September 2025, Vitesse won an appeal and regained their license, requiring them to be placed back in the league, and returning the league to the original 20-team rules.
Stadiums and locations Club Location Venue Capacity ADO Den Haag The Hague WerkTalent Stadion 15,000 Almere City Almere Yanmar Stadion 4,501 Cambuur Leeuwarden Kooi Stadion 15,000 De Graafschap Doetinchem Stadion De Vijverberg 12,600 Den Bosch 's-Hertogenbosch Stadion De Vliert 8,713 Dordrecht Dordrecht M-Scores Stadion 4,235 Eindhoven Eindhoven Jan Louwers Stadion 4,600 Emmen Emmen De Oude Meerdijk 8,600 Helmond Sport Helmond GS Staalwerken Stadion 3,600 Jong Ajax Amsterdam Sportpark De Toekomst 2,250 Jong AZ Alkmaar AFAS Trainingscomplex 1,000 Jong PSV Eindhoven PSV Campus De Herdgang 2,500 Jong FC Utrecht Utrecht Sportcomplex Zoudenbalch 450 MVV Maastricht Maastricht Stadion De Geusselt 9,500 RKC Waalwijk Waalwijk Mandemakers Stadion 7,508 Roda JC Kerkrade Kerkrade Parkstad Limburg Stadion 19,979 TOP Oss Oss Frans Heesenstadion 4,560 Vitesse Arnhem GelreDome 21,248 VVV-Venlo Venlo Covebo Stadion - De Koel 8,000 Willem II Tilburg Koning Willem II Stadion 14,700
Number of teams by provinces Number of teams Province Team(s)7Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Helmond Sport, Jong PSV, RKC Waalwijk, TOP Oss, Willem II3MVV Maastricht, Roda JC, VVV-Venlo2De Graafschap, VitesseJong Ajax, Jong AZADO Den Haag, Dordrecht1EmmenAlmere CityCambuurJong FC Utrecht
Personnel and kits
Team President Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsors (front)Shirt sponsors (back)Shirt sponsors (sleeves)Shorts sponsors ADO Den Haag Natascha van Grinsven-Admiraal Robin Peter Erreà Biersteker Erreà Almere City John Bes Jeroen Rijsdijk Craft Cambuur Cees Heijboer Henk de Jong Adidas Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma TanQYou, EffektiefNone De Graafschap Mart de Kruif Marinus Dijkhuizen Robey Onverwachtehoek.nl, De DakExpert Flexfamily, Coffee Fresh SWR Den Bosch Tommie van Alphen Ulrich Landvreugd Vacant Sanitairwinkel Dordrecht Hans de Zeeuw Dirk Kuyt Capelli Keukenwarenhuis.nl, Energiek Dordt M-Scores Eindhoven Peter Bijvelds Jan Poortvliet Macron VDL SRP Zuid Emmen Rinse Bleeker Menno van Dam Hummel Vandaglas Hydrowear, Century Autolease Punt Uit Helmond Sport Ron van den Bekerom Jurgen Seegers Saller Heel Helmond Sport, Dixap Vescom, Elektro Vogels Jong Ajax Menno Geelen Paul Nuijten Adidas ZiggoZiggo SportCuraçao/ Team Rockstars IT Jong AZ Merijn Zeeman Frank Peereboom Nike KansinoElfi VastgoedCavallaro Napoli Jong PSV Marcel Brands Stijn Schaars Puma Metropoolregio Brainport EindhovenGoodHabitzTOTO Nederlandse Loterij Jong Utrecht Thijs van Es Mark Otten Castore Conclusion Digital TransformationU4UDassy MVV Maastricht Tom Daemen Peter van den Berg Nike TCC, Voetbalshop Cloos For You Maak.eu RKC Waalwijk Willem van der Linden Sander Duits Stanno Willy Naessens Industriebouw, JM van Delft & Zn. Mandemakers, Van Mossel Automotive Beekmans Heftrucks Roda JC Kerkrade Jordens Peters Kevin Van Dessel Decathlon Tribe Security, Juyst Gezond in Mijnstreek, Rutten x Welling Bijzonder Zorggroep, D&D Verhuur Woodstone TOP Oss Bas van Rossum Sjors Ultee JDH Noor Sportswear, Becoss MD Stukadoors Vitesse Henk Parren Rüdiger Rehm Robey VVV-Venlo Guus Pennings Peter Uneken Craft Venlo.fit VidaXL, Seacon Logistics ProToGa Beveiliging, Personato Recruitment Haa! Willem II Merijn Goris John Stegeman Robey None None None None
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment ADO Den Haag Darije Kalezić End of contract 30 June 2025 Pre-season Robin Peter 14 July 2025 Dordrecht Melvin Boel Signed by Go Ahead Eagles Dirk Kuyt 1 July 2025 Emmen Alfons Arts Mutual consent Menno van Dam Helmond Sport Robert Maaskant End of contract Jurgen Seegers Jong Ajax Frank Peereboom Moved to Ajax Willem Weijs Jong PSV Alfons Groenendijk End of contract Stijn Schaars Jong FC Utrecht Ivar van Dinteren End of contract Mark Otten RKC Waalwijk Henk Fraser End of contract Sander Duits Roda JC Kerkrade Bas Sibum Signed by Heracles Almelo Kevin Van Dessel Vitesse John van den Brom End of contract Rüdiger Rehm Willem II Kristof Aelbrecht (a.i.) End of interim spell John Stegeman VVV-Venlo John Lammers Mutual consent 11 September 2025 18th Ivo Rossen (a.i.) 11 September 2025 MVV Maastricht Edwin Hermans Sacked 23 September 2025 19th Davy Heymans (a.i.) 23 September 2025 VVV-Venlo Ivo Rossen (a.i.) End of interim spell 30 September 2025 9th Peter Uneken 1 October 2025 MVV Maastricht Davy Heymans (a.i.) End of interim spell 22 October 2025 12th Peter van den Berg 22 October 2025 Jong AZ Lee-Roy Echteld Moved to AZ 18 January 2026 18th Frank Peereboom 29 January 2026 Jong Ajax Willem Weijs Sacked 10 February 2026 20th Óscar García 11 February 2026 Eindhoven Maurice Verberne Mutual consent 19 February 2026 14th Jan Poortvliet (a.i.) 19 February 2026 Jong Ajax Óscar García Moved to Ajax 8 March 2026 20th Paul Nuijten 9 March 2026
League table
Results
Play-offs All times Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
Season statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Romano PostemaEmmen242 Reuven NiemeijerDe Graafschap203 Devin HaenWillem II184 Julian RijkhoffAlmere City175 Kevin MonzialoDen Bosch16 Anthony van den HurkRoda JC Kerkrade7 Dean ZandbergenVVV-Venlo158 Jesper UnekenRKC Waalwijk14 Robin van DuivenJong PSV10 Tim van der LeijRKC Waalwijk13
Discipline Most yellow cards: 9 Wout Coomans (MVV Maastricht) Ricardo-Felipe Schwarz (Vitesse) Milan de Haan (Almere City) Mauresmo Hinoke (TOP Oss) Most red cards: 1 32 players
References