The 2025–26 season was the 63rd season in the existence of Sportclub Telstar and their first season back in the Eredivisie since the 1977–78 campaign, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the preceding season. In addition to the domestic league, the club also participated in the KNVB Cup.
Background and pre-season
The 2025–26 season was Sportclub Telstar's 63rd since the club's formation in 1963, and their first in the Eredivisie, the top tier of the Dutch football league system, since 1977–78, when they had finished bottom of the league and been relegated to the Eerste Divisie. Telstar secured promotion via the 2024–25 Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs after finishing seventh in the regular season, defeating ADO Den Haag in the first round and FC Den Bosch in the semi-final, before completing a 3–1 second-leg win over Willem II in Tilburg on 1 June 2025.
Anthony Correia, a former Telstar player, served as head coach for a second full season, having been appointed in April 2024. Telstar's first-choice kit consisted of all white shirts, shorts and socks. The club retained construction firm BUKO as primary sponsor under a new agreement that also gave naming rights to the Sportpark Schoonenberg, which was rebranded the BUKO Stadion. Significant work also took place at the ground, where the pitch was converted from artificial turf to natural grass in line with new Eredivisie regulations.
Squad building began early. In February, Telstar pre-contracted defender Nigel Ogidi Nwankwo from Quick Boys, followed in May by striker Milan Zonneveld from the same club and, in June, forward Patrick Brouwer. Neville Ogidi Nwankwo, brother of Nigel, arrived on loan from Utrecht on 3 July, and goalkeeper Daan Reiziger signed later that month after leaving Cambuur. Defender Dion Malone and midfielder Dylan Mertens both signed in early August, while on 18 August Almere City's Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp joined on loan. The window concluded with the permanent signing of forward Kay Tejan from USL Dunkerque for a reported €230,000 on a two-year contract. The top goalscorer from the previous season, Youssef El Kachati, moved to fellow Eredivisie club NEC, and veterans Mitch Apau and Tom Overtoom ended their professional careers to join amateur sides Spakenburg and Rijnsburgse Boys respectively.
Telstar prepared with eight friendlies between July and early August. They opened with a 6–1 win at ADO '20 and drew 1–1 with Heerenveen in a 120-minute run-out, before victories over Rijnsburgse Boys (2–0) and Cambuur (2–0 in Stiens) and a 3–3 draw with Turkish side Samsunspor in Driel. On 26 July, the club won the one-day Visserijtoernooi at VV Katwijk with short-format victories over Koninklijke HFC (2–0) and Katwijk (1–0). A 5–0 reverse followed away to Jong Sparta. Pre-season closed with a 2–1 comeback win over Qatari side Al-Shamal in Maurik, in which Soufiane Hetli converted a penalty before Zonneveld struck the winner. Former Netherlands international Adam Maher trained with the club and featured in friendlies, but did not sign a contract.
Eredivisie August to December
Telstar's first Eredivisie game of the season was away to Ajax on 10 August at the Johan Cruyff Arena, where the team lost 2–0. The first home fixture, against PEC Zwolle on 15 August at the renamed BUKO Stadion, was also lost 2–0, with Koen Kostons scoring both goals. The first point came on 23 August in a 2–2 home draw against fellow promotee Volendam, in which Hetli scored Telstar's first Eredivisie goal in 47 years before Brouwer doubled the lead. Anthony Descotte then scored twice late on for Volendam to deny Telstar a first top-flight victory since 1978. That victory arrived a week later, when goals from Tyrone Owusu and Brouwer, along with several saves by goalkeeper Ronald Koeman Jr., secured a 2–0 win away to defending champions PSV.
September and early October produced mixed results. Telstar lost 3–1 at home to Fortuna Sittard on 14 September after Makan Aïko scored a late substitute's brace, and 2–0 away to Groningen six days later. On 28 September, the team beat reigning cup holders Go Ahead Eagles 4–2 at home in their first home win of the season, with goals from Tejan, Nils Rossen, Ritmeester van de Kamp and Hetli, and Tyrese Noslin heading a shot off the line late on to preserve the lead. The result meant Telstar had beaten both the reigning champions and the domestic cup holders within their first two months back in the Eredivisie. On 5 October, before the international break, Telstar lost 2–1 away to AZ in a North Holland derby in which Mexx Meerdink opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Neville Ogidi Nwankwo had fouled Matěj Šín in the box; Noslin pulled one back midway through the second half.
After the international break, Telstar remained competitive but struggled to convert performances into points. A 3–2 home defeat to Heerenveen on 19 October was followed by a 1–0 loss at Sparta on 25 October, leaving the team near the bottom of the table. A run of draws then helped steady the campaign. Telstar drew 2–2 with Excelsior on 1 November, a match marked by an extensive tribute inside the BUKO Stadion to a recently deceased local supporter, with head coach Correia describing the impact on the club and wider IJmond region. A 0–0 draw at Twente on 7 November in Enschede was the clubs' first meeting in 47 years. On 23 November, Telstar drew 1–1 at home with Utrecht with Hetli scoring before Can Bozdoğan equalised in the third minute of stoppage time. At De Kuip on 30 November, the team drew 1–1 with Feyenoord, a late equaliser from Tejan cancelling out an own goal by Guus Offerhaus.
In December, Telstar drew 1–1 at Heracles on 6 December, Zonneveld scoring in front of 12,046 spectators at the Erve Asito before Ivan Mesik equalised in stoppage time. They drew at home with NEC the following weekend. Telstar ended 2025 with a key 1–0 away win at relegation rivals NAC Breda, a result highlighted in regional press as a boost heading into the winter break, and one that lifted them to 15th place at the halfway point of the season.
January to May
Telstar opened the new year with a 3–2 home defeat to Ajax on 11 January after falling 3–0 behind. The closing stages, played after a red card for winter loan signing Cedric Hatenboer, nearly produced a comeback that left Ajax head coach Fred Grim openly critical of his side's game management afterwards. Results remained tight through late January. Telstar lost 1–0 at home to AZ on 25 January in a game described by regional broadcaster NH as one in which the hosts had not rewarded themselves despite sustained pressure. On 8 February, a stoppage-time equaliser earned a 1–1 draw away at Go Ahead Eagles. The 1–1 home draw with Twente the following week was Telstar's ninth of the season. A 2–1 defeat away to Feyenoord on 22 February, which saw the debut of England international Raheem Sterling for their opponents, was followed on 27 February by a 3–0 home win over NAC Breda, which lifted the team further from the relegation places.
On 8 March, Telstar won 4–1 away at Fortuna Sittard for their largest away win of the season. A 3–0 defeat at Heerenveen followed six days later. On 22 March, Telstar produced one of the season's defining results, beating champions PSV 3–1 at home and so defeating the same side both at home and away in the same Eredivisie season. PSV had been reduced to ten men in the first half after a red card for Anass Salah-Eddine. Brouwer opened the scoring, Kiliann Sildillia briefly equalised with a header, and Van Duijn and Tejan added further goals.
April brought further mixed fortunes. Telstar lost 2–0 at home to Groningen on 4 April, with Dies Janse and Jorg Schreuders scoring for the visitors, and 4–1 at Utrecht a week later. Telstar recovered on 22 April with a 4–1 home win over Sparta Rotterdam, with goals from Zonneveld, Jeff Hardeveld, Van Duijn (two) and substitute Jelani Seedorf. In early May, Van Duijn also scored in a 1–1 draw away at NEC.
With three matches remaining, Telstar still needed points to confirm Eredivisie survival. On 10 May, the team won 3–0 at home against the already-relegated Heracles in the penultimate round, eliminating the possibility of direct relegation but leaving the play-off place still in play. The decisive match came on 17 May at Kras Stadion, where Telstar faced fellow strugglers Volendam in the final round of the season. A draw was enough to secure Telstar's Eredivisie place. With the score level at 1–1 and the closing stages approaching, Telstar were awarded a penalty in the 89th minute, which was converted by Koeman Jr. for a 2–1 win. Koeman became the first goalkeeper to score from the penalty spot in an Eredivisie match since Wim de Ron for Cambuur in 1999. The result confirmed Telstar's 14th-place finish on 37 points and sent Volendam into the relegation play-off.
On 18 May, the day after the survival match, Telstar announced that Heerenveen assistant coach Henk Brugge would succeed Correia as head coach for the 2026–27 season. Correia was to take over as head coach of Utrecht.
KNVB Cup Telstar's run in the 2025–26 KNVB Cup was their longest in the competition since the 1991–92 season. The team entered the competition on 29 October 2025 with a 5–0 away win at amateur side Lisse at Sportpark Ter Specke. Wins in December and over Almere City in January brought the team to a quarter-final tie at home to cup holders Go Ahead Eagles on 5 February 2026, which Telstar won 2–1 to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 34 years. The run ended on 4 March in Alkmaar with a 2–1 defeat to AZ, who went on to win the final against NEC.
First-team squad As of 3 February 2026 No. Player Position Nationality Date of birth (age) Signed from Date signed Fee Contract end Goalkeepers 1 Ronald Koeman Jr. GK TOP Oss 1 July 2021 Free transfer 2026 13 Tyrick Bodak GK Cambuur 1 July 2024 Free transfer 2026 20 Daan Reiziger GK Cambuur 15 July 2025 Free transfer 2027 Defenders 2 Jeff Hardeveld LB / CB Emmen 2 September 2024 Free transfer 2027 3 Gerald Alders RB / CB Jong Ajax 3 February 2026 Loan 2026 4 Guus Offerhaus CB / DM Quick Boys 1 July 2024 Free transfer 2026 5 Nigel Ogidi Nwankwo LB / CB Quick Boys 1 July 2025 Free transfer 2027 6 Danny Bakker (C) CB / DM NAC Breda 31 August 2023 Free transfer 2026 11 Tyrese Noslin RB / LB Jong Almere City 8 August 2024 Free transfer 2027 14 Neville Ogidi Nwankwo CB / RB Utrecht 4 July 2025 Loan 2026 15 Adil Lechkar LB / LM TEC 1 July 2024 Free transfer Amateur 21 Devon Koswal CB Dordrecht 15 August 2023 Free transfer 2026 24 Abdelrafie Benzzine CB Academy 1 July 2024 Amateur 25 Yamano Olfers CB Academy 1 July 2024 Amateur 28 Rojendro Oudsten CB / CM Academy 1 July 2025 Amateur 29 Dion Malone CB / RB Karmiotissa 9 August 2025 Free transfer Amateur Midfielders 8 Tyrone Owusu DM / RB Quick Boys 1 July 2024 Free transfer 2027 16 Dylan Mertens AM / CM Fakel Voronezh 8 August 2025 Free transfer 2026 17 Nils Rossen CM / DM NEC 8 August 2024 Free transfer 2026 23 Cedric Hatenboer DM / CM Anderlecht 5 January 2026 Loan 2026 23 Rayyan Koubini CM Academy 1 July 2025 Amateur 39 Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp CM / RM / DM Almere City 18 August 2025 Loan 2026 Forwards 7 Soufiane Hetli ST / RW AFC 1 July 2024 Free transfer 2027 9 Jelani Seedorf ST Jong Sparta 3 February 2026 Free transfer 2028 19 Nökkvi Þeyr Þórisson ST Sparta Rotterdam 3 February 2026 Loan 2026 27 Patrick Brouwer RW / AM Quick Boys 1 July 2025 Free transfer 2028 30 Kay Tejan ST / RW USL Dunkerque 29 August 2025 €230,000 2027 37 Sem van Duijn ST Jong AZ 26 January 2026 Loan 2026
Transfers and contracts Transfers in