2021–22 Eerste Divisie

Eerste Divisie

Season	2021 – 2022
Champions	FC Emmen
Promoted	FC Emmen FC Volendam Excelsior
Matches played	380
Goals scored	1165 (3.07 per match)
Top goalscorer	Thijs Dallinga (32 goals)
Biggest home win	FC Emmen 7–1 MVV Maastricht (10 September 2021)
Biggest away win	Jong FC Utrecht 0–6 FC Eindhoven (5 November 2021)
Highest scoring	Jong Ajax 6–3 NAC Breda (13 September 2021) Jong Ajax 6–3 ADO Den Haag (7 March 2022)
Longest winning run	8 matches FC Eindhoven ADO Den Haag
Longest unbeaten run	26 matches FC Volendam
Longest winless run	15 matches TOP Oss
Longest losing run	7 matches TOP Oss MVV Maastricht
← 2020–21 2022–23 → All statistics correct as of 6 May 2022.

The 2021–22 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the 66th season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1956.

It began on 6 August 2021, and ended with the promotion/relegation playoffs on 29 May 2022.

Relegation for reserve teams

On 1 August 2020, the KNVB detailed on its website in what scenarios will the reserve teams in the league be relegated from the Eerste Divisie.

Relegation to the Tweede Divisie

• No reserve team from the Eerste Divisie can be relegated to the Tweede Divisie if the lowest classified reserves team in the Eerste Divisie is in the top 10.
• If the lowest classified reserve team in the Eerste Divisie finishes between 11th through 18th and the highest classified reserve team in the Tweede Divisie finishes first, the two teams play each other in a two-legged tie to decide which team will play in the Eerste Divisie the next season and which team will also play in the Tweede Divisie.
• If the lowest classified reserves in the Eerste Divisie finish 19th or 20th and the highest classified reserves in the Tweede Divisie finish first or second, the lowest classified team from the Eerste Divisie is relegated to the Tweede Divisie while the highest classified reserves in the Tweede Divisie are promoted to the Eerste Divisie.
• If a reserve team plays in the Eerste Divisie and the first team is relegated from the Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie, the reserves are automatically relegated to the Tweede Divisie. In case this reserve team finished between first through third in the final ranking of reserves, the fourth-placed team is not relegated.

Teams

Team changes

Promoted from 2020–21 Tweede Divisie	Relegated from 2020–21 Eredivisie	Promoted to 2021–22 Eredivisie	Relegated to 2021–22 Tweede Divisie
None	FC Emmen VVV-Venlo ADO Den Haag	SC Cambuur Go Ahead Eagles N.E.C.	None

A total of 20 teams will take part in the league: 17 teams from the 2020–21 Eerste Divisie and 3 teams relegated from the 2020–21 Eredivisie.

ADO

Almere City

Den Bosch

Dordrecht

Eindhoven

Emmen

Excelsior

De Graafschap

Helmond Sport

Jong Ajax

Jong AZ

Jong PSV

Jong Utrecht

MVV

NAC

Roda JC

Telstar

TOP

Volendam

VVV

Location of teams in the Eerste Divisie 2020–21

Stadiums and locations

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
ADO Den Haag	The Hague	Cars Jeans Stadion	015,000
Almere City FC	Almere	Yanmar Stadion	04,501
FC Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	Stadion De Vliert	08,713
FC Dordrecht	Dordrecht	Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion	04,235
FC Eindhoven	Eindhoven	Jan Louwers Stadion	04,600
FC Emmen	Emmen	De Oude Meerdijk	08,600
Excelsior	Rotterdam	Van Donge & De Roo Stadion	04,500
De Graafschap	Doetinchem	Stadion De Vijverberg	012,600
Helmond Sport	Helmond	SolarUnie Stadion	012,600
Jong Ajax	Amsterdam	Sportpark De Toekomst	02,050
Jong AZ	Alkmaar	AFAS Trainingscomplex	0200
Jong PSV	Eindhoven	PSV Campus De Herdgang	02,500
Jong FC Utrecht	Utrecht	Sportcomplex Zoudenbalch	0550
MVV Maastricht	Maastricht	Stadion De Geusselt	010,000
NAC Breda	Breda	Rat Verlegh Stadion	019,000
Roda JC Kerkrade	Kerkrade	Parkstad Limburg Stadion	019,979
Telstar	Velsen	Rabobank IJmond Stadion	03,060
TOP Oss	Oss	Frans Heesenstadion	04,560
FC Volendam	Volendam	Kras Stadion	07,384
VVV-Venlo	Venlo	Covebo Stadion - De Koel	08,000

Number of teams by provinces

Number of teams	Province	Team(s)
6	North Brabant	FC Den Bosch, FC Eindhoven, Helmond Sport, Jong PSV, NAC Breda, TOP Oss
4	North Holland	Jong Ajax, Jong AZ, Telstar, FC Volendam
3	Limburg	MVV Maastricht, Roda JC Kerkrade, VVV-Venlo
	South Holland	ADO Den Haag, FC Dordrecht, Excelsior
1	Drenthe	FC Emmen
	Flevoland	Almere City FC
	Gelderland	De Graafschap
	Utrecht	Jong FC Utrecht

Personnel

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Shirt sponsor
ADO Den Haag	Giovanni Franken	Boy Kemper	Cars Jeans
Almere City FC	Alex Pastoor	Tim Receveur	SenS Online Solutions
FC Den Bosch	Jack de Gier	Wouter van der Steen	Timmermans Infra
FC Dordrecht	Michele Santoni	Jari Schuurman	Keukenwarenhuis.nl
FC Eindhoven	Rob Penders	Mawouna Amevor	VDL Groep
FC Emmen	Dick Lukkien	Jeroen Veldmate	EasyToys
Excelsior	Marinus Dijkhuizen	Redouan El Yaakoubi	DSW Zorgverzekeraar
De Graafschap	Jan Vreman (a.i.)	Ted van de Pavert	AgriBioSource
Helmond Sport	Sven Winnen	Robin van der Meer	Vescom
Jong Ajax	John Heitinga	Youri Regeer	Ziggo
Jong AZ	Maarten Martens	Joey Jacobs	AFAS Software
Jong PSV	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Shurandy Sambo	Metropoolregio Brainport Eindhoven
Jong FC Utrecht	Darije Kalezić	Nick Venema	T-Mobile
MVV Maastricht	Klaas Wels	Sven Blummel	SuperGame
NAC Breda	Edwin de Graaf	Nick Olij	OK tankstations
Roda JC Kerkrade	Jurgen Streppel	Richard Jensen	Flow Traders Foundation
Telstar	Andries Jonker	Glynor Plet	BUKO
TOP Oss	Bob Peeters	Rick Stuy van den Herik	Hendriks Bouw en Ontwikkeling
FC Volendam	Wim Jonk	Damon Mirani	HSB
VVV-Venlo	Jos Luhukay	Kristopher Da Graca	Seacon

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment	Ref.
De Graafschap	Mike Snoei	Sacked	19 May 2021	Pre season	Reinier Robbemond	1 July 2021
FC Eindhoven	Ernie Brandts	Mutual consent	21 May 2021		Rob Penders
NAC Breda	Maurice Steijn	Resigned	19 June 2021		Edwin de Graaf	14 July 2021
Almere City FC	Jeroen Rijsdijk	End of interim spell	30 June 2021		Gertjan Verbeek	1 July 2021
FC Dordrecht	Jan Zoutman	End of contract			Michele Santoni
Jong Ajax	Mitchell van der Gaag	Signed by Ajax			John Heitinga
Jong AZ	Michel Vonk	End of contract			Maarten Martens
Jong PSV	Peter Uneken	End of contract			Ruud van Nistelrooy
Jong FC Utrecht	Ab Plugboer	End of interim spell			Darije Kalezić
MVV Maastricht	Darije Kalezić	End of contract			Klaas Wels
TOP Oss	Klaas Wels	End of contract			Bob Peeters
Almere City FC	Gertjan Verbeek	Mutual consent	23 November 2021	18th	Tim Bakens (a.i.)	23 November 2021
	Tim Bakens (a.i.)	End of interim spell	19 December 2021	19th	Alex Pastoor	19 December 2021
Helmond Sport	Wil Boessen	Sacked	14 February 2022	19th	Sven Winnen	14 February 2022
ADO Den Haag	Ruud Brood		28 February 2022	6th	Giovanni Franken	28 February 2022
De Graafschap	Reinier Robbemond		16 March 2022	9th	Jan Vreman (a.i.)	16 March 2022

Standings

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round.

Results

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away	ADO	ALM	DBO	DOR	EIN	EMM	EXC	GRA	HEL	JAJ	JAZ	JPS	JUT	MVV	NAC	RJC	TEL	TOP	VOL	VVV
ADO Den Haag	—	1–0	3–2	5–1	4–2	1–2	0–2	0–0	2–1	2–0	3–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	4–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	2–0
Almere City FC	1–3	—	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–0	3–0	1–2	3–0	2–4	0–3	3–5	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–4	0–0	3–0	2–3	0–1
FC Den Bosch	0–1	1–0	—	3–0	0–2	0–2	0–5	2–1	2–0	2–3	2–1	3–2	2–1	3–1	0–5	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–2	0–0
FC Dordrecht	3–1	2–2	3–3	—	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–4	0–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–1	2–5	0–1	1–0	3–2	0–1
FC Eindhoven	1–1	3–1	1–0	5–1	—	1–0	4–1	1–2	3–2	1–3	1–0	1–3	4–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	4–0
FC Emmen	3–0	3–0	2–0	2–1	0–1	—	0–1	0–2	1–2	3–1	3–0	2–0	2–0	7–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	3–1	4–1	1–0
Excelsior	2–3	4–4	4–0	3–1	3–4	0–1	—	0–0	3–0	6–2	3–3	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	2–0	1–4	0–1	1–1	3–0
De Graafschap	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	1–1	3–1	—	0–1	1–3	0–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–3	1–1	1–2	0–3	1–2
Helmond Sport	0–0	1–2	1–1	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–5	0–4	—	3–1	1–2	1–0	0–3	1–2	4–0	0–3	2–2	1–3	1–1	0–3
Jong Ajax	6–3	1–3	2–1	1–2	2–2	1–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	—	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	6–3	2–1	3–0	4–1	4–4	6–1
Jong AZ	0–1	2–1	3–3	2–1	1–3	0–0	0–2	2–1	0–1	1–1	—	2–0	0–1	0–1	0–2	0–1	3–2	1–0	0–1	2–0
Jong PSV	0–1	5–1	0–1	1–1	3–2	1–3	3–0	2–3	2–0	3–1	2–0	—	0–2	2–2	0–0	3–3	2–3	2–2	2–2	2–1
Jong FC Utrecht	1–4	1–2	0–1	0–4	0–6	0–1	0–1	0–2	3–2	0–2	0–1	2–1	—	0–1	1–0	1–2	3–0	2–1	0–1	2–3
MVV Maastricht	2–6	0–3	0–1	2–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–3	3–2	1–0	2–3	1–2	2–4	—	1–2	1–1	3–0	1–1	0–1	0–5
NAC Breda	3–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	0–0	1–2	4–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–1	3–0	—	2–2	2–2	3–0	0–0	3–1
Roda JC Kerkrade	5–0	3–4	3–2	4–0	2–0	1–2	1–2	2–0	5–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	—	4–3	2–0	1–1	0–0
Telstar	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–0	0–1	1–1	2–5	0–3	2–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–3	2–1	1–4	3–4	—	2–2	1–5	1–3
TOP Oss	3–3	2–3	2–1	3–0	1–2	1–2	1–1	0–3	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	4–1	0–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	—	2–3	2–1
FC Volendam	1–3	3–2	3–0	4–2	2–2	2–2	5–2	3–1	4–1	3–1	2–1	3–2	2–0	5–0	1–0	2–2	2–1	1–2	—	2–1
VVV-Venlo	0–5	2–1	2–1	4–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–2	1–0	1–3	0–1	1–4	1–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	0–0	—

Promotion/relegation play-offs

The seeds are assigned based on the final ranking after the regular season. The best ranked team will get the highest seed (lowest number). Eredivisie teams are considered to be better ranked than eerste divisie teams.

In the second leg, if a match is leveled at the end of the normal playing time, extra time will be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.

Seven teams, six from the Eerste Divisie and one from the Eredivisie, will play for a spot in the 2022–23 Eredivisie. The remaining six teams will play in the 2022–23 Eerste Divisie. The highest seeded team or the team from the Eredivisie will always host the second leg.

Qualified teams

Team	Rank	seed
Heracles Almelo	16	1
FC Eindhoven	3	2
ADO Den Haag	4	3
Roda JC Kerkrade	5	4
Excelsior	6	5
NAC Breda	8	6
De Graafschap	9	7

Bracket

	First round					Semifinals					Final
	4	Roda JC Kerkrade
	5	Excelsior
						5	Excelsior
						1	Heracles Almelo
											5	Excelsior (p)
	2	FC Eindhoven									3	ADO Den Haag
	7	De Graafschap
						2	FC Eindhoven
						3	ADO Den Haag
	3	ADO Den Haag
	6	NAC Breda

First round

First legs

De Graafschap v FC Eindhoven

9 May 2022	De Graafschap	1–1	FC Eindhoven	De Vijverberg, Doetinchem
20:00 CEST	Gravenberch  73' (pen.)	Report	Sleegers  12' (pen.)	Attendance: 10,022 Referee: Alex Bos

NAC Breda v ADO Den Haag

10 May 2022	NAC Breda	1–2	ADO Den Haag	Rat Verlegh Stadion, Breda
18:45 CEST	Maria  74'	Report	Steijn  34' Komljenovic  90+3'	Attendance: 16,728 Referee: Edwin van de Graaf

Excelsior v Roda JC Kerkrade

10 May 2022	Excelsior	2–2	Roda JC Kerkrade	Van Donge & De Roo Stadion, Rotterdam
21:00 CEST	Goudmijn  9' Dallinga  42' (pen.)	Report	Vente  67' Marzo  68'	Attendance: 3,178 Referee: Rob Dieperink

Second legs

FC Eindhoven v De Graafschap

13 May 2022	FC Eindhoven	3–1 (4–2 agg.)	De Graafschap	Jan Louwers Stadion, Eindhoven
20:00 CEST	Ogenia  10' Brym  22' Sleegers  24'	Report	Kaandorp  16'	Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Jannick van der Laan

ADO Den Haag v NAC Breda

14 May 2022	ADO Den Haag	2–1 (4–2 agg.)	NAC Breda	Cars Jeans Stadion, Den Haag
16:30 CEST	Malone  76' (o.g.) Moreo Klas  79'	Report	Banzuzi  90+3'	Attendance: 10,379 Referee: Allard Lindhout

Roda JC Kerkrade v Excelsior

14 May 2022	Roda JC Kerkrade	0–2 (a.e.t.) (2–4 agg.)	Excelsior	Parkstad Limburg Stadion, Kerkrade
20:00 CEST		Report	Driouech  95' Agrafiotis  120+3'	Attendance: 14,763 Referee: Jochem Kamphuis

Semifinals

First legs

ADO Den Haag v FC Eindhoven

17 May 2022	ADO Den Haag	2–1	FC Eindhoven	Cars Jeans Stadion, Den Haag
20:00 CEST	Moreo Klas  15' Verheydt  28'	Report	Sleegers  74' (pen.)	Attendance: 10,475 Referee: Jochem Kamphuis

Excelsior v Heracles Almelo

18 May 2022	Excelsior	3–0	Heracles Almelo	Van Donge & De Roo Stadion, Rotterdam
18:45 CEST	Azarkan  21' Dallinga  74' Driouech  85'	Report		Attendance: 4,400 Referee: Martin van den Kerkhof

Second legs

FC Eindhoven v ADO Den Haag

21 May 2022	FC Eindhoven	1–2 (2–4 agg.)	ADO Den Haag	Jan Louwers Stadion, Eindhoven
16:30 CEST	Amevor  89'	Report	Verheydt  16' Seedorf  26' (o.g.)	Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Bas Nijhuis

Heracles Almelo v Excelsior

21 May 2022	Heracles Almelo	1–3 (1–6 agg.)	Excelsior	Erve Asito, Almelo
20:00 CEST	Bakış  28'	Report	Dallinga  47' Wieffer  63' Agrafiotis  83'	Attendance: 6,924 Referee: Edwin van de Graaf

Final

First leg

Excelsior v ADO Den Haag

24 May 2022	Excelsior	1–1	ADO Den Haag	Van Donge & De Roo Stadion, Rotterdam
20:00 CEST	Azarkan  47'	Report	Steijn  90+2'	Attendance: 4,400 Referee: Dennis Higler

Second leg

ADO Den Haag v Excelsior

29 May 2022	ADO Den Haag	4–4 (a.e.t.) (5–5 agg.) (7–8 p)	Excelsior	Cars Jeans Stadion, Den Haag
18:00 CEST	Verheydt  35' Pires  40' Steijn  47' Komljenovic  97'	Report	Azarkan  79' Niemeijer  83' Dallinga  90+3' El Yaakoubi  109'	Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Danny Makkelie
		Penalties
	Kemper Matthys Moreo Klas Asante Komljenovic Puclin Ćatić Esajas Amofa		El Yaakoubi Baas Eyongo Nieuwpoort Driouech Ormonde-Ottewill Admiraal Wieffer Horemans

Statistics

Top scorers

As of 6 May 2022

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Thijs Dallinga	Excelsior	32
2	Thomas Verheydt	ADO Den Haag	30
3	Robert Mühren	FC Volendam	29
4	Dylan Vente	Roda JC Kerkrade	23
5	Joey Sleegers	FC Eindhoven	21
6	Reuven Niemeijer	Excelsior	17
	Johan Bakayoko	Jong PSV
8	Naci Ünüvar	Jong Ajax	16
9	Rui Mendes	FC Emmen	15
	Sem Steijn	ADO Den Haag
	Nick Venema	VVV-Venlo

Top assists

As of 6 May 2022

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Daryl van Mieghem	FC Volendam	14
2	Naci Ünüvar	Jong Ajax	12
	Patrick Pflücke	Roda JC Kerkrade
4	Amar Ćatić	ADO Den Haag	11
	Joey Sleegers	FC Eindhoven
	Lance Duijvestijn	Almere City FC
	Robert Mühren	FC Volendam
	Reuven Niemeijer	Excelsior
9	Johan Bakayoko	Jong PSV	10
10	Ralf Seuntjens	NAC Breda	9

Clean sheets

As of 6 May 2022

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Michael Brouwer	FC Emmen	17
2	Nigel Bertrams	FC Eindhoven	14
	Hidde Jurjus	De Graafschap
	Nick Olij	NAC Breda
4	Rody de Boer	Roda JC Kerkrade	12
5	Stijn van Gassel	Excelsior	10
	Wouter van der Steen	FC Den Bosch
7	Mike Havekotte	Helmond Sport	8
8	Delano van Crooij	VVV-Venlo	7
	Luuk Koopmans	ADO Den Haag
	Filip Stanković	FC Volendam

Discipline

As of 6 May 2022

Player

• Most yellow cards: 9
  • Yuya Ikeshita (Jong FC Utrecht)
  • Alessio Miceli (FC Dordrecht)
  • Brian Koglin (VVV-Venlo)
• Most red cards: 1
  • 20 players

Club

• Most yellow cards: 87
  • FC Dordrecht
• Most red cards: 4
  • Jong PSV