Country | Netherlands |
---|---|
Confederation | UEFA |
Founded | 1992 |
Folded | 2016 |
Number of teams | 8 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Beloften Eerste Divisie |
Domestic cup(s) |
KNVB Reserve Cup KNVB Reserve Super Cup |
Last champions | Jong FC Utrecht |
Most championships | Jong AFC Ajax (8) |
The Beloften Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [bəˈlɔftə(n) ˈeːrədiˌvizi]; "Promised Honor Division") was the highest football league in for reserve teams in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The league was founded in 1992 as Reserve Teams Eredivisie and this name was in use until the 2000–01 season. The second teams are called beloften teams.
Until the 2009–10 season the league champion, as well as the KNVB Reserve Cup winner, was awarded a ticket for the regular KNVB Cup but the reserve teams were disbanded from the KNVB Cup. A Super Cup was installed instead. There was no promotion and the team finishing at the bottom of the table was relegated to the Beloften Eerste Divisie. The competition was a stand-alone competition and was not incorporated in the Dutch professional or amateur league structure. In recent years there was less interest in the competitions. A lot of teams merged their youth programs and brought joined team into the beloften leagues. The 2012–13 season also saw a big change to the format: the best 3 teams of that season were allowed to promote to the Eerste Divisie. As a result, the reserve tams of PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and FC Twente left the Beloften Eredivisie and played in the aforementioned Eerste Divisie.
The Beloften Eredivisie was dissolved in 2016. The 11 teams that competed in the 2015–16 season were integrated into the league pyramid and assigned to three leagues below the Eredivisie based on points, as indicated in the table below.
1 Formerly Brabant United. 2 Since the three best clubs were preferred for Saturday, Achilles was assigned to play on Sunday.