Full name | Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie |
---|---|
Short name | N.E.C. |
Founded | November 15, 1900 |
Ground |
Goffertstadion Nijmegen |
Capacity | 12,500 |
Chairman | Ton van Gaalen |
Manager | Peter Hyballa |
League | Eredivisie |
2015–16 | Eredivisie, 10th |
Website | Club home page |
Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɛi̯ˌmeːɣə(n) ˈeːndrɑxt ˌkɔmbiˈnaː(t)si]), commonly abbreviated to N.E.C. [ˌɛneːˈseː], is a Dutch football club from the city of Nijmegen that currently plays in the Eredivisie.
The oldest remnants of the club, "Eendracht" (Dutch for unity), stem back to 15 November 1900. In 1910, Eendracht merged with Nijmegen to form the Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie. The team's home ground is the 12,500-seat Stadion de Goffert.
The club is yet to win any major tournaments to but were runners-up in the KNVB Cup competition in 1973, 1983, 1994 and 2000. They played in UEFA Cup tournaments in 1983, 2003, and 2008.
N.E.C. (Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie or, in English, Nijmegen Unity Combination) is the 41st oldest club in the Netherlands. The first football club was founded by "ordinary" workers, 'real' people, and boys. Football was in 1900 quite popular but at the time elitist being played by the sons of wealthy industrialists, middle class and other notables.
The founders of N.E.C. had a very different background to other Eredivisie clubs. They were, without exception, from the old Nijmegen Lower City, the place where the poorest people lived. It was not much more than a slum. The boys from this area played football every day, not on a field, but on the streets and the Waalkade.
Unusually, some of those boys on 15 November 1900 made a decision to form their own football club. They did it by themselves, without help from outside. They coined the name Eendracht and decided that every week a fee of two cents would be paid. With that money, a new ball could be purchased from time-to-time.