KNVB Cup


The KNVB Beker, branded as the Eurojackpot KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal [Dutch Football Association] since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from the top four tiers of Dutch league football, as well as the 24 semi-finalists of the six KNVB District Cups. The finals of the tournament traditionally takes place in De Kuip, and has been held there every season since the 1989 final. The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruyff Shield, which acts as the curtain raiser for the following season.

History

Early history

The first attempt to hold a knock-out competition open to all clubs in the Netherlands was made in 1894, with the winners receiving a trophy offered by H.M.C. Holdert, former president of V.V.A. (Amsterdam). Seven teams entered and the first ever cup match in the Netherlands was thus held on 11 February, between Haarlem and HFC, ending in a 3–1 win to the latter. However, no other match was played due to the withdraws of several teams, and the lack of interest shown by the clubs caused Holdert to withdraw his trophy, so the final between HFC and R.A.P. was canceled, but four years later, in January 1898, Holdert offered another cup, to be contested just like the English FA Cup, and thus the KNVB Cup was conceived during a board meeting of the Dutch Football Association, in The Hague, on 19 January 1898. Initially, it was decided to stage a competition for this new trophy already in the ongoing 1897–98 season, but the board had to cancel it after a prolonged stretch of bad weather in the first weeks of February had led to numerous match postponements in the western leagues.
The tournament finally began the following season, 1898–99. The first final was played on 9 May 1899 between RAP Amsterdam and HVV Den Haag, and ended in a 1–0 victory for the former thanks to a goal from Jan Hisgen in extra-time.
In 1946, the trophy was changed to one made out of silver, which was extremely rare in the immediate aftermath of World War II. That trophy remains in use today.

Recent history

In 2018, a trophy colored in gold was commissioned to commemorate the 100th edition of the tournament.

Name changes

Like many national cup competitions, the name of the tournament has changed with sponsorship. From 1995, the competition went from being the KNVB Beker to being known as the Amstel Cup after the then sponsor Amstel. On 16 August 2005, the name was changed to the Gatorade Cup after the drinks company Gatorade. In 2006, the name returned to being the KNVB Beker with Gatorade remaining as the principal sponsor.
On 12 January 2018, it was announced that TOTO would be the name sponsor of the KNVB Cup, until the 2021–22 season. The competition was renamed the TOTO KNVB Beker with immediate effect.

European competition

Up until 1998, the winner of the cup entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but with the abandonment of that tournament, the winner now goes into the UEFA Europa League. If the winning team has finished in the top two of the Eredivisie and thus gained entry into the UEFA Champions League, the berth will be redistributed to that season's Eredivisie.
In 1998, both KNVB Cup finalists, Ajax and PSV, gained entry in the Champions League, so a third-place play-off was played between the beaten semi-finalists, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente, to determine who would take the Cup Winners' Cup place.

Past finals

Number of titles

ClubTitlesRunners-upWinning years
Ajax2081917, 1943, 1961, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2019, 2021
Feyenoord1441930, 1935, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2024
PSV Eindhoven1181950, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2005, 2012, 2022, 2023
AZ441978, 1981, 1982, 2013
Quick (H)41909, 1910, 1911, 1916
FC Twente341977, 2001, 2011
FC Utrecht331985, 2003, 2004
Sparta Rotterdam321958, 1962, 1966
HFC31904, 1913, 1915
ADO Den Haag261968, 1975
HBS Craeyenhout251901, 1908
Roda JC241997, 2000
Haarlem231902, 1912
DFC221914, 1932
VOC Rotterdam221905, 1907
Willem II221944, 1963
Fortuna'5421957, 1964
Wageningen21939, 1948
RCH21918, 1928
Vitesse142017
PEC Zwolle132014
NAC Breda131973
HVV Den Haag131903
Heerenveen122009
Go Ahead Eagles112025
FC Groningen112015
VSV111938
111927
RAP Amsterdam111899
VVV11959
Quick 188811949
FC Eindhoven11937
11936
Velocitas Groningen11934
11926
11925
11921
11920
Concordia11906
11900

Media coverage

The broadcast rights are included in the KNVB broadcast rights package, which also include the Johan Cruyff Shield.

Netherlands

The KNVB Cup is currently broadcast live by the ESPN channels.