Dutch Eredivisie changes format

Dutch federation changes the Eredivisie, bringing back the Elite competition to a simple format. The Dutch cup will be no longer seen as a separate league and the North Sea Cup - the competition between Dutch and the top three Belgian clubs - won't be played anymore after two seasons.

2012-13 Eredivisie will count seven teams, six from the Netherlands - champion Smoke Eaters Geleen, Amsterdam Capitals, HYS The Hague, Eindhoven Kemphanen, Friesland Flyers and Tilburg Trappers and one from Belgium, HYC Herentals. Belgian team will be a full member of the league and can be champion oh the Netherlands at the end of the year. Herentals, however, won't participate in the national cup. No clubs were promoted from Eerste Divisie and the other Belgian club playing in North Sea Cup - Leuven and Turnhout - won't partecipate. At the end of regular season the the top four clubs will advance to the playoffs, played as in the past with a best-of-five semifinals between first and fourth seed and second vs third. Eredivisie will start on 6-7 October weekend but season, as usual, will open with the Ron Berteling Schaal - the game between league champion and cup winner - between HYS The Hague and  Ruijters Eaters Geleen on September 30.
The Dutch Cup will be played between teams from the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Games will be during the week with a knockout system with a home and an away match. The semifinals are played at best-of-three. The teams from the Eerste Divisie play each other in the first two rounds and the two remaining teams will then enter in main grid with the teams from the Eredivisie. The Cup final will be on 13 January 2013 in Tilburg.
Eerste Division will allign: Dordrecht, Den Bosch, Groningen, Utrecht, Zoetermeer, Nijmegen and the second teams of Eindhoven and The Hague.

 

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