Royal Dutch Football Association

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Royal Dutch Football Association
UEFA
Short nameKNVB
Founded8 December 1889; 134 years ago (1889-12-08)
HeadquartersZeist, Netherlands
FIFA affiliation21 May 1904; 119 years ago (1904-05-21)
UEFA affiliation15 June 1954; 69 years ago (1954-06-15)
BeNe League affiliation5 May 2012 (2012-05-05) – 5 May 2015 (2015-05-05)
PresidentJust Spee
Website

The Royal Dutch Football Association (Dutch: Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond, pronounced [ˌkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈneːdərlɑntsə ˈvutbɑlbɔnt]; KNVB [ˌkaːʔenveːˈbeː]) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women's national teams.

For three seasons in the 2010s, the KNVB and its Belgian counterpart operated a joint top-level women's league, the BeNe League, until the two countries dissolved the league after the 2014–15 season and re-established their own top-level leagues. The KNVB is based in the central municipality of Zeist. With over 1.2 million members, the KNVB is the single largest sports association in the Netherlands.[1]

History

In 1889, the Nederlandse Voetbal en Athletiek Bond was founded. Due to certain disagreements, several football clubs ended their association with it and joined together to form Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond (KNVB) which was later renamed to its present name.

Netherlands Football League Championship had already existed unofficially for a decade when the association was founded. The KNVB strongly disapproved of the professionalism of football in 1909. It said that "it will protest against it by all means necessary."[5] In 2012, the KNVB launched an 11-point action plan, called 'Football for everyone' to promote gay football players in coming out. It released a 30-second video named 'Gay? It doesn't matter'; prepared by broadcaster BNN. The video was also broadcast during the Dutch national football teams World Cup qualifier match against Andorra held in October 2012.[6]

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it collaborated with Royal Philips to open six football clinics across Brazil. Bert van Oostveen is the current Secretary-General of KNVB.[1]

Management

Senior management Title/Managed Institution Term of office
Just Spee
(born 1965)
President National football team Since
17 December 2019
Gijs de Jong
(born 1972)
Secretary-General National football team Since
January 2018
Nigel de Jong
(born 1984)
Technical Director
Netherlands national football team · Netherlands women's national football team Since
4 June 2023
Marianne Van Leeuwen
(born 1961)
Director of professional football
Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
1 September 2021
Board of directors – Professional Leagues Title/Managed Institution Term of office
Jean-Paul Decossaux
(born 1963)
Chief commercial officer Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
1 December 2009
Ron Francis
(born 1978)
Financial director Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
1 July 2010
Mark Boetekees
(born 1973)
Chief administrative officer Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
1 April 2010
Board of directors – Amateur Leagues Title/Managed Institution Term of office
Jan Dirk van der Zee
(born 1971)
Operations Director Since
1 April 2015
Meta Römers
(born 1970)
Administrative Director Since
1 January 2016
Supervisory board – Professional Leagues Title/Managed Institution Term of office
Simon Kelder
(born 1944)
Senior Member Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
4 June 2012
Erik Mulder [nl]
(born 1967)
Member Eredivisie · Eerste Divisie Since
1 November 2016
Supervisory board – Amateur Leagues Title/Managed Institution Term of office
Pier Eringa Pier Eringa
(born 1961)
Chairman Since
1 December 2014
Huub Wieleman
(born 1955)
Member Since
1 December 2014
Tjienta van Pelt
(born 1970)
Member Since
1 June 2016
Jos Vranken
(born 1967)
Member Since
1 December 2014
Albert van Wijk
(born 1962)
Member Since
1 December 2014
Source: KNVB.nl (in Dutch)

Current sponsorships

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Philips partners with the Royal Dutch Football Association to kick- off a series of football clinics across Brazil". Philips Newscenter. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  2. from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. ^ Comiteau, Lauren (12 October 2012). "Out of the closet and on to the pitch". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.

External links