Eredivisie (women's handball)

The Nederlandse Handbal Eredivisie Dames, also known for sponsorship reasons as AFAB Eredivisie, is the highest category in the national league system for women's handball's clubs in the Netherlands. Swift Roermond is the competition's most successful team with nineteen titles, while SV Dalfsen is the defending champion.

The 2011-12 edition is being contested by VOC Amsterdam, SV Dalfsen, E&O HV, HV Fortissimo, Hellas Den Haag, HV Kwiek, Loreal Venlo, HV Nieuwegein, Van der Voort Quintus and Westfriesland SEW.

List of champions

References

Eredivisie (ice hockey)

The Eredivisie ("Premier League") is the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition organized by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond (NIJB; English: "Dutch Ice Hockey Federation"). Formed in 1945 and playing continuously since 1964, the league currently has six teams in the Netherlands and one in Belgium. The league features a mix of Dutch, Belgian, European and overseas players. The winner of the Eredivisie is crowned the Dutch National Champion and represents the Netherlands in the IIHF Continental Cup.

Teams

The current teams of the league are:

Format

The league's format changes from year to year depending on the number of teams and the format of the Dutch Cup Tournament. Currently, the league has a 36-game regular season, followed by a best-of five semi-finals amongst the top five qualifiers and a best-of-five final for the Dutch championship.

History

Formation

The Dutch ice hockey Eredivisie was formed after World War II, with teams in Amsterdam, The Hague and Tilburg. It suspended operations from 1950 to 1964, but has organized a season of competition annually ever since. Over the years the number of teams competing fluctuated between 3 and 10 (currently 7), and the number of games played in the regular season between 4 and 36.

Eredivisie (women)

The Eredivisie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɪː.rə.di.ˌvi.zi]) (Dutch for Honor Division) is a women's football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 2007 and then played for five seasons. After three seasons of a combined top level league with Belgium, the Eredivisie was restarted in the 2015–16 season.

The champion qualifies for a spot in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

History

2007–2012

The opening ceremony of the soccer eredivisie for women took place in the Arke Stadion in Enschede at 29 August 2007, with the presentation of the 6 teams. The opening match was played by SC Heerenveen and FC Twente. SC Heerenveen won the match 3–2.

The season 2011–12 was the last season of the Dutch Women's Eredivisie. It was replaced by the Women’s BeNe League, a joint league by Dutch and Belgian teams. As the highest league in the Netherlands the Topklasse was created above the Hoofsklasse.

2015–present

After the BeNe League played its last and third season, the Eredivisie was restarted in the 2015–16 season with seven clubs. Those were the same Dutch clubs that played in the previous BeNe League season.