Already in 2017, over a hundred people: coaches, former and current footballers and club representatives signed an appeal to the league authorities and the Dutch Football Federation to ban Eredivisie matches on artificial turf.
At that time, no agreement was reached, because too many clubs were against it. Smaller and poorer clubs whose facilities had artificial turfs did not want to replace the surface. They were not even convinced by a special subsidy from European funds. Now, however, the situation has changed.
As reported by Ad.nl, from the 2025/26 season, matches at the highest level in the Netherlands will be played only on natural turf. Eredivisie clubs received an inquiry and most of them were in favor of removing the artificial turf.
The Dutch are moving away from artificial turf
On December 1, there will be an official vote on this matter. If at least five clubs are in favor of the ban, it will come into force. According to Ad.nl, voting is only a formality, because its result is already known.
At the moment, four Eredivisie clubs are playing matches on artificial turf. It’s Cambuur, FC Emmen, FC Volendam and Excelsior. The first three clubs are about to replace the pitch. The same will be done by the leader of the second division – FC Volendam. However, he will not vote.
The first club in the Eredivisie to start playing on artificial turf was Heracles. It happened in 2003 mainly because the club’s sponsor was the supplier of such a surface. Heracles was followed by many clubs including ADO Den Haag, PEC Zwolle and Roda JC, who have now changed their minds and are in favor of playing matches on natural turf.
Source: Sport
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