The KNVB have today announced that a new league will be inserted into the Dutch football pyramid after the plan was accepted by most professional clubs.
- By Michael Bell
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From the 2016/17 season a new 18 club division will be inserted between the Jupiler league and two Topklassen.
For the first time relegation from the Jupiler league and promotion for the amateur clubs will become mandatory. In the past amateur clubs have been able to decide whether they become professional, which gained criticism from FIFA and UEFA.
A vote was taken nationwide with only four votes against and one abstention from the professional clubs, while their was only three votes against and one abstention from the amateur teams. Both Feyenoord and Dordrecht have been against the idea from the start.
KNVB chairman Michael van Praag was delighted with the outcome, “It is a result of years of talk. Everyone eventually had the overall interest of the Dutch football in mind. It has been thought of in the interest of the entire football world.”
Professional clubs need to let the KNVB know by the 1st of March 2015 if they want their reserve sides to enter the new league.
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