The KNVB Beker (pronounced[ΛkaΛΚΙΙ±veΛΛbeΛΛbeΛkΙr]; English: KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from the top four tiers of Dutch league football (Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie, Tweede Divisie and Derde Divisie), as well as the 24 semi-finalists (or replacements) of the six KNVB District Cups. The finals of the tournament traditionally takes place in De Kuip, and has been held there every season since the 1989 final. The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruyff Shield, (equivalent to a super cup) which acts as the curtain raiser for the following season.
History
The competition was conceived during a board meeting of the Dutch Football Association, in The Hague, on 19 January 1898. The tournament began the following season, 1898β99. The first final was played on 9 May 1899 between RAP Amsterdam and HVV Den Haag, and ended in a 1β0 victory for the former thanks to a goal from Julius Hisgen in extra-time. In 1946, the trophy was changed to one made out of silver, which was extremely rare in the immediate aftermath of World War II. That trophy remains in use today. In 2018, a trophy colored in gold was commissioned to commemorate the 100th edition of the tournament.
Name changes
Like many national cup competitions, the name of the tournament has changed with sponsorship. From 1995, the competition went from being the KNVB Beker to being known as the Amstel Cup after the then sponsor Amstel. On 16 August 2005, the name was changed to the Gatorade Cup after the drinks company Gatorade. In 2006, the name returned to being the KNVB Beker with Gatorade remaining as the principal sponsor.
On 12 January 2018, it was announced that TOTO would be the name sponsor of the KNVB Cup, until the 2021β22 season. The competition was renamed the TOTO KNVB Beker with immediate effect.
European competition
Up until 1998, the winner of the cup entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but with the abandonment of that tournament, the winner now goes into the UEFA Europa League. If the winning team has finished in the top two of the Eredivisie and thus gained entry into the UEFA Champions League, the berth will be redistributed to that season's Eredivisie.
In 1998, both KNVB Cup finalists, Ajax and PSV, gained entry in the Champions League, so a third-place play-off was played between the beaten semi-finalists, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente, to determine who would take the Cup Winners' Cup place.
1914β15 Koninklijke HFC (3/3)
1915β16 Quick Den Haag (4/4)
1916β17 Ajax (1/19)
1917β18 RHC (1/2)
1918β19 not played
1919β20 CVV
1920β21 Schoten
1921β22 not played
1922β23 not played
1923β24 not played
1924β25 ZFC
1925β26 LONGA
1926β27 VUC Den Haag
1927β28 RHC (2/2)
1928β29 not played
1929β30 Feyenoord (1/13)
1930β31 not played
1931β32 DFC (2/2)
1932β33 not played
1933β34 Velocitas 1897
1934β35 Feyenoord (2/13)
1935β36 Roermond
1936β37 EVV
1937β38 VSV
1938β39 FC Wageningen (1/2)
1939β40 not played
1940β41 not played
1941β42 not played
1942β43 Ajax (2/19)
1943β44 Willem II (1/2)
1944β45 not played
1945β46 not played
1946β47 not played
1947β48 FC Wageningen (2/2)
1948β49 Quick 1888
1949β50 PSV (1/11)
1950β51 not played
1951β52 not played
1952β53 not played
1953β54 not played
1954β55 not played
1955β56 not played
1956β57 Fortuna '54 (1/2)
1957β58 Sparta (1/3)
1958β59 VVV
1959β60 not played