Eredivisie stadiums nearly full as attendance hits 10-year high

Eredivisie football is seeing a resurgence in attendance. During the first half of the season, the 18 clubs’ stadiums were filled to an average of 96 percent, marking the highest occupancy rate in the last ten seasons.

The Eredivisie CV, which oversees the top football league, has observed a steady increase in attendance: the stadiums were 89 percent full in 2022/2023 and averaged 93 percent occupancy last season.

The average number of spectators per match this season is 19,897, an 8 percent increase compared with the 2023/2024 season. Last year, an average of 19,361 football fans attended an Eredivisie match. In previous years, that number had not exceeded 19,000.

According to the Eredivisie CV, attendance has risen partly because many clubs have sold out their season tickets, and teams such as NAC Breda and Telstar have increased stadium capacity to meet higher demand.

While the Eredivisie does not top the charts for total attendance, leagues like the German Bundesliga and English Premier League draw more fans on average, but it scores high in stadium occupancy, indicating that Dutch league matches are frequently played to near capacity.

The Eredivisie teams played their last matches of 2025 last weekend. PSV go into the break as the league leaders, with a nine-point lead over Feyenoord. NAC Breda and Heracles Almelo will start 2026 in the relegation spots.

The highest attended game of the last six months was in Amsterdam. Ajax’s home fixture against NAC in the Johan Cruijff Arena drew 55,865 spectators. The lowest attendance registered was in Excelsior’s home game against FC Twente on August 30. Only 3,608 people were in the Woudestein stadium for that game.