Dutch professional soccer matches to proceed despite freezing weather

Dutch professional soccer is set to resume as scheduled on Saturday despite freezing temperatures and winter weather that forced the cancellation of amateur and some professional matches earlier in the week.

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed that four Eredivisie matches planned for Saturday will go ahead. “There are no reasons to cancel the matches at this time,” a KNVB spokesperson said.

AZ and FC Volendam will open the post-winter break schedule at 4:30 p.m., followed by FC Twente versus PEC Zwolle at 6:45 p.m., PSV against Excelsior at 8:00 p.m., and FC Groningen facing NAC Breda at 9:00 p.m. The FC Groningen-NAC match has drawn attention on social media because of closed roads and low temperatures. “In principle, we expect all matches to go ahead as planned,” the KNVB spokesperson said.

FC Twente issued a similar statement regarding its game against PEC Zwolle. “In consultation with the KNVB and local authorities, the weather situation has been reviewed, and no reason has been found to prevent tonight’s match from taking place,” the club said.

Earlier this week, the KNVB canceled all amateur matches scheduled for Saturday and Sunday due to severe winter conditions. “Besides uncertainty about the playability of the fields, the current forecast indicates that the safety of players, supporters, and staff in and around the stadiums cannot be sufficiently guaranteed due to extreme weather,” the association said.