Approximately 5 million of the 17 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two thirds of the population older than 15 years participates in sports weekly.[1]
Organization of sports began at the beginning of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Federations for sports were established (such as the speed skating federation in 1882), rules were unified and sports clubs came into existence. A Dutch National Olympic Committee was established in 1912. Thus far, the nation has won 230 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and another 95 medals at the Winter Olympic Games.
An influential figure in Dutch sport was Pim Mulier. In 1879 he founded the first rugby and football club in the Netherlands, he was involved in forming the first tennis club in 1884, established the predecessor of the Royal Dutch Football Association five years later, and introduced field hockey in 1896. He also introduced bandy. His hometown Haarlem and the English Bury Fen Bandy Club played the first international match.
The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is the largest sports federation in the country with 1,076,759 players (in 2005).[2] According to the KNVB's website, it has over 1. 2 Million members as of 2016.[3] The organization came into being on December 19, 1899, and was one of the founding members of FIFA (the world Football Association) in 1904.
Dutch football teams won three Olympic bronze medals in 1908, 1912 and 1920. Other successes came in the 1970s, when the national team played in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup finals, losing to the tournament's host on both occasions. In the same period, Dutch league sidesAjax and Feyenoord won European Cups from 1970 to 1973. In 1988, the national team won the only international title so far at the European Championships. PSV won the European Cup that year too. Ajax won the European Cup again in 1995.
Despite their wealth of individual talent, the Dutch national men team have only been able to claim one trophy in their entire history. This came at the UEFA Euro 1988 in which they defeated the Soviet Union to claim the coveted Henri Delaunay Trophy. In 2017 the Dutch national woman team equalized this result when they beat Denmark, claiming their European title on home ground.
The Royal Dutch Baseball Federation was established on March 12, 1912. They merged with the softball federation to form the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation in 1971[4] In 2008 there were over 24,000 players active at one of the 184 clubs in the country.[5]
In 2009, the Netherlands twice upset the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic's entire roster played in Major League Baseball (MLB), while the Netherlands only had one player on an MLB roster. The Dominican teams' combined salary total in the MLB was about $84 million, while the Netherlands totals for $400,000. The Dominican Republic were highly favoured but in its first game against the Dominican, the Dutch won 3–2. The Dominican Republic won its next game against Panama to set up a rematch against the Netherlands. The Dutch stunned the Dominicans again and won 2–1 in extra innings.[7] At the 2013 World Baseball Classic the Netherlands performed even better. With a mix of experienced veterans and talented youngsters they progressed through the preliminary rounds to the semi-final, where the team lost to the Dominican Republic. The team again reached the semifinals at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but again fell one game shy of the championship, losing this time to Puerto Rico.
The Royal Dutch Hockey Federation was formed on October 8, 1898 and is, with 185,923 members (in 2005), the fifth largest sports federation.[2]Hoofdklasse hockey is the country's primary hockey competition since 1970, which is contested by 12 clubs (in both the male and female league).
Dutch korfball match "De Korfrakkers" (Erp) vs. "Swift" (Velden)
Korfball is a mixed gender or only female ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four females and four males in each team or with eight female players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball through a bottomless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m (11.5 feet) high pole. Mixed gender korfball is more generally played in the north of the Netherlands, while all female korfball is generally played in the south of the Netherlands.
The sport was invented by DutchschoolteacherNico Broekhuysen in 1902. In the Netherlands, there are around 580 clubs and over 100,000 people playing korfball. The sport is also very popular in Belgium and Taiwan, and is played in 54 other countries.
The Dutch korfball union is called Koninklijk Nederlands Korfbalverbond (KNKV).
Volleyball is the third most participated team sport in the country. Founded on September 6, 1947, the Dutch Volleyball Federation is with 128,693 players (in 2005) the ninth largest sports association.[2] The A-League is the highest division in which eight men's and women's teams compete for the national championships.
The Royal Dutch Cricket Federation was formed in 1883.[9] In 2021 the federation had 5000 members, which indicates that cricket is a minority sport in the Netherland yet still growing. [10] The premier division is called the Topklasse, in which ten teams compete for the national championships.
The Netherlands national cricket team qualified for the cricket World Cup on five occasions; 1996, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2023. The country has been considered one of the stronger associate in the world and in Europe alongside Scotland. Netherlands is ranked within the top 15 teams in the world and has co-hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999.
Most recently at the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, the Dutch team made a name for themselves by their victory over hosts, England, in the opening match of the tournament. Though they failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage afterward, their win against England, considered one of the biggest wins in Dutch cricket history. Recently the Dutch have managed to beat two time world champions West Indies in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers Zimbabwe 2023 considered ones of the biggest upsets in Cricket history due to it eventually leading to the West Indies not being able to qualify for the World Cup in India 2023.
[1] de Grooth leads Netherlands to famous win | England v Netherlands, ICC World Twenty20, Lord's Report | Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo]. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-18.</ref> has been recognized as a major step forward in cricket development in the Netherlands and among associate nations.
In ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Dutch team led by captain Scott Edwards has surprised the cricket world by beating South Africa and Bangladesh by big margins.
[11]
Rugby union is also played in the Netherlands. The first rugby club was HFC, established on September 15, 1879 by the 14-year-old Pim Mulier, who first encountered the sport in 1870. However HFC switched to association football in 1883. The Delftsche Studenten Rugby Club was the first official rugby club on September 24, 1918. The Dutch Rugby Federation was founded on September 7, 1920 but ceased to exist in 1923 due to a lack of clubs. They reorganized on October 1, 1932, six months after the Netherlands national rugby union team played their first match against Belgium.[12] The Dutch Rugby Federation has grown from 8,000 registered players in 2007 to 15,000 players in 2019.[13]
Bandy
In terms of licensed athletes, bandy is the second biggest winter sport in the world.[14]
Bandy was introduced to the Netherlands in the 1890s and enjoyed some following for a couple of decades before ice hockey took over as the most popular winter team sport in the 1920s. However, bandy lived on in the Netherlands, and in the 1970s, it got a more organised form again.[15]Bandy Bond Nederland became the first non-founding member of Federation of International Bandy in 1973. The national team plays in Division B of the World Championships.
The Royal Dutch Skating Federation was formed on September 17, 1882.[17] With 161,673 members they are the seventh largest sports federation (in 2005).[2]
Speed skating
The first official known speed skating competition ever for women was held in Leeuwarden from 1 to 2 February 1805 and was won by Trijntje Pieters Westra.[18][19]
After a successful period around 1900, with Jaap Eden and Coen de Koning as World Champions, Dutch speed skating successes became numerous in the 1960s. Champions Kees Verkerk and Ard Schenk were immensely popular, causing a real speed skating hype in the country. Successes continue up to today, with the likes of Yvonne van Gennip (3 Olympic gold medals in 1988), Rintje Ritsma (4-time World
Allround Champion), Jochem Uytdehaage (2 Olympic gold medals in 2002), Marianne Timmer (3 Olympic gold medals in 1998 and 2006), Ireen Wüst (5 Olympic golds in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 6 World Allround Speed Skating Championships) and Sven Kramer (4 Olympic gold medals in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 9 World Allround Championships). The Dutch speed skaters' performance at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where they won 8 out of 12 events, 23 out of 36 medals, including 4 clean sweeps, is the most dominant performance in a single sport in Olympic history. Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen was the second indoor 400m speed skating oval in the world, the first to host an international championship and remains a world-class facility today.
Dutch speed skaters have won 77 world single distance championships (since 1996).
The Royal Dutch Tennis Federation was founded on June 5, 1899 and is, with 709,277 members (in 2005), the second largest sports federation in the Netherlands.[2]
One of the most successful tennis players was Tom Okker, nicknamed The Flying Dutchman who was ranked among the world's top 10 singles players for seven consecutive years from 1968 through 1974, reaching a career high of World No. 3 in 1969. Betty Stöve reached the ladies' singles final at Wimbledon in 1977 and won 10 Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles between 1972 and 1981.
Also noticeable is Richard Krajicek, who won Wimbledon in 1996, and the Paul Haarhuis/Jacco Eltingh doubles team, which won five Grand Slam titles and two world championships. Esther Vergeer is a four-time Paralympics tennis champion.
Netherlands is home to several tennis tournaments, including The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, one of the best visited indoor tournaments in the world.
Athletics
The Royal Dutch Athletics Federation came into existence on April 28, 1901 and is, with 108,934 members (in 2005), the 13th largest sports federation.[2]
The Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation in its present form was founded after a fusion on January 1, 2002. It is the sixth largest sports federation in the country, with 180,023 members in 2005.[2] Numerous Dutch horseback riders have become world and Olympic champions in their field, including Charles Pahud de Mortanges, Anky van Grunsven, Jos Lansink, Piet Raymakers, Jeroen Dubbeldam and Gerco Schröder.
Golf
Joost Luiten has won four tournaments in the European Tour, also he has represented Europe at the 2013 Seve Trophy and 2014 EurAsia Cup. Meanwhile, Christel Boeljon has four wins in the Ladies European Tour and represented Europe at the 2011 Solheim Cup.
Walking on a defined route as part of an organised event is a popular activity in the Netherlands. The main national walking organisation is the Royal Dutch Walking Association (Koninklijke Wandel Bond Nederland, or KWBN), which is affiliated to the Dutch Olympic Committee/Dutch Sports Federation.[22] KWBN affiliated groups organise over 1,500 events a year, attracting an estimated 500,000 participants.[23] This includes the annual Nijmegen Four Day Marches, which has nearly 50,000 participants from around the world.[24] Although these events are non-competitive, the KWBN promote walking as a sport, in order to "contribute to a healthier, fitter and more vital Netherlands”.[25]
Jan de Rooy is a rally truck driver, with his TurboTwin DAF racing truck he won the truck category of the Dakar Rally in 1987 and also finished 11th overall.
Michael van Gerwen is a professional darts player. He was the number-one ranked darts player in the world from 2014 to 2021, and was the 2014, 2017 & 2019 PDC World Darts Champion.
Ryan Ten Doeschate is a cricket player who has the highest batting average in ODI Cricket. In January 2011, ten Doeschate was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2011 Auction, becoming the first Associate player to win an IPL contract. In 2012, he also became the first and till date the only Dutchman to win the Indian Premier League with KKR.
Max Verstappen is a Formula One driver. Having made his debut in 2015 at the age of 17, he holds the record for being the youngest driver to have entered a Formula One race. In 2016, he took his first win at the Spanish Grand Prix, making him both the youngest driver and first Dutch driver to win a Formula One race. In 2021, he won the Formula One drivers' championship, the first Dutch driver to do so. He won the drivers' championship again in 2022 and 2023. Max's father, Jos Verstappen, was a Formula One driver from 1994 to 2003.
Vivianne Miedema is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for FA WSL club Arsenal and the Netherlands women's national football team. She has scored more goals at international level for the Netherlands than any other player, across both the women’s and men’s teams.
