Netherlands

INTRODUCTION

The Stadia: In the last years of the nineties there was a major stadium revolution going on in the Netherlands. Almost all clubs built new stadiums or redeveloped their stadiums into brand-new multifunctional arena's. Only a few clubs did not manage to upgrade their stadiums (problems with the city councils), like FC Groningen, AZ Alkmaar and FC Zwolle (although new stadiums are in progress - see the future-index). All these new stadiums, which contain only seats and are completely covered, offer great comfort for the visitor. Though the atmosphere cannot be compared with the British atmosphere or the Southern-Europe passion there is usually a quite nice atmosphere during the matches. The Club Card: A couple of years ago (mid-90's), after some heavy soccer violence, the so-called 'club card' was introduced into Dutch soccer. Only the owners of such a card would be able to buy tickets for soccer matches. This way hooligans could be banned from the stadia (of course this did not work....). The consequence of this club card is that it sometimes can be quite hard to buy tickets in the Netherlands. A club card can be bought at any club in the Netherlands (and they aren't very expensive; about €5.00), though, for foreigners this is not an ideal situation. Luckily, at the moment clubs are getting more flexible in their ticket-policy and for many matches you don't need a club card anymore. Only for matches with a high risk for violence you need a club card these days. More information about when this card is needed can be found on the clubs' websites. Because of the increase in comfort for the visitor and the increasing popularity of Dutch soccer at some clubs all the matches during the season are sold out. These clubs are SC Heerenveen, FC Twente, NEC Nijmegen, FC Utrecht and RBC Roosendaal. Usually these clubs have a small amount of tickets left for free sale. Of course at other clubs the usual 'big matches' (derbies and against the big 3) will be quickly sold out too. Often there is a limit in the number of tickets you can purchase per person or per club card (which usually varies between 2 and 4 tickets per club card).

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Tabacco Shops: You can buy tickets at special tabacco shops in the Netherlands (lists of these shops are on the websites of the clubs). These tabacco shops work with the system 'Ticketbox' (the sales point for National Lottery tickets). Club offices: It is often possible to order tickets via the club. Visit their club offices a couple of days before the match (usually situated at the stadium) or contact them by phone and ask for the possibilities (Dutch people usually speak English quite well). Box-office: At matches with little risk for violence you can buy tickets at the box-office (of course only when the match isn't sold out). Websites: The Dutch clubs websites are usually very good and offer you good information about the ticket sales (although they sometimes don't have an English section). It is always mentioned when a 'club card' is required. Though the information is very good, it is not possible to order tickets via the internet. National team: The tickets for the Dutch national team are sold via 'Ticketbox'. Tickets can therefore be bought in the tabacco shops working with the ticketbox-system. More information (in English) can be found on the official KNVB (nat. football association) website.

PRICES

Prices: Ticket prices for the top clubs range from €15.00 to €40.00. Prices of tickets for matches of other clubs range from €12.00 to €25.00. Of course this differs per club. The cheapest tickets are for the seats behind the goals and in the corners.

INTERNET

Ticketbox: the website of the organisation that arranges the sale of tickets via the tabacco shops. They don't sell tickets via their website. They do give information about the pre-sale period and the prices of the tickets. Ticketservice: sells (pop) concert tickets in the Netherlands.