Dutch Top leagues start 1st May 2021
Published at 26 March, 2021Go ahead for men's and women's Top cricket
The KNCB has decided that it will make use of the option offered under the ‘Ministeriële Regeling’ dated 8 December 2020 to start the top leagues for men and women.
On May 1 ten teams in the men’s Topklasse men and five teams in the women’s Hoofdklasse will play their first matches in the 2021 competition. From April 1, participating teams will be allowed to train in groups and play pre-season matches. This pre-season preparation lasts until Friday 30 April. All practice sessions and matches take place under the KNCB protocol “Opstart Topcompetitie”. In this protocol, participating teams are allowed to train and play practice - and competition matches. Players and officials must undergo a mandatory corona-test once a week, by means of an Antigen Rapid Test .
After intensive consultations with all participating clubs, the following decisions were taken re promotion/relegation for the Topklasse and the Hoofdklasse (men):
- In both the Topklasse and the Hoofdklasse teams will play for the championship;
- There will be no relegation from the Topklasse in the 2021 season;
- The numbers 1 and 2 ranked teams of the Hoofdklasse are promoted to the Topklasse, provided that at least a half competition is rounded off in the Hoofdklasse;
- The Topklasse 2022 will feature 12 teams in competition, provided that at least a half competition is rounded off in the Hoofdklasse;
- The Hoofdklasse 2022 will feature 8 teams in competition, provided that at least a half competition is rounded off in the Hoofdklasse;
- The No. 10 of the Hoofdklasse plays a best-of-three promotion / relegation play-off versus the No. 1 of the Eerste Klasse, provided that at least half a competition is rounded off in the Hoofdklasse and Eerste Klasse;
The Hoofdklasse women also will play for the championship. There will be no relegation from this competition.
The KNCB is pleased that both men and women can start their season in the top leagues. The KNCB and participating clubs will make every effort to carefully implement the KNCB protocol “Start-up Top Competitions”.
The protocol was developed in collaboration with NOC*NSF. The KNCB medical committee, through KNCB physician Robert van Oosterom, has assessed the protocol and judged it to be in order.
The Topklasse Men fixtures can be viewed in the match centre on the KNCB website. The fixtures in the Hoofdklasse Women can also be found here, from next week.
