2015–16 KNVB Cup explained

KNVB Cup
Year:2015–16
Country:Netherlands
Num Teams:85
Champions:Feyenoord
Count:12
Runner-Up:FC Utrecht
Top Goal Scorer:Patrick Gerritsen
(5 goals)
Prevseason:2014–15
Nextseason:2016–17

The 2015–16 KNVB Cup is the 98th season of the Dutch national football knockout tournament. The winner qualifies for the group stage of the Europa League the following season and the Johan Cruyff Shield, the Dutch Supercup match between the Cup winner and the champions of the Eredivisie.

Qualification

Teams qualified for the Cup through the following: (reserve teams are excluded)

Competition (tiers and how they qualified)Number of teamsRound in which they enter
Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie (1, 2)35Second round
Topklasse (3, champions and winners of period titles of the 2014–15 Topklasse)10
Topklasse (remaining teams of the 2015–16 Topklasse)16First round
KNVB District Cups (15 from tier 4, 4 from tier 5, 2 from tier 6 and 3 from tier 7,the semi-finalists of the 2014–15 KNVB District Cups)24

Calendar

The calendar is as follows:

RoundDraw date (location of the draw)Date
First round1 July 2015(at the KNVB headquarters in Zeist)26 August 2015
Second round 22–24 September 2015
Third round24 September 2015(at De Kuip, Rotterdam)27–29 October 2015
Round of 1629 October 2015(at the Rabobank IJmond Stadion, Velsen-Zuid)15–17 December 2015
Quarter-finals17 December 2015(at De Kuip, Rotterdam)2–4 February 2016
Semi-finals4 February 2016(at the Philips Stadion, Eindhoven)2 and 3 March 2016
24 April 2016
Source: Royal Dutch Football Association[1]

First round

Only amateur teams compete in this round. Matches were played on 26 August 2015. Due to heavy rainfall four matches were abandoned during the game and finished one week later on 2 September 2015

Second round

Winners from the first round compete against all professional clubs.

Third round

The 32 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.

Fourth round

The 16 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.

Quarter-finals

The 8 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.

Semi-finals

The 4 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.

Final

See main article: 2016 KNVB Cup Final. The 2 winners from the previous round progress to the final. The winner of the semi-final match between Feyenoord and AZ is marked as the 'home' team in the final, as that was the first match to be drawn at the draw for the semi-finals.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PROGRAMMA BETAALD VOETBAL SEIZOEN 2015/'16 EREDIVISIE / JUPILER LEAGUE . 28 June 2015 . . . nl . Schedule professional football 2015–16 season Eredivisie/Jupiler League . 28 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150630201922/http://home.knvb.nl/media/4595/programma-betaald-voetbal-seizoen-1516.pdf . 2015-06-30 . dead .