| 2008–2009 | |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Num Teams: | 88 |
| Defending Champions: | Feyenoord |
| Champions: | SC Heerenveen |
| Runner-Up: | FC Twente |
| Top Goal Scorer: | Paul Weerman (5) |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
The 2008–09 KNVB Cup was the 91st season of the Dutch national football knockout tournament. The defending champions were Feyenoord. The competition started on 30 August 2008 and ended with sc Heerenveen winning the Final in Rotterdam on 17 May 2009.
Participating clubs in the 2008–09 KNVB Cup by province:
| width=130 | Province | width=45 | Rd 1 | width=40 | Rd 21 | width=45 | Rd 3 | width=45 | Rd 4 | width=40 | QF | width=40 | SF | width=40 | F | width=40 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 0+2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 7 | 5+4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1+4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 9 | 1+10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 2+5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 5 | 3+5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 11 | 7+5 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 3 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Total | 48 | 24+40 64 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
The first and second round draw was made on July 8, 2008 in Zeist,[1] KNVB headquarters.
The First Round featured 48 amateur teams: 35 Hoofdklasse clubs, 12 clubs from the 4th or lower levels and 2 reserve teams. 24 of the Hoofdklasse clubs qualified for the competition through their league performance during the previous season (top 4 of each Hoofdklasse), while the other half of the teams competing in the First Round secured their place through the 2007–08 KNVB District Cups. The matches were played on August 30 and 31, 2008.
|}[2]
The 24 winners from the First Round, together with 2 youth teams (winners of youth league and cup) and all clubs from both the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie qualified for the Second Round. The matches were played on September 23, 24 and 25, 2008.
Participants:
| League | width=50px | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Eredivisie | 18 | |
| Eerste Divisie | 20 | |
| Hoofdklasse | 22 | |
| Eerste Klasse | 1 | |
| Secondary Teams | 1 | |
| Youth Champions | 1 | |
| Youth Cup Winners | 1 | |
| 64 |
|}(A) denotes amateur club
The winners the Second Round matches progressed to the Third Round. The matches were played on November 11, 12 and 13, 2008.
Participants:
| League | width=50 | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Eredivisie | 16 | |
| Eerste Divisie | 10 | |
| Hoofdklasse | 6 | |
| 32 |
|}(A) denotes amateur club
1The match was played in Emmen.
The Fourth Round was played on January 20, 21 and 28, 2009. With Feyenoord losing to Heerenveen 3-0, it marked the first time in 27 years and the third time ever in the KNVB Cup where any of the Big Three teams failed to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
|}(A) denotes amateur club
(1) denotes Eerste Divisie club
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See main article: 2009 KNVB Cup Final.