This is the most unbelievable scenario we’ve ever seen.
We head to the Dutch second division, where Den Bosch must lose its next match to have a chance of promotion.
This situation stems from a specific rule in the Dutch second division. Stay with us, it’s about to get a little technical.
Put simply, the league has two separate standings running in parallel. A standard table over 38 matchdays, and another one split into four periods, as shown below.
- Period 1: matchdays 1 to 10 (10 matches).
- Period 2: matchdays 11 to 20 (10 matches).
- Period 3: matchdays 21 to 29 (9 matches).
- Period 4: matchdays 30 to 38 (9 matches).
And that’s where all the subtlety comes in. While the top two teams in the overall standings are automatically promoted to the Eredivisie, promotion playoff spots are awarded to the teams that win each period.
But these spots can only be won once by each team. If a team that has already qualified for the playoffs wins a period, then its spot is awarded to the runner-up in that period’s standings, provided they have not already qualified for the playoffs.
A system of unmatched complexity that has now created a completely absurd situation.
Currently ninth in the league, Den Bosch can qualify for the playoffs through the overall standings. But with one matchday left in the season, the club could see that qualifying spot slip away because of the standings in the fourth period.
At the moment, the standings in the final period are led by Willem II, followed by ADO Den Haag and then… Vitesse Arnhem. If those positions remain unchanged, Den Bosch will go to the playoffs, but if Vitesse takes first or second place, the final qualifying spot will go to them, knocking Den Bosch out.
So why does Den Bosch need to lose to qualify for the playoffs? Well, Den Bosch face ADO Den Haag on the final matchday. That club is already guaranteed to finish top of the overall standings and therefore to be promoted to the Eredivisie. On top of that, Willem II are also guaranteed a place in the playoffs.
A win for Den Haag combined with a win for Willem II would therefore prevent Vitesse from reaching the top two places in the final period standings… and therefore from claiming the last spot, which would send Den Bosch into the playoffs via the overall standings.
Den Bosch therefore have every reason to deliberately lose against ADO Den Haag to stop Vitesse from overtaking them.
An absolutely surreal situation that makes us miss the good old traditional league tables. Now all that remains is to see what Den Bosch will do…
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.
