N.E.C.

History

1900–1919: Merger and early years

The oldest remnant of NEC Nijmegen, Eendracht, was formed on 15 November 1900 by three men – August Lodenstijn, Antoon Kuypers and Wouter de Lent – representing the people from the benedenstad (lower town) who, due to their working class status, were not able to play for the major club in the city, Quick 1888.

Due to a lack of funds, Eendracht initially played only friendly matches against teams from other parts of the city until 1903, when the local league in Nijmegen was formed. Eendracht was the first champion and was promoted to Gelderland's regional league, and two years later the club was promoted to the second tier of Dutch football.

Eendracht merged in April 1910 with NVV Nijmegen, a club formed two years earlier by former members of Quick 1888. The new club was given the name Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie, and played its first match against Amsterdam side DEC, the match ending 0–0.

1920–1939: "Never first-class"

After a series of ground moves in the club's early years, at the beginning of the 1920s, NEC bought land and moved to a ground at Hazenkampseweg. Finally, the club had a permanent home and the club's fanbase began to grow. However, despite a new home and increased membership, on-field success did not follow.

Although NEC won second-tier championships in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1934, the club did not win promotion after losing consecutive play-off matches. The club was mockingly nicknamed "Nooit eerste classer" (lit. 'Never first division'), before being promoted at the fifth attempt in 1936. In 1939, NEC won the first Eastern title and fought for the Dutch title in a playoff competition with four other district champions. NEC came in third place, behind Amsterdam sides Ajax and DWS.

The club moved from Hazenkampseweg in 1942 to the Goffertstadion, located in the Goffertpark on the outskirts of the city, where the club still plays today.

1940–1959: WWII and professional football

During the Second World War, little football was played. After liberation, the club's pre-war success continued and again became the champion of the East in both 1946 and 1947.

Professional football was introduced in the Netherlands in 1954, and came at the wrong time for NEC. The club was not in a good financial state and not as well established as other clubs. When the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) reorganised the league structure in time for the 1956–57 season, NEC found themselves in the lowest semi-professional division, the Tweede Divisie.

1960–1973: Recovery

At the beginning of the 1960s, NEC began to recover from its financial difficulties. A major reason for this was new support from the municipal council who began to see the importance of a professional club like the NEC, and started providing financial support in 1963. The following year, the club was promoted to the second-tier Eerste Divisie again and three years later, reached the top-tier Eredivisie for the first time, finishing tenth in its first season.

The club remained in the top flight for seven seasons in a row, with some games played in front of capacity crowds; season averages of 14,000 spectators were normal. NEC flourished, primarily due to the development of players from their youth setup, including Frans Thijssen and Jan Peters.

1974–2002: Lean years

However, a sharp decline soon followed. NEC could not sustain itself with its only major revenue sources being the sale of players and the large subsidy from the Nijmegen council.

Relegation from the top flight came in 1974, and although NEC returned to the top division the following year, the club was heading in a downward trajectory. During the following years, NEC became renowned as a yo-yo club; in little over a decade, they changed leagues six times: relegation in 1983, promotion in 1985, relegation in 1986, promotion in 1989, relegation in 1991, and finally promotion in 1994.

In 1981, the club was given further support from the municipal council, when NEC's professional and amateur sides separated. This did not prevent the club's bankruptcy in 1987. NEC continued to exist only after 80% of creditors waived their claims.

New chairman Henk van de Water formed a sponsors' club to raise funds which started to gather momentum. By the mid-1990s, NEC was on the way up again. In 1995, the club clung on to a place in the Eredivisie by the skin of their teeth. In 1998, it surprised many with an eighth-place finish. Its financial situation had improved and attendance numbers rose gradually, up to an average of 10,000 spectators.

NEC has reached the final of the KNVB Cup six times. Going into the 1973 final, the club was the overwhelming favorite. At Rotterdam's De Kuip against NAC Breda, things went completely wrong for the Nijmegen club, with NAC coming away 2–0 winners, amidst claims of infighting and disagreements with the manager.

In 1983, NEC unexpectedly reached the Cup Final despite having been relegated that season, but fell 3–1 to the league champions Ajax – the third goal being scored by Johan Cruyff in his final game for the club.

In the 1993–94 season, the club surprised many by reaching the final despite playing in the Eerste Divisie, defeating Ajax 2–1 away from home in the semi-final, before losing 2–1 to Feyenoord in the final at De Kuip.

2003–2012: NEC in Europe

29 May 2003 marked a historic day for NEC. Following a late strike from Jaromír Šimr against RKC Waalwijk, NEC finished fifth in the Eredivisie. For the first time in the club's history, NEC qualified for the UEFA Cup through their league position. This led to unprecedented scenes with jubilant fans invading the pitch. Similar scenes occurred in the city centre with over 25,000 people celebrating. The European run was short, because NEC where knocked out by the Polish club Wisla Krakow.

In the 2007–08 Eredivisie season, NEC qualified for European competition again, despite a disappointing first half of the season, when the club found itself in 17th place at the winter break. However, there was a remarkable turnaround. From January, NEC improved their form and finished eighth place in the league. This position secured participation in the UEFA Cup play-offs, which they won, beating Roda JC, Groningen, and NAC Breda. With 31 undefeated matches in a row and with a 6–0 home victory at NAC Breda the highlight of the turnaround, NEC achieved European qualification once again.

The year became even more successful following early rounds of the UEFA Cup. In the first round, the club defeated Dinamo București over two ties. After a 1–0 home win, NEC drew 0–0 in Romania to reach the group stage. They were then drawn against Tottenham Hotspur, Udinese, Spartak Moscow, and Dinamo Zagreb. They started poorly, with defeats to both Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham Hotspur – meaning they were bottom of the group and almost out of the competition. After a 2–1 victory against Spartak Moscow in Russia with a goal from Lasse Schöne, NEC played their last match in Nijmegen against Udinese. To advance, NEC had to win and hope that other results went their way. Tottenham were trailing at half time, while NEC were being held at 0–0. In the 74th minute, however, Tottenham scored twice to eventually draw 2–2 against Spartak and goals from Collins John and Jhon van Beukering gave NEC a 2–0 victory, and they qualified for the knockout round.

The round of 32 of the UEFA Cup saw NEC drawn against Bundesliga side Hamburger SV. The run ended when the Germans won 3–0 in Nijmegen and 1–0 in Hamburg. NEC supporters were subsequently complimented in Europe by Franz Beckenbauer, who said he had never witnessed such great support from away supporters.

2013–present: Relegations and promotions

At the end of the 2013–14 season, NEC prevented automatic relegation by holding Ajax to a 2–2 draw in Amsterdam on the last matchday with a brace from Alireza Jahanbakhsh. However, in the following relegation play-offs, NEC lost 4–1 on aggregate to Eerste Divisie's 3rd placed Sparta Rotterdam and was relegated to the second tier of Dutch football, ending a 20-year run in the top flight.

They bounced back however at the first attempt after beating Sparta 1–0 on 3 April 2015 to clinch the Eerste Divisie title with six games left. On 28 May 2017, NEC faced relegation again after two years in the Eredivisie after losing 5–1 on aggregate against NAC Breda.

They reached the promotion play-offs in both the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, but lost in the semi-finals on both occasions to FC Emmen and RKC Waalwijk. For the 2019–20 season, the club took the unusual step of appointing three head coaches: Adrie Bogers, Rogier Meijer and Francois Gesthuizen – the club finished in eighth place, which would have granted them a place in the play-offs, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, there was no promotion or relegation between Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie.

In May 2021, the club once again achieved promotion to the Eredivisie after beating NAC Breda 2–1 in the final of the promotion/relegation play-offs.

On 17 May 2026, NEC beat Go Ahead Eagles to finish their best ever Eredivisie season in 3rd place, qualifying for the Champions League preliminary phase in the process.

Stadium

In the early years of NEC's existence, the club played at various grounds around the city, most notably at Hazenkampseweg.

The club's current home, Goffertstadion, was opened in 1939 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It had been constructed by thousands of the city's unemployed, during a time of compulsory employment. At the time of its completion it was the third highest capacity stadium in the Netherlands, after Ajax's Olympic Stadium and De Kuip in Rotterdam.

The Gofferstadion was a project by the municipal council, but upon completion both local clubs Quick 1888 and NEC refused to play there, as both had their own stadiums and did not want to pay rent for De Goffert. It therefore took until 1942 for the first match to be played, after NEC's home ground was damaged during the Second World War and the club permanently moved to De Goffert in 1945.

In 1992 the club purchased the stadium from the municipal council for the symbolic sum of 1 guilder. The stadium was renovated in the late 1990s, with an increased capacity of 12,500, opening with a friendly match between NEC and RSC Anderlecht, which the home side won 3–1.

On 17 October 2021, the away stand collapsed after a match between NEC and rivals Vitesse. Nobody was seriously injured.

International matches

Goffertstadion has hosted various senior men's international matches.

Kit and colours

Club colours

Upon the merger of NVV and Eendracht, the club played in black shirts with a green and red band across the chest. However the club's traditional shirt is known as the Balkenshirt, consisting of a red shirt with a green chestband with black trim. During the 2000s, other variations of the club's colours were worn, such as a quartered design in 2004–05 and various half-and-half designs. In 2016 NEC's board allowed a controversial fan vote on whether to restore the classic chest band, which passed with a slim majority.

Club culture

Rivalries

Vitesse are NEC's archrivals. The two clubs share a long history together and they contest the Gelderse Derby (Derby of Gelderland), a confrontation between the two largest cities of the province of Gelderland, Arnhem and Nijmegen, two cities with major differences in attitude and culture. Since 1813, Arnhem has been the capital of Gelderland and is historically based on finance and trade, perceived as an office city with modern buildings. Nijmegen, on the other hand, is predominantly a workers' city, with middle and high-income groups in the minority.

The two cities are just 24 kilometers apart, resulting in an intense crosstown rivalry. The meeting between the two teams is still considered to be one of the biggest matches of the season.

De Graafschap are also considered a rival, and games between them are known as the Kleine Gelderse Derby (Little Gelderland Derby) but these matches are not as loaded with the tension and rivalry of those with Vitesse.

Mascot

Since 2007, the club's mascot has been Bikkel, a Roman legionary, with a sword and shield, a reference to the Roman history of the city of Nijmegen. The name Bikkel reportedly refers to the nickname given to former player and coach Ron de Groot, who spent his whole career at the club.

Players

First team squad

As of 14 August 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Youth/reserves squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Former players

National team players

The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with N.E.C.:

Players in bold actively play for N.E.C. and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate career span with N.E.C.

National team players by Confederation

Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former N.E.C. players represented Internationally

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of N.E.C. players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, AFC Asian Cup, Africa Cup of Nations and the Copa América. To this date no N.E.C. players have participated in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for NEC Nijmegen.

Former coaches

Source.

Honours

Eerste Divisie

Winners: 1974–75, 2014–15

Promoted: 1966–67, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1993–94, 2020–21

Tweede Divisie

Winners: 1963–64

KNVB Cup

Runners-up: 1972–73, 1982–83, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2023–24, 2025–26

Results

Below is a table with NEC's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1955.

Records and statistics

Attendance

Record attendance: 22,000 v Ajax, Eredivisie, 6 May 1990

Highest season average attendance: 12,379, 2009–10

Transfers

Biggest Transfer fee paid: €2.5 million to Ajax for Ahmetcan Kaplan, 2026

Biggest Transfer fee received: €14.5 million from PSV for Kodai Sano, 2026

Team records

Biggest victory: 7–0 v FC Den Bosch, 3 November 1973

Biggest defeat: 1–9 v Ajax, 5 November 1967

Highest league finish: 3rd, 2025–26

Most wins in a season: 16, 2025–26

Most goals scored in a season: 100, 2014–15

Fewest goals conceded in a season: 36, 1970–71

Individual records

Most appearances: Sije Visser, 490

Most goals: Frans Janssen, 126

Most goals in a season: 23, Björn Vleminckx, 2010–11

Most goals in a game: 4, Björn Vleminckx, NEC Nijmegen 5–0 Roda JC, 1 May 2011

Most assists in a game: 4, Jeffrey Sarpong, NEC Nijmegen 4–2 NAC Breda, 12 February 2010

Youngest goalscorer: Ferdi Kadioglu, 17 years, 23 days, 30 October 2016