SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, (Dutch pronunciation: [ɛsˈseː ˈkɑmbyːr]) is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. The home ground of the club is the 15,000-capacity Kooi Stadion, which opened in 2024.[1] The club usually plays in yellow shirts and blue shorts. The origin of the club's emblem is the coat of arms of the House of Cammingha, a Frisian noble family. Their main rivals are SC Heerenveen.[2]

Cambuur
Full nameSportclub Cambuur
Nickname(s)The Yellow-Blues
SCC
Founded19 June 1964; 60 years ago (1964-06-19)
GroundKooi Stadion
Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Capacity15,000
ChairmanCees Heijboer
Head coachHenk de Jong
LeagueEerste Divisie
2023–24Eerste Divisie, 13th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History

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Historical chart of league performance

Founded in 1964, Cambuur has played a total of seven seasons in the top-flight Eredivisie. In the 1980s and 1990s, the club was a regular contender in the Eerste Divisie playoffs. Cambuur won the Eerste Divisie title in 1992 and gained promotion to the Eredivisie, but was relegated two seasons later in 1994. In 1998, the club was promoted again to the Eredivisie, but again was relegated after just two years in the top-flight in 2000. Troubled times followed which brought the "folk club" close to bankruptcy in 2005. The rebuilding started in 2006 and since 2010, the club has been in a relatively stable financial condition.

In 2009, the club almost won the playoff against Eredivisie side Roda JC, only losing on penalties. In 2010, the club came in second, again just narrowly missing promotion. Cambuur welcomed during these play-offs more than 40,000 spectators in just two weeks. Another estimated 7,000 fans watched the final play-off match against Roda on a large screen in the city centre of the city of Leeuwarden. More than 1.4 million people watched the final play-off match on television, which appeared to be another record for a play-off promotion match in the Netherlands. In total, more than 4.5 million people watched the play-off matches between Cambuur, PEC Zwolle and Roda JC on television that year.

Cambuur won the Eerste Divisie championship in the 2012–13 season, awarding the club promotion to the Eredivisie for the 2013–14 season. On 1 May 2016, Cambuur were relegated to the Eerste Divisie after losing 6–2 away to PSV.

Cambuur were denied promotion to the 2020–21 Eredivisie as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being in first place of the 2019–20 Eerste Divisie.[3]

Cambuur won the 2020-21 Eerste Divisie to return to the Eredivisie. In the 2021-2022 Eredivisie season they would finish in 9th place, a record high for the club. The 2022-23 season went terribly for the club, and on the 6th of May 2023 the club would be relegated back to the Eerste Divisie following a 3–0 loss away to FC Utrecht.[4]

Supporters

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Cambuur has a group of ultras, known as the M.I.-Side, who stand on the north and south stands at the Cambuur Stadion. The name derives from the street names in which the stands are built: M stands for Marathonstraat and I for Insulindestraat. Most of the hardcore fans of Cambuur are sitting close to the stand of the away fans on the northern side of the stadium. They are among the most notorious in the Netherlands. In the 2009–10 season, the average attendance was 8,600 fans per game, and more than 6,500 season tickets were sold. That was a new record for Cambuur, as these numbers were achieved while the club was in the second division but even higher than when it played in the Eredivisie. In the 2009–10 season, the club sold out six regular season matches with 10,000 fans per game, another milestone for the Leeuwarden-based club. Never before in the second division it had sold out that many regular season matches.

Current squad

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As of 4 September 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   NED Thijs Jansen
2 DF   NED Gabi Caschili
5 DF   NED Thomas Poll
6 MF   NED Jeremy van Mullem
7 FW   NED Remco Balk
8 MF   NED Maikel Kieftenbeld
9 FW   IRL Jonathan Afolabi (on loan from Kortrijk)
10 MF   NED Fedde de Jong
11 FW   NED Ilias Alhaft
12 MF   NED Mark Diemers
14 DF   ESP Arnau Casas
15 DF   NOR Sturla Ottesen
17 MF   NED Matthias Nartey
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF   GER Tony Rölke
19 FW   NED Michael de Leeuw
20 DF   NED Bryant Nieling
21 MF   NED Marcel Schaapman
22 GK   NED Daan Reiziger
23 GK   NED Brett Minnema
24 FW   NED Toni Jonker
25 DF   NED Bram Marsman
26 DF   CUW Tyrique Mercera
27 FW   NED Wiebe Kooistra
28 MF   CUW Nicky Souren
29 FW   BEL Benjamin Pauwels
30 FW   NED Yoram van der Veen

Youth players in use

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
51 FW   NED Iwan Henstra

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   NED Floris Smand (at Västerås SK until 31 December 2024)

Honours

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Recent history

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Eerste DivisieEredivisieEerste DivisieEredivisieEerste DivisieEredivisieEerste DivisieEredivisieEerste Divisie

Below is a table with Cambuur's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Club staff

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Position Staff
Manager   Henk de Jong
Assistant Manager   Dennis Haar
First-Team Coach   Pascal Bosschaart
Goalkeeper Coach   Peter van der Vlag
Fitness Coach   Nicky Boonstra
Performance coach   Daan Ganzinga
Video Analyst   Ruben de Jong
Doctor   Dirk Steensma
  Antje Tardy
Physiotherapist   Harvey Bischop
  Kevin Koster
Materialman   Paul Jansen
Team Manager   Peter Drijver
  Niels Dissel

Managers

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Notable former players

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The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for SC Cambuur.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SC Cambuur opens up new stadium". thestadiumbusiness.com. 19 August 2024.
  2. ^ Willis, Craig; Hughes, Will; Bober, Sergiusz. "ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations". ECMI. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. ^ "AFWIKKELING VOETBALSEIZOEN 2019/'20 EEN FEIT". Eredivisie (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. ^ "SC Cambuur degradeert na twee seizoenen naar de Keuken Kampioen…". Eredivisie (in Dutch). 6 May 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ Cambuur strikt Keizer als hoofdtrainer – AD (in Dutch)
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