ABSTRACT
Football in the low countries was, as in many other countries, introduced
by British immigrants. Due to the proximity to England and early indus-
trialisation, Belgium and the Netherlands adopted the game of football.
Both countries share a lot of commonalities in football: the origin of the
game was similar and they both stuck to the amateur principle of the game.
Both countries also had their greatest success in the early 1970s and, as
small product markets, have decided to learn how to adapt their profes-
sional game into a viable international business. In this chapter, we start
with a short overview of the origin and history of football in both countries.
Then we discuss the league structure and different governing bodies. We
continue with an overview of the emergence of professionalism in both
countries and the sporting successes of clubs from both countries in the
1970s and 1980s. The league format is examined and followed by an
overview of the main data concerning football revenues in Belgium and the
Netherlands. The migration, tax, and association law structure in both
countries are used to indicate the main differences in policies dealing with
foreign players. Finally, we explore the significance of the major shocks in
the football environment: the Bosman rule and the multiplication of media
revenues, and what these mean for the present and future position of
Belgian and Dutch football.
