SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club from the city of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

in the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. The home ground of the club is the 15,000-capacity

Kooi Stadion Kooi Stadion is a football stadium in Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, Netherlands. It is home to Eerste Divisie club SC Cambuur. The stadium replaces SC Cambuur's previous stadium, Cambuur Stadion. History The stadium opened on 18 August 2024 in a ...

, which opened in 2024. 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 Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...

History

Founded in 1964, SC Cambuur has spent a total of nine seasons in the Dutch top flight, the

. During the 1980s and 1990s, the club was a consistent contender in the

promotion play-offs. Cambuur won the Eerste Divisie title in 1992 and earned promotion to the Eredivisie, but were relegated two seasons later following the 1993–94 season. In 1998, the club returned to the Eredivisie, though they were again relegated after just two seasons, in the 1999–2000 season. The early 2000s proved turbulent, and in 2005 the club narrowly avoided bankruptcy. A period of restructuring began in 2006, and by 2010 Cambuur had achieved relative financial stability. In 2009, Cambuur came close to promotion, narrowly losing a play-off to

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. The c ...

on penalties. The following year, they finished second in the league and again missed promotion by a slim margin. The club attracted over 40,000 spectators during that year's play-offs, with an estimated 7,000 supporters gathering in

's city centre to watch the decisive match against Roda on a large screen. The final match drew a record 1.4 million television viewers in the Netherlands, and the entire play-off series—featuring Cambuur,

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

, and Roda JC—was watched by more than 4.5 million people. Cambuur won the Eerste Divisie title in the 2012–13 season, earning promotion to the Eredivisie for the 2013–14 season. On 1 May 2016, they were relegated back to the Eerste Divisie after a 6–2 away defeat to PSV. In 2020, Cambuur were leading the Eerste Divisie when the season was voided due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and the club was controversially denied promotion to the Eredivisie. The club returned to the top flight after winning the

2020–21 Eerste Divisie The 2020–21 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the sixty-fifth season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 28 August 2020, and came to an end on 12 May 2021. Relegation for ...

title. In the 2021–22 season, Cambuur achieved a ninth-place finish—the highest league position in the club's history. However, the following campaign proved difficult, and on 6 May 2023, Cambuur were relegated back to the Eerste Divisie following a 3–0 away defeat to

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

Supporters

Cambuur has a group of

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

, 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

Youth players in use

Out on loan

Honours

**Winners (3): 1991–92,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

**Runners-up (3): 1996–97, 1997–98, 2009–10 *

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

**Winners (2): 1956–57, 1964–65

Recent history

ImageSize = width:800 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2025 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1) PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/2023 till:01/01/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2024 till:01/01/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1992 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1998 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2013 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2016 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2021 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2023 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2023 till:01/01/2025 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

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

Club staff

Source:

Managers

Jan Bens Jan Bens (15 April 1921 – 12 May 2012) was a Dutch professional football player and coach; he was also an amateur boxer and trainer. Football career Playing career Born in Rotterdam, Bens joined hometown club Feyenoord at the age of 12 and ma ...

(1 July 1964 – 30 June 1966) * Piet de Wolf (1966–68) *

(1 July 1968 – 30 June 1970) * Arie Otten (1 July 1970 – 30 June 1972) *

Leo Beenhakker Leo Beenhakker (; 2 August 1942 – 10 April 2025) was a Dutch football player and coach. Nicknamed "Don Leo" for his role in Spanish football, he had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. After his amateur pl ...

(1972–75) *

Nol de Ruiter Nol de Ruiter (6 April 1940 – 21 May 2025) was a Dutch association football, football coach and player, who played as a defender (association football), defender. Playing career Born in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, De Ruiter played football for l ...

(1 July 1976 – 30 June 1980) * Henk de Jonge (1980–83) * Theo Verlangen (1983–85) * Simon Kistemaker (1 July 1985 – 30 June 1986) *

Fritz Korbach Fritz Korbach (18 July 1945 – 14 August 2011) was a German professional football player and manager. He was particularly well known in the Netherlands, where he served eleven different teams, including FC Wageningen, FC Zwolle, FC Volendam, ...

(1 July 1986 – 30 June 1988) *

Sándor Popovics Sándor Popovics (22 October 1862 – 15 April 1935) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Finance in 1918. He was the governor of the Austro-Hungarian Bank between 1909 and 1918. During the peace negotiations in 1920, he attend ...

(1 June 1988 – 30 June 1990) *

Rob Baan Robert Baan (born 1 April 1943 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football coach. He was coach of FC VVV, Roda JC, and FC Twente, assistant coach of PSV and assistant and interim coach of the Dutch national football team. He won Dutch First Division c ...

(1 July 1990 – 30 June 1992) *

Theo de Jong Theodorus Jacob de Jong (born 11 August 1947) is a Dutch former professional footballer and former football coach. During his career, he played for NEC Nijmegen and Feyenoord Rotterdam. He earned 15 caps and scored 3 goals for the Netherla ...

(1 July 1992 – 30 September 1993) *

(30 September 1993 – 31 January 1995) *

Han Berger Johan Antonius "Han" Berger (born 17 June 1950) is a Dutch association football coach and former player. Managerial career FC Utrecht Berger is the youngest head coach ever in the history of professional football in the Netherlands. After suffer ...

(1 July 1995 – 30 June 1998) *

Gert Kruys Gert Kruys (born 8 May 1961) is a Dutch football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Montfoort SV '19. Career Kruys played his entire career for FC Utrecht (1978–1988), except for one short spell at RKC Waalwijk (1987). ...

(1 July 1998 – 18 May 2002) *

Henny Lee Henny is a Scandinavian and Dutch male and female first name, nickname and surname. It may refer to: Female given name * Henny Backus (1911–2004), Broadway showgirl in the 1930s * Henny Lindorff Buckhøj (1902–1979), Danish actress * Henny ...

''(interim)'' (19 May 2002 – 30 June 2002) * Rob McDonald (1 July 2002 – 30 June 2003) * Dick de Boer (1 July 2003 – 31 December 2004) * Jan Schulting (31 December 2004 – 30 June 2005) *

Roy Wesseling Roy Wesseling (born 25 October 1964 in Haarlem) is a Dutch football manager. He has worked as a scout for Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax ...

(1 July 2005 – 19 February 2007) * Gerrie Schouwenaar (2007) *

Jurrie Koolhof Jurjen Jacob (Jurrie) Koolhof (10 January 1960 – 28 January 2019) was a Dutch international football striker and manager. As a player, Koolhof had a long and productive career, with 190 league goals. He played for a number of clubs in the Net ...

(1 July 2007 – 14 September 2008) *

Stanley Menzo Stanley Purl Menzo (born 15 October 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the manager of the Suriname national team. He spent ten full seasons at Ajax, appearing in more th ...

(20 September 2008 – 27 October 2010) * Alfons Arts (27 October 2010 – 22 March 2013) *

Henk de Jong Henk de Jong (born 27 August 1964) is a Dutch professional football manager who is the head coach of club Cambuur. Early life and career De Jong studied at the Central Institute for Sports Education (CIOS) in Heerenveen, where his instructor ...

''(interim)'' (22 March 2013 – 30 June 2013) *

Dwight Lodeweges Dwight Lodeweges (born 26 October 1957) is a Canadian–born Dutch football coach and former professional player. He is currently one of the assistant managers of the Netherlands national team. In 2020, after Ronald Koeman left to join Barcelo ...

(1 July 2013 – 1 April 2014) *

(2 April 2014 – 9 February 2016) *

Marcel Keizer Marcel Keizer (born 15 January 1969), a Dutch football coach and former player, was most recently the manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab. His playing career as a midfielder began at Ajax and was mainly spent at Cambuur, and he had b ...

(15 February 2016 – 30 June 2016)Cambuur strikt Keizer als hoofdtrainer
– AD *

Rob Maas Rob Maas (born 17 December 1969) is a Dutch Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is an assistant coach at PSV Eindhoven, PSV. Playing career Maas was born in Eindhoven and made his debut ...

(30 June 2016 – 15 October 2016) * Sipke Hulshoff (15 October 2016 – 17 June 2017) *

Marinus Dijkhuizen Marinus Dijkhuizen (born 4 January 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is head coach of club De Graafschap. As a player, Dijkhuizen had notable spells as a forward in his native Netherlands with Excelsior, Ca ...

(1 July 2017 – 28 November 2017) * Sipke Hulshoff (28 November 2017 – 31 January 2018) * René Hake (31 January 2018 – 30 June 2019) *

(1 July 2019 – 20 October 2022) *

Pascal Bosschaart Pascal Bosschaart (born 28 February 1980 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football coach and former player. As a player, he won the KNVB Cup twice with Utrecht, before playing for Feyenoord, ADO Den Haag and Sydney FC. After his playing career, he trans ...

Martijn Barto Martijn Barto (born 23 August 1984) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Blauw Wit '34 in the Eerste Klasse. Club career He formerly played professional football for RKC Waalwijk and Helmond Sport. After he had played four years for ...

''(interim)'' (20 October 2022 – 14 November 2022) *

Sjors Ultee Sjors Ultee (born 23 May 1987) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of club TOP Oss. Managerial career Ultee was briefly an amateur footballer, but at a young age was planning on becoming a sports do ...

(14 November 2022 – 9 October 2023) *

(10 October 2023 – present)

Notable former players

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. ;Cameroon * Marc Mboua ;Democratic Republic of Congo * Jody Lukoki ;Indonesia * Stefano Lilipaly ;Iran *

Reza Ghoochannejhad Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia (; born 20 September 1987) is an Iranian-Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also known as Gucci in Belgium and Netherlands. Having played for the Netherlands at youth level, he switche ...

;Lithuania *

Vytautas Andriuškevičius Vytautas Andriuškevičius (born 8 October 1990), commonly known as Vytas, is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is now an assistant coach for the Portland Thorns of the American National Women's Soccer Le ...

;Morocco * Adnane Tighadouini ;Netherlands *

Bert Konterman Bert Konterman (, born 14 January 1971) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. Playing career Born in Rouveen, Konterman's career began with the local amateur club ''SC Rouveen'', then went on to play for clubs in ...

Michael Mols Michael Alexander Mols (born 17 December 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Amsterdam to Indo (Eurasian) parents, Mols, a product of local Ajax's youth system, never appeared officially ...

Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of all-time. Stam was part of the Manchester United team that w ...

;Netherlands Antilles *

Robin Nelisse Robin Nelisse (born 25 January 1978) is an Aruban former professional footballer who played as a forward. He gained two caps for the former Netherlands Antillean national team. Career Nelisse started playing football with De Musschen as a 10-y ...

;Nigeria *

Bartholomew Ogbeche Bartholomew Owogbalor Ogbeche (born 1 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history until 2024. Having started his career in France with Paris ...

;Philippines *

Paul Mulders Paul de la Cruz Mulders (born 16 January 1981) is a Filipino professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He was last signed by Ceres–Negros in the Philippines Football League. Mulders is also a member of the Philippines n ...

;Republic of Ireland * Jack Byrne ;Slovakia * Albert Rusnák ;Ukraine *

Yevhen Levchenko Evgeniy Viktorovych Levchenko, also spelled Yevhen Levchenko (; born 2 January 1978 in Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a retired Ukrainian footballer. He was the main participant of the Russian version of the show '' The Bachelo ...

;United States *

Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 s ...

;Yugoslavia *

Milko Đurovski Milko Djurovski (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Milko Đurovski, Милко Ђуровски; born 26 January 1963) is a Macedonian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. He was regard ...

References

External links

*
Cambuur Leeuwarden
at Weltfussballarchiv {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambuur Sport in Leeuwarden Football clubs in Friesland Football clubs in the Netherlands Association football clubs established in 1964 1964 establishments in the Netherlands