From the foundation of the Dutch national football championship in 1898 until 1954 , the title was decided through play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league . The competition was purely an amateur one ; the Royal Dutch Football Association ( KNVB ) rejected any form of payment and suspended players who were caught receiving salary or transfer fees . The call for professional football grew in the early fifties after many national team members left to play abroad in search for financial benefits . The KNVB would usually suspend these players , preventing them from appearing for the Dutch national team . After the North Sea flood of 1953 , the Dutch players abroad ( mainly playing in the French league ) organised a charity match against the French national team in Paris . The match was boycotted by the KNVB , but after the assembled Dutch players defeated the French ( 2 – 1 ) , the Dutch public witnessed the heights that could be achieved through professional football . To serve the growing interest , a dissident professional football association ( the NBVB ) and league were founded for the 1954 – 55 season . On 3 July 1954 , the KNVB met with a group of concerned amateur club chairmen , who feared the best players would join the professional teams . The meeting , dubbed the '' slaapkamerconferentie '' ( ' bedroom conference ' ) , led to the Association reluctantly accepting semi-professionalism
North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
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