The Achtste Klasse (1996–2001) was a Dutch association football league for men. It covered only a part of
North and
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
. The champion and the runner-up of the Achtste Klasse gained the right to promote to the Zevende Klasse. It was up to the club to use this right or not.
History
The foundation of the Achtste Klasse in 1996 was the result of a major
KNVB reorganization at which the regional soccer organizations were dismantled and the Netherlands was divided into 9 soccer districts. The Achtste Klasse became the lowest division of Dutch amateur football. Only Sunday District West I had an Achtste Klasse. In 2001 the number of districts was limited to 6, the Achtste Klasse was dismantled, and all Achtste Klasse teams were promoted to the
Zevende Klasse or
Zesde Klasse, as the restructured Zevende didn't cover all of the Netherlands either.
One of the teams in the Achtste Klasse was the college football club DSVV Ouwe Schoen from
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, founded in 1889 as Delftsche FC. Its first and second squad had played in the Achtste Klasse, however, the second squad promoted to the Zevende Klasse, leaving the first squad behind in the Achtste until the league's closure in 2001.
SV Beemster from
Middenbeemster won the 8A section championship in 1999. SV Watervogels from
Den Helder
Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base.
From here the Royal TESO fe ...
played in the competition from 1996 to 2000, when it won the section championship of 8A.
References
{{Dutch football competitions
Defunct football leagues in the Netherlands