The 2015–16 KNVB Cup tournament was the 98th edition of the
Dutch national
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 ...
annual knockout tournament to determine the winner of the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
.
FC Groningen
Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...
unsuccessfully defended its
2015 title losing in the third round 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 ...
, 5–3.
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
successfully pursued its
2016 Cup title on 24 April 2016 at
De Kuip
Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
stadium in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
defeating
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 ...
, 2–1. 45,592 in attendance. They qualified for: the group stage in the
Europa League the following season and the
Johan Cruyff Shield
The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...
, the Dutch Supercup match between the Cup winner and the champions of 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 ...
.
Qualification
Teams qualified for the Cup through the following: (reserve teams were excluded)
Calendar
The calendar is as follows:
Source: Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues ( Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and w ...
First round
Only amateur teams compete in this round. Matches were played on 26 August 2015. Due to heavy rainfall four matches were abandoned during the game and finished one week later on 2 September 2015
Second round
Winners from the first round compete against all professional clubs.
Third round
The 32 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.
Fourth round
The 16 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.
Quarter-finals
The 8 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.
Semi-finals
The 4 winners from the previous round progress to this stage.
Final
The 2 winners from the previous round progressed to the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
. The winner of the semi-final match between
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
and
AZ is marked as the 'home' team in the final, as that was the first match to be drawn at the draw for the semi-finals.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 KNVB Cup
KNVB Cup seasons
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...