The number of fans attending professional football matches in the Netherlands rose 4% last season, a much stronger performance than in the top football nations such as the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, the NRC reports on Tuesday.

Ron Francis of the Dutch football association told the paper this showed how well Dutch clubs are able to keep their supporters.
‘The price of tickets is also low compared with the rest of Europe,’ he said. However, one area of concern was the performance of Dutch teams in Europe, Francis said.
‘The chance of a Dutch club ever winning the Champions League is getting smaller and smaller,’ he was quoted as saying.
Top earning club from tickets in the 2007-08 season was PSV Eindhoven, which took in nearly €100m. Amsterdam’s Ajax was second with almost €62m.