1971–72 Eerste Divisie
# 1971–72 Eerste Divisie

The Dutch Eerste Divisie (English: First Division) in the 1971–72 season was contested by 21 teams, five more than in the previous year. Due to the disbandment of the Tweede Divisie, six teams were promoted to the Eerste Divisie; the rest of the teams returned to amateur football. As a result of the disbandment, teams no longer could relegate to lower leagues. HFC Haarlem won the championship.

## New entrants

Promoted from the 1970–71 Tweede Divisie:

* FC Eindhoven
* Fortuna Vlaardingen
* PEC Zwolle
* Roda JC
* De Volewijckers
* VVV-Venlo

Relegated from the 1970–71 Eredivisie:

* AZ'67
* HFC Haarlem

## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | HFC Haarlem | 40 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 74 | 23 | +51 | 62 | Promoted to Eredivisie. |
| 2 | AZ'67 | 40 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 68 | 31 | +37 | 55 | Promoted to Eredivisie. |
| 3 | sc Heerenveen | 40 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 51 | |
| 4 | Roda JC | 40 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 49 | |
| 5 | FC Eindhoven | 40 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 46 | |
| 6 | FC Wageningen | 40 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 46 | |
| 7 | PEC Zwolle | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 58 | 56 | +2 | 43 | |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 40 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 42 | |
| 9 | HVC | 40 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 41 | |
| 10 | Veendam | 40 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 55 | −7 | 40 | |
| 11 | De Graafschap | 40 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 38 | |
| 12 | Blauw-Wit Amsterdam | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 38 | Merged with DWS to form FC Amsterdam. |
| 13 | Fortuna SC | 40 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 36 | |
| 14 | Heracles | 40 | 13 | 9 | 18 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 35 | |
| 15 | Willem II | 40 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 35 | |
| 16 | VVV-Venlo | 40 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 34 | |
| 17 | SVV | 40 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 34 | |
| 18 | De Volewijckers | 40 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 32 | |
| 19 | Fortuna Vlaardingen | 40 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 30 | |
| 20 | Helmond Sport | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 30 | |
| 21 | DFC | 40 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 23 | Renamed FC Dordrecht for next season. |
