The competition is held in each of the six districts of the Royal Dutch Football Association.
In the first knock-out round, the paths are merged and teams from the Hoofdklasse enter.
From the knockout stage, teams can get a bye if they are left over after the draw is made.
The cup competition, which started in the 1959–1960 season, initially saw a separation between Saturday clubs and Sunday clubs, who played in separate cup competitions.
In order to minimize the number of match days, between 2003 and 2006 the final eight teams in the district cups were divided into two groups.