All the leagues are connected by a promotion and relegation system, but in order to be promoted to the Eerste Divisie a club has to submit a solid business plan to be approved by the Royal Dutch Football Association, as well as meet certain stadium demands, and some other demands that the association stated for all the teams in the top two leagues.
However, due to resistance from the amateur clubs to meet the demands for the professional leagues and worries from the professional clubs to face bankruptcy after relegation, mandatory promotion and relegation was suspended for five to 10 years in June 2022.
The Tweede Divisie was reintroduced in 2016, decrementing the Topklasse and lower leagues by a level in the pyramid.
[4] Until 2022–23, clubs from Derde Divisie down to the Eerste Klasse were divided into Saturday and Sunday groups.
The separation between Saturday and Sunday football was abolished in the Derde and Vierde Divisie as well as in the Eerste Klasse from 2023–24.
Amateur clubs are asked before the season whether they want to play their home games on Saturday or Sunday.