ADO Den Haag, who previously played in the Eredivisie in 17 of the 18 seasons between 2003-04 and 2020-21, were favoured to clinch promotion after winning 17 of their first 20 Keuken Kampioen Divisie games.
A 1-0 win over Jong FC Utrecht, courtesy of a 50th-minute goal from Evan Rottier, was enough to secure a top-2 finish, which guarantees direct promotion to the Eredivisie.
The club from The Hague, the country's third-biggest city, came close to a return to the Eredivisie several times in the past few seasons, qualifying for the playoffs in three of their first four seasons in the Eerste Divisie. All three playoffs ended in heartbreak for ADO, with Excelsior knocking them out on penalties in 2022 and beating them 7-1 in 2024, and Telstar beating ADO twice in a row en route to promotion in 2025.
ADO, led by German manager Robin Peter, reached the Dutch playoffs for European football as recently as 2018, when Vitesse knocked them out with four goals from Mason Mount.
Cambuur set to join ADO
Fellow former Eredivisie side Cambuur Leeuwarden are set to join ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie. The Frisian outfit is on 70 points, four behind ADO with a game in hand, and could clinch promotion on Friday.
