Eredivisie: From 85-Point Champions to Relegation - Heracles Almelo Back to Second Tier

Heracles Almelo relegated from Eredivisie after three-year stay

Heracles Almelo relegated three seasons after winning Keuken Kampioen Divisie with 85 points. 2-0 Volendam defeat ends stay; fans throw fireworks.

Won just 1 of last 16 under Ernest Faber and spent all 31 rounds in relegation zone...

  

Heracles Almelo became the first side relegated from the Eredivisie in 2025-26 after a 2-0 home defeat to FC Volendam on Sunday, ending their three-year spell in the Dutch top flight.

 

After Excelsior’s 5-0 win over FC Utrecht earlier on Sunday, Heracles needed victory against FC Volendam to stay alive in the survival fight. It wasn’t to be, though, as Volendam’s 2-0 win lifted them out of the drop zone and sent Heracles down.

  

The defeat sparked anger among the home support, with the game briefly halted in the closing minutes after Heracles fans threw fireworks onto the pitch.

 

Heracles Almelo’s season began disastrously with nine defeats in their first 10 Eredivisie games, a run that saw manager Bas Sibum sacked in October. A brief upturn under interim boss Hendrie Krüzen brought some respite, including a remarkable 8-2 win over PEC Zwolle and two more victories in four games, but it proved the only bright spell in a bleak campaign.

Ernest Faber took charge in December but managed just one win from 16 Eredivisie games between rounds 15 and 31. Heracles’ problems deepened in January when top scorer Jizz Hornkamp left for AZ in the winter window.

Heracles never escaped the relegation zone, sitting 16th, 17th or 18th in every one of the 31 rounds played this season.

The Almelo club had earned promotion back to the Eredivisie with a dominant 2022-23 Keuken Kampioen Divisie title, collecting 85 points from 38 games. After 14th-place finishes in each of the last two seasons, Heracles now drop back to the second tier.

Degradatie is een feit.#HERVOL #WijZijnHeracles pic.twitter.com/tPihzMYvJA

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) April 26, 2026

Heracles Address Fans After Relegation Confirmed

“Relegation is a fact, and that reality hurts. Like a stab to the heart. For all of us,” the club said in a statement released on Sunday evening under the banner ‘Stronger. Together.’

“For the supporters and sponsors, for all the staff and volunteers, and for the whole town. After the final whistle of the match against FC Volendam, an oppressive silence fell over us. A silence filled with disappointment, sadness and disbelief.

“But also a silence full of determination. Because Heracles Almelo is more than just one season. Greater than a run of disappointing results. Our strength lies in what unites us: the love for black and white, the pride of Almelo and the region, the vibrant spirit of the Asito Stadium. It is precisely in the face of adversity that we show who we are. Now is the time to show who we are. We will not back down. We will stand tall. And we will come back. Stronger. Together.”