1972–73 Eerste Divisie
| Season | 1972-73 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Roda JC |
| Promoted | None: Tweede Divisie disbanded; promotion to Eredivisie shown here starting next season |
| From Eredivisie | Vitesse Arnhem FC Volendam |
| To Eredivisie | Roda JC De Graafschap |
| Goals scored | 913 |
| Average goals/game | 2.40 |
← 1971-72 1973-74 → | |
The Dutch Eerste Divisie in the 1972/1973 season was contested by 20 teams, one less than in the previous year. This was due to the merger of Blauw-Wit Amsterdam with eredivisie-club DWS to form FC Amsterdam. Roda JC won the championship.
It was the first season in which a promotion competition was held. In this promotion competition, four period winners (the best teams during each of the four quarters of the regular competition) played for promotion to the eredivisie.
New entrants
Relegated from the Eredivisie 1971-72
DFC changed their name to FC Dordrecht for this season.
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drw | Lst | GF | GA | Pts | GD | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roda JC | 38 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 54 | 32 | 52 | +22 | Promoted to Eredivisie. |
| 2 | PEC Zwolle | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 72 | 48 | 48 | +24 | Qualified for Promotion play-off as Period champions. |
| 3 | Vitesse Arnhem | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 58 | 38 | 48 | +20 | |
| 4 | De Graafschap | 38 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 52 | 34 | 47 | +18 | Qualified for Promotion play-off as Period champions. |
| 5 | Helmond Sport | 38 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 53 | 38 | 47 | +15 | |
| 6 | FC Volendam | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 65 | 35 | 45 | +30 | Qualified for Promotion play-off as Period champions. |
| 7 | SC Cambuur | 38 | 12 | 20 | 6 | 53 | 40 | 44 | +13 | |
| 8 | FC Wageningen | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 57 | 52 | 44 | +5 | Qualified for Promotion play-off as Period champions. |
| 9 | Fortuna SC | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 40 | 36 | 42 | +4 | |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 43 | 41 | +1 | |
| 11 | FC Eindhoven | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 48 | 45 | 37 | +3 | |
| 12 | Veendam | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 40 | 50 | 34 | -10 | |
| 13 | SVV | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 26 | 41 | 33 | -15 | |
| 14 | Willem II | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 39 | 55 | 32 | -16 | |
| 15 | Heracles | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 58 | 30 | -13 | |
| 16 | HVC | 38 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 40 | 52 | 28 | -12 | Changed name next season to SC Amersfoort. |
| 17 | Fortuna Vlaardingen | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 30 | 48 | 28 | -18 | |
| 18 | VVV-Venlo | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 25 | 45 | 28 | -20 | |
| 19 | De Volewijckers | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 43 | 65 | 28- | 22 | |
| 20 | FC Dordrecht | 38 | 3 | 18 | 17 | 29 | 58 | 24 | -29 |
Promotion competition
In the promotion competition, four period winners (the best teams during each of the four quarters of the regular competition) played for promotion to the Eredivisie.
| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drw | Lst | GF | GA | Pts | GD | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Graafschap | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 9 | +4 | Promoted to Eredivisie. |
| 2 | FC Volendam | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 8 | +7 | |
| 3 | FC Wageningen | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 4 | -6 | |
| 4 | PEC Zwolle | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 3 | -7 |