What is Voetbal International?
Voetbal International is a Dutch football magazine and website. The copyright line on its own site gives the corporate name «Voetbal International B.V.» for 2026, and the same pages give a service telephone number and the editorial tip address [email protected].[1]
The title states of itself that it has been «sinds 1965 een leider op gebied van voetbaljournalistiek» and that it operates «de grootste voetbalredactie van Nederland». Both are the title's own characterisations of itself; no independent count of Dutch football newsrooms could be retrieved.[2][1]
Its ownership changed in 2019. Emerce reported on 18 July 2019 that Digital Enterprises had acquired the title from WPG Uitgevers on 16 July 2019, that the magazine had been part of WPG Uitgevers since 1965, and quoted Ian Rooker and Patrick Swart of WPG saying they had searched carefully for “an enterprising new owner with football knowledge where VI's special expertise can fully come into its own”, and Pascal Batelaan of Digital Enterprises on ensuring that football content “finds its way better through the various channels to the enthusiast”.[3]
What does Voetbal International cover?
The title covers association football, Dutch and international, and describes its own material as «betrouwbaar voetbalnieuws» with «analyses, achtergrondverhalen, interviews en reportages». Its weekly magazine «verschijnt in principe wekelijks op woensdag», with exceptions at holidays and during international tournaments.[2]
Part of that output is statistical treatment of the domestic fixtures. On 22 January 2023 it published a ten-statistic preview of the Ajax-Feyenoord Klassieker, including that «Ajax is bezig aan een uitstekende reeks in de Klassieker en verloor slechts twee van de laatste 31 competitiewedstrijden tegen Feyenoord» and that «Feyenoord noteerde in negen van de laatste tien thuisduels met Ajax in de Eredivisie meer schoten dan de Amsterdammers».[4] It maintains a standing statistical page for the same fixture.[5]
It also reports on the broadcasting of the game it covers, carrying the Eredivisie's dealings with ESPN and with the cable operators.[6] See football and broadcast rights.
How large is Voetbal International's audience?
No audited circulation or readership figure for Voetbal International could be retrieved. The audited currencies for Dutch print and online are run by the Nationaal Media Onderzoek, which states that it «biedt inzicht in wat Nederland via alle media, platforms en devices leest, luistert en kijkt»; no NMO figure for this title was retrieved.[7] Traffic estimators are not audited measurement.
One figure exists and needs its basis stated. Emerce reported on 18 July 2019 that Digital Enterprises said it had, with this acquisition, “a total reach of 12 million Dutch people”. That is the acquiring company's figure for its whole portfolio at the date of the transaction, not an audited figure for this title, and it is seven years old at the date of this page.[3] The same report records that no circulation figures, staff numbers or financial details were disclosed with the announcement.
What can be stated about the title's market is the size of the sport it covers, on a separate and dated basis: the KNVB reported 1,261,967 members on 21 November 2025, of whom 998,684 played in competitions.[8] That is a measure of the sport, not of the magazine, and is not offered as a proxy for its readership.
Since when has Voetbal International existed?
The title dates itself from 1965, in its own words.[2] The report of its 2019 sale independently places the magazine within WPG Uitgevers “since 1965” and describes an editorial team that had by then been producing it “for more than 50 years”.[3] Those are two statements of the same year from two sources; no first-issue date and no instrument of establishment could be retrieved.
The ownership dates are separate. The title was part of WPG Uitgevers from 1965 until the transaction of 16 July 2019, reported on 18 July 2019, when Digital Enterprises acquired it.[3] The copyright line on the title's own site gives Voetbal International B.V. as at 2026.[1]
A year a title dates itself from, the date of a first issue and the date of a change of shareholder are three different dates, and only the first and the third could be established.
Why does Voetbal International matter in Dutch sport?
It is a weekly title devoted to a single sport whose federation, the KNVB, reported 1,261,967 members at 21 November 2025, of whom 998,684 played in competitions and 180,418 were women and girls.[8]
Its place in that market is editorial rather than measured: the audited figures that would size it could not be retrieved, and what can be documented is what it publishes — a weekly print edition on Wednesdays, standing statistical coverage of the domestic fixtures, and reporting on the commercial arrangements of the competition it covers.[2][5][6]
Its ownership history also illustrates a pattern visible elsewhere in the Dutch market: a long-established title held within a book and magazine publisher for more than fifty years and then sold to a digital operator in 2019.[3] See the Netherlands.
References
- Voetbal International — Service & contact: the corporate name Voetbal International B.V., contact details and the title’s own statements about its newsroom. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Voetbal International — FAQ: the year 1965, the weekly Wednesday publication and the description of its coverage. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Emerce — Nieuw speelveld voor Voetbal International: DigitalEnterprises neemt VI over van WPG, 18 July 2019. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Voetbal International — De Klassieker in tien statistieken: Feyenoord de kansen, Ajax de punten, 22 January 2023. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Voetbal International — De Klassieker in statistieken, standing statistical page. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Voetbal International — Eredivisie akkoord met nieuwe ESPN-deal, kabelaars blijven zich verzetten. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- Nationaal Media Onderzoek — home page: what NMO measures and who initiates and finances it. Accessed 2026-09-20.
- KNVB — Voetbal blijft groeien: KNVB ledenaantal stijgt wederom, 21 November 2025. Accessed 2026-09-20.