# Almere City FC
**Almere City FC** is a Dutch professional football club from Almere, in the province of [Flevoland](https://www.edgepedia.org/flevoland), that plays in the [Eerste Divisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eerste-divisie), the second tier of Dutch football. Founded in 2001, the club entered professional football in 2005 as **FC Omniworld**, adopted the name Almere City FC from the 2010/11 season, and reached the [Eredivisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eredivisie), the Dutch top flight, for the first time in 2023.[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/) It is described by its owner, the Japanese engine manufacturer Yanmar, as the youngest professional football club in the Netherlands.[2](https://www.yanmar.com/eu/newsroom/yanmar-hanasaka-stadium-almere-city/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001; professional football since 2005, as FC Omniworld until 2009/10 and Almere City FC from 2010/11[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/) |
| Home ground | Yanmar Hanasaka Stadion, Competitieweg 20, Almere; capacity 5,800[3](https://almerecity.eu/clubs-overzicht/) |
| First Eredivisie promotion | June 2023, via the promotion/relegation playoffs, beating FC Emmen 2-0 at home and 1-2 away[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/) |
| Eredivisie seasons | Two: 2023/24 (13th, 34 points) and 2024/25 (18th, 22 points, relegated)[4](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2b41acb5/2023-2024/c23/Almere-City-Stats-Eredivisie) • [5](https://almerecity.eu/Seizoenen/2024-2025/) |
| Owner | Yanmar, which completed its acquisition of all shares and the stadium on 18 November 2025 after a decade as stadium sponsor[6](https://www.yanmar.com/global/news/2025/11/18/158786.html) |
| Current season | 2025/26 in the Eerste Divisie: 5th place, 58 points from 38 matches (18 wins, 4 draws, 16 losses, 78 goals for, 63 against)[7](https://almerecity.eu/ranglijsten/stand-2025-2026/) |
## Origins in Almere
The club was founded in 2001 and joined professional football in 2005, playing in the Eerste Divisie under the name FC Omniworld through the 2009/10 season. From 2010/11 it has competed as Almere City FC.[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/) For most of that period it sat in the lower half of the second tier; a matchday program notes that from 2014, with a single exception, the club consistently played in the left-hand column of the Eerste Divisie table until its 2023 promotion.[8](https://www.mvv.nl/IManager/Download/1255/159657/60183/2510197/NL/60183_2510197_ykQM_Startime_MVV_-_Almere_City_FC.pdf)
## The 2023 promotion
In the two-legged final against FC Emmen, Almere won 2-0 at home and then won 1-2 in Emmen on 11 June 2023, with goals from Rajiv van La Parra and Jorrit Smeets securing the club's first-ever promotion to the Eredivisie. FC Emmen went down as the third Eredivisie club relegated that season.[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/)
The promotion was also a personal milestone for coach **Alex Pastoor**: after earlier promotions with Excelsior Rotterdam and [Sparta Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/sparta-rotterdam), he became the first trainer this century to take three different clubs up to the top division.[1](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/)
## Debut season in the Eredivisie, 2023/24
Almere City was widely tipped for relegation before its first top-flight season, and the start was rough: four losses and 14 goals conceded in the first four matchdays.[9](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-heeft-zich-goed-herpakt/) The team then changed course, losing only one of the following six league matches and finishing the season safely.[9](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-heeft-zich-goed-herpakt/)
**A distinctive playing style.** After the poor start, the club abandoned patient build-up from the back in favor of long balls toward the opponent's half followed by aggressive pressing. The approach showed in the numbers: Almere contested by far the most aerial duels in the 2023/24 Eredivisie (1,537, against 1,187 for second-placed Sparta Rotterdam) and had the lowest pass accuracy in the league at 66.3 percent.[10](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-fc-handhaaft-zich-op-geheel-eigen-wijze/) Defensively it took few risks near its own goal; only four teams kept more clean sheets than Almere's 10, and since 2000/01 only two promoted teams had recorded more.[10](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-fc-handhaaft-zich-op-geheel-eigen-wijze/)
The club secured its place in the 2024/25 Eredivisie with two matchdays to spare, when Excelsior's defeat made survival mathematically certain.[10](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-fc-handhaaft-zich-op-geheel-eigen-wijze/) The final record was 13th place with 34 points from 7 wins, 13 draws, and 14 losses, scoring 33 and conceding 59; forward Thomas Robinet led the team with 11 league goals.[4](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2b41acb5/2023-2024/c23/Almere-City-Stats-Eredivisie)
## Relegation in 2025
The second season went differently. After seven matchdays of 2024/25 Almere City stood second from bottom with two points, on a club-record winless run of 19 matches in all competitions (9 draws, 10 losses), and had failed to score in five of seven games.[11](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-statistieken-hoopgevend-voor-almere-city-fc/) The club never escaped the bottom two after late August; coach Hedwiges Maduro was dismissed a week before Christmas, and his successor Jeroen Rijsdijk could not lift the team out of the danger zone.[12](https://nos.nl/collectie/13991/artikel/2567302-almere-city-degradeert-uit-eredivisie-rkc-heeft-wonder-nodig-voor-nacompetitie)
Relegation was sealed on 14 May 2025, when a 1-1 home draw against [Fortuna Sittard](https://www.edgepedia.org/fortuna-sittard), in which Junior Kadile had put Almere ahead and Bojan Radulovic equalized, left the gap unbridgeable with one round to play.[12](https://nos.nl/collectie/13991/artikel/2567302-almere-city-degradeert-uit-eredivisie-rkc-heeft-wonder-nodig-voor-nacompetitie) The club finished 18th and last with 22 points from 4 wins, 10 draws, and 20 losses, scoring 23 goals and conceding 64.[5](https://almerecity.eu/Seizoenen/2024-2025/)
Back in the Eerste Divisie for 2025/26, the club finished fifth with 58 points from 38 matches.[7](https://almerecity.eu/ranglijsten/stand-2025-2026/)
## Yanmar ownership and the stadium
Yanmar, the Japanese manufacturer, had been the club's stadium sponsor for a decade before it signed an agreement on 7 July 2025 with Kroonenberg Groep to acquire all shares in Almere City FC together with the club's stadium.[13](https://www.yanmar.com/eu/newsroom/yanmar-signs-agreement-to-acquire-almere-city-fc/) The KNVB's professional football licensing committee granted final approval, and Yanmar announced completion of the acquisition on 18 November 2025.[6](https://www.yanmar.com/global/news/2025/11/18/158786.html)
The home ground, at Competitieweg 20 in Almere, is listed with a capacity of 5,800.[3](https://almerecity.eu/clubs-overzicht/) In September 2026 the expanded stadium was renamed **Yanmar Hanasaka Stadium**; the Japanese term Hanasaka translates freely as "let it bloom", a reference to passing knowledge and opportunities to the next generation. The name matches the club's stated ambition to succeed with as young a squad as possible, preferably built on players from its Ruitenheer Football Academy.[2](https://www.yanmar.com/eu/newsroom/yanmar-hanasaka-stadium-almere-city/)
## Club identity and surroundings
Almere City presents itself as a young, bold club in Almere, which Yanmar describes as the fastest-growing city in the Netherlands.[14](https://www.yanmar.com/media/news/2025/11/17073056/pdf_news_20251118_01_en.pdf) Its wage bill in its final Eredivisie season was reported at €8.2 million, 17th among the 18 Eredivisie clubs and up 35 percent on the previous year.[15](https://www.voetbalnieuws.nl/nieuws/1728605/dit-is-de-gehele-salarisranglijst-van-de-eredivisie.html) In December 2023, general director John Bes said a women's team would come and could be possible within two years.[16](https://1almere.nl/nieuws/Almere/vrouwenteam-voor-almere-city-fc-komt-er-en-is-binnen-twee-jaar-mogelijk/13/12/2023/nieuws) The club also runs Soccer Schools programs for young players in the region.[17](https://almerecity.soccer-schools.nl/)
## References
1. [Almere City FC promoveert voor het eerst in de historie naar de eredivisie, VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (11 June 2023)](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/almere-city-fc-promoveert-voor-het-eerst-in-de-historie-naar-de-eredivisie/)
2. [Yanmar Hanasaka Stadium, the new name of Almere City FC stadium, Yanmar Newsroom (18 September 2026)](https://www.yanmar.com/eu/newsroom/yanmar-hanasaka-stadium-almere-city/)
3. [Clubs – Almere City FC, AlmereCity.EU](https://almerecity.eu/clubs-overzicht/)
4. [2023-2024 Almere City Stats, Eredivisie, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2b41acb5/2023-2024/c23/Almere-City-Stats-Eredivisie)
5. [2024/2025 – Almere City FC, AlmereCity.EU](https://almerecity.eu/Seizoenen/2024-2025/)
6. [Yanmar Completes Acquisition of Almere City FC, Yanmar (18 November 2025)](https://www.yanmar.com/global/news/2025/11/18/158786.html)
7. [Stand 2025/2026 – Almere City FC, AlmereCity.EU](https://almerecity.eu/ranglijsten/stand-2025-2026/)
8. [Startime MVV – Almere City FC matchday program, MVV Maastricht](https://www.mvv.nl/IManager/Download/1255/159657/60183/2510197/NL/60183_2510197_ykQM_Startime_MVV_-_Almere_City_FC.pdf)
9. [Uitgelicht: Almere City heeft zich goed herpakt, VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (3 November 2023)](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-heeft-zich-goed-herpakt/)
10. [Uitgelicht: Almere City FC handhaaft zich op geheel eigen wijze, VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (10 May 2024)](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-almere-city-fc-handhaaft-zich-op-geheel-eigen-wijze/)
11. [Uitgelicht: Statistieken hoopgevend voor Almere City FC, VriendenLoterij Eredivisie (4 October 2024)](https://eredivisie.nl/nieuws/uitgelicht-statistieken-hoopgevend-voor-almere-city-fc/)
12. [Almere City degradeert uit eredivisie, RKC heeft wonder nodig voor nacompetitie, NOS (14 May 2025)](https://nos.nl/collectie/13991/artikel/2567302-almere-city-degradeert-uit-eredivisie-rkc-heeft-wonder-nodig-voor-nacompetitie)
13. [Yanmar signs agreement to acquire Almere City FC, Yanmar Newsroom (7 July 2025)](https://www.yanmar.com/eu/newsroom/yanmar-signs-agreement-to-acquire-almere-city-fc/)
14. [About Almere City FC, Yanmar (November 2025)](https://www.yanmar.com/media/news/2025/11/17073056/pdf_news_20251118_01_en.pdf)
15. [Dit is de gehele salarisranglijst van de Eredivisie, VoetbalNieuws](https://www.voetbalnieuws.nl/nieuws/1728605/dit-is-de-gehele-salarisranglijst-van-de-eredivisie.html)
16. [Vrouwenteam voor Almere City FC komt er en is binnen twee jaar mogelijk, 1Almere (13 December 2023)](https://1almere.nl/nieuws/Almere/vrouwenteam-voor-almere-city-fc-komt-er-en-is-binnen-twee-jaar-mogelijk/13/12/2023/nieuws)
17. [Almere City FC Soccer Schools](https://almerecity.soccer-schools.nl/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › Teams and sporting organizations › Football clubs of continental Europe and Israel › Dutch and Belgian football clubs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license