The Dutch American Football Championship will be held on Sunday, July 12th in Amsterdam, the birthplace of the sport in the Netherlands. Tulip Bowl XL will take place at Sportpark Sloten, the home of reigning national champion Amsterdam Crusaders. The final marks the exciting conclusion of the Gridiron Eredivisie. Kick-off: 2:00 PM.

You can buy advance tickets here for 10 euros! Click here.

Homage to the Origin Story of Dutch American Football
The return of the championship game to the capital is a tribute to the place where American football took root in the Netherlands. Even before the first Tulip Bowl was played, Amsterdam enthusiasts gathered at Museumplein and later in Vondelpark to learn and play the sport. American expats helped them master the rules and fundamentals of the game. From those pioneering years, the Amsterdam Rams emerged first, and later, in 1984, the Amsterdam Crusaders. In 1985, the first Dutch American football league kicked off. The first championship game was then still called the Super Bowl and was won by the Amsterdam Rams, at the expense of the Amsterdam Crusaders. From 1986 onwards, the championship game has been named the Tulip Bowl.

“As AFBN, we are pleased with the collaboration between Gridiron and the Amsterdam Crusaders to organize our national finals in the capital. Together we will make it a day worthy of our great sport and on which we can build for the future,” says AFBN director Johan Oosterhuis.

Ton Bont of the Amsterdam Crusaders: “It's fitting that the AFBN returns to Amsterdam for the fortieth edition of the Dutch American football final. Together with all parties, we look forward to making it a memorable day at The Home of Football.”

Road to L.A. 2028
A promising period is dawning for American football. Tulip Bowl XL marks the culmination of the first year of collaboration between the American football platform Gridiron and the AFBN. This collaboration aims to make the sport more visible in the Netherlands and give it a strong, recognizable identity. An important catalyst is the Olympic status of flag football, the non-contact variant of American football. Flag football will make its debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the coming two seasons, Gridiron and the AFBN will further shape the new direction towards L.A. 2028.

Job applications
Journalists can apply for accreditation for Tulip Bowl XL via gridiron@afbn.nl.