Dutch national team coach Jeroen Delmée and international player Hidde Brink have warned that the growing number of foreign players and goalkeepers in the twelve-team national competition could hinder the development of Dutch hockey talent. They said the competition had about 54 or 55 foreign players, while several leading clubs used foreign goalkeepers, including Amsterdam’s Oliver Payne, Den Bosch’s Alexander Stadler, Orange-Rood’s Tomás Santiago and Kampong’s Luis Calzado. Rotterdam and Bloemendaal had Dutch goalkeepers, Derk Meijer and Maurits Visser respectively; Visser had recently stopped playing for the Dutch national team.

Delmée said the smaller pool of Dutch goalkeepers was already affecting the options behind Meijer and Brink in the national-team group. Brink described the clubs’ recruitment as an arms race, although he also said foreign goalkeepers helped maintain the competition’s high level. Former international goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann said clubs should invest more in developing young Dutch goalkeepers. A limit on foreign players cannot be imposed because of European Union rules, and an earlier attempt at a voluntary agreement had failed.