Sarina Wiegman receives Women’s Eredivisie Oeuvre Award

With this award, Wiegman is honoured for her exceptional contribution to Dutch football. As a player, coach and national team manager, she has been closely connected to the growth of women’s football in the Netherlands in a variety of roles. From the launch of the Women’s Eredivisie in 2007, she also spent many years as head coach of ADO Den Haag, leading the club to the league title in 2012 and two KNVB Cup victories. From that Dutch foundation, she grew into one of the defining figures in international football. Last summer, she added another European title with England to earlier successes with both the Netherlands and the Lionesses.

At previous editions of the Eredivisie Awards, Arjen Robben, Wim Jansen (posthumously), Louis van Gaal, Edwin van der Sar and Ronald Koeman also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for their contribution to Dutch football.

Marianne van Leeuwen, Director of Professional Football at the KNVB:
“Sarina Wiegman has played an exceptional role in Dutch football for many years. As a player, captain, coach and national team manager, she has consistently raised the bar — not through big words, but through craftsmanship, clarity and results. Under her leadership, ADO Den Haag won the Women’s Eredivisie title, the Netherlands became European champions and reached the World Cup final. Those are major sporting achievements, but their significance goes far beyond that. Sarina has permanently changed women’s football in the Netherlands. She opened doors and showed that reaching the top is possible.”

“What makes Sarina truly special is that her influence does not stop with one team or one tournament. She has strengthened a generation of players and shown a generation of girls that football is their world too. The fact that she has since gone on to win major honours with England only underlines the extraordinary quality of her coaching. Sarina has developed into one of the best coaches in the world. That is an achievement Dutch football can be proud of. This award is recognition for everything she has meant to our sport.”

Wiegman was involved in Dutch club football for decades. At club level, she became a leading figure in women’s football with Ter Leede. Between 1995 and 2003, she won two league titles and the KNVB Cup as a player. In the 2006/07 season, she returned as head coach and once again completed the domestic double.

Wiegman then moved to ADO Den Haag, where she became head coach from the launch of the Women’s Eredivisie in 2007. With the Hague-based club, she won the league title in 2012 and lifted the KNVB Cup. Another cup triumph followed in 2013.

Internationally, Wiegman also built an outstanding career. As a player, she became a Dutch international and captain of the Netherlands, earning 104 caps for Oranje. Earlier in her career, she also gained experience in the United States, where she won the national championship with the University of North Carolina in 1989.

Wiegman made her greatest impact in the Netherlands with the OranjeLeeuwinnen. After serving as assistant national team coach, she took charge of the team as head coach in January 2017. Under her leadership, the Dutch women’s national team enjoyed the most successful period in its history. In 2017, the Netherlands became European champions on home soil. Two years later, Oranje reached the World Cup final in France.

Those achievements gave women’s football in the Netherlands a lasting boost. The sport reached a wider audience, and more and more young girls began to see a future for themselves in football — whether at professional level or in the amateur game.

Even after leaving the KNVB, Wiegman continued to make history. Since 2021, she has been head coach of England. With the Lionesses, she won the European Championship in 2022, finished runner-up at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and captured another European title in 2025. In doing so, she cemented her status as one of the best coaches in international football.

That recognition is also reflected in the many individual honours Wiegman has received. She has been named FIFA Coach of the Year multiple times, won UEFA’s award for Best Women’s Coach of the Season and was named Sports Coach of the Year in England. In 2022, she was appointed an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire. At the end of 2025, that honour was elevated to Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). During the Ballon d’Or ceremony later that same year, she won the Johan Cruyff Trophy. Wiegman also became the first woman ever to win the Coach of the Year award at the NOC*NSF Sports Gala in 2025. Earlier in her career, she had already been awarded the title of Bondsridder by the KNVB.

During the Eredivisie Awards, the best players, talents and other standout performers of the season will also be honoured. The ceremony takes place on Monday 25 May and can be followed live on ESPN from 20:30.