In 2009, the club almost won the playoff against Eredivisie side Roda JC, only losing on penalties. In 2010, the club came in second, again just narrowly missing promotion. Cambuur welcomed during these play-offs more than 40,000 spectators in just two weeks. Another estimated 7,000 fans watched the final play-off match against Roda on a large screen in the city centre of the city of Leeuwarden. More than 1.4 million people watched the final play-off match on television, which appeared to be another record for a play-off promotion match in the Netherlands. In total, more than 4.5 million people watched the play-off matches between Cambuur, PEC Zwolle and Roda JC on television that year.