FC Groningen

GVAV, established in 1921, were founder members of the Eredivisie in 1956, the first tier in Dutch football. GVAV were one of the four professional teams from the city of Groningen, the others being Be Quick, Velocitas and Oosterparkers [nl]. During the early 1960s, GVAV became mired in financial difficulties. This led to the establishment of "Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV" (lit. 'Professional Football Foundation GVAV') in 1963, a triumvirate of GVAV, Groningen City Council and an organisation representing local businesses. The three parties paid 300,000 Dutch guilders each to be the foundation's shareholders; GVAV's finances remained in a weak position and their future as a professional side was uncertain, as was the prospect of professional football in the city of Groningen, with GVAV the only remaining professional team left. The club remained in the Eredivisie until it was relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1969–70.

In February 1970, Harm Brink, the chairman of amateur club GRC Groningen [nl], suggested the foundation of a new professional team representing Groningen. Several other local amateur clubs supported Brink's idea, and local businesses and Groningen City Council were willing to remit the debt of Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV. In September 1970, the majority of GVAV's members voted in favour of the plans. GVAV won promotion to the Eredivisie after a one-year absence, and Football Club Groningen were founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, who returned to amateur football. During the 1970–71 season, GVAV goalkeeper and Netherlands international Tonny van Leeuwen conceded only seven goals; no goalkeeper conceded fewer during the season, and Van Leeuwen was honoured with an award by the Royal Dutch Football Association in Rotterdam. On his way back home, Van Leeuwen died in a car accident, one day before Groningen's foundation. Groningen played their first match on 17 July 1971, defeating German Regionalliga side TSR Olympia Wilhelmshaven 6–0. Groningen played in a green and white kit, the colours of the city's coat of arms.

Groningen lost their first league game 1–0 at home against FC Utrecht in front of 13,000 spectators. The team recorded their first league victory on the 10th matchday—a 2–1 win at Vitesse—and finished the 1971–72 Eredivisie season 12th out of 18 sides. The club was still mired in financial difficulties; to cut transfer expenses, Groningen established a scouting system. In 1973–74, Groningen ranked bottom and were relegated to the Eerste Divisie; during the season, the team lost 9–0 to Ajax, Groningen's record defeat. The club came close to bankruptcy but was saved by Groningen City Council. In 1974–75, Groningen finished runners-up to NEC Nijmegen because of an inferior goal difference, although Groningen qualified for the play-offs which determined the second and final team to gain promotion to the Eredivisie. They finished second behind FC Eindhoven and remained in the second tier. In 1975, Groningen established a youth boarding school as the club tried to rebuild the squad with youth players. The side placed eighth in the 1976–77 Eerste Divisie—Groningen's lowest league finish—before they missed promotion to the Eredivisie on goal difference in the promotion play-offs in 1977–78, despite Peter Houtman scoring a club record 31 goals during the season. Groningen finished runners-up to Excelsior in 1978–79, but returned to the Eredivisie as champions in the following season under coach Theo Verlangen [nl], losing only 4 of 36 matches. Most of the squad came from Groningen's youth academy.

In the 1982–83 season, Groningen qualified for European competition for the first time following a 5th-place finish, meaning that the side would enter the 1983–84 UEFA Cup. Key player Ronald Koeman left the club during the off-season in 1983 and joined Ajax, while his brother Erwin remained at Groningen; both players had made their debut at Groningen. The team's first European game was an away match against Atlético Madrid, losing 2–1 after being 1–0 ahead. Groningen recorded a shock 3–0 victory in the return game, winning 4–2 on aggregate. They faced Inter Milan in the second round; Groningen won 2–0 at Oosterparkstadion but lost 5–1 in Italy and were eliminated from the competition. Groningen competed in European competition again on five occasions from 1986 until 1992, reaching the third round in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup and in the 1988–89 UEFA Cup.

As a result of their successful spell, Groningen became almost fully professional during the mid-1980s—only Jan van Dijk and Adri van Tiggelen remained semi-professionals. The club also recorded the fourth highest average home attendances in Dutch football—behind Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord—as it attracted more than 10,000 fans for each match. In 1989, Groningen reached their first KNVB Cup final, but lost 4–1 against PSV. During the same year, Groningen chairman Renze de Vries [nl] was found guilty by the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) of embezzlement and the use of dirty money to sign several players between 1984 and 1989. De Vries, Groningen's chairman since 1980, stepped down and spent several days in prison. Several other Eredivisie clubs were also investigated and punished by the FIOD during this period, with Groningen receiving an additional assessment of 700,000 Dutch guilders from the Tax and Customs Administration. Groningen were saddled with debt and again came close to bankruptcy. Despite the financial situation, Groningen recorded their highest-ever league finish in 1990–91: third place. Managed by Hans Westerhof, Groningen competed for the league title with Ajax and PSV until the latter part of the season, when suspensions and injuries to first-team players saw them drop points. Groningen's Henny Meijer was named Dutch Footballer of the Year after the season ended.

Although Groningen recorded a 5th-place finish in 1991–92 and qualified for the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, the team began to slide down the league table; they were eventually relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1997–98. Groningen had little financial resources left, and made many managerial changes in a search for success. The side returned to the Eredivisie in 1999–2000 following a first-place finish in the promotion play-offs group. During the season, Groningen set several club records: they scored 81 goals, won 10 matches in a row and recorded their largest victory—10–1 against DVS '33 in the KNVB Cup. In December 2000, 16-year-old Arjen Robben made his professional debut under coach Jan van Dijk; Robben, later regarded as one of the best players of his generation, was soon sold to PSV for a fee of 3.9 million euros. Groningen avoided relegation during their first seasons back in the Eredivisie; under coach Ron Jans, appointed in 2002, Groningen began to return into the top half of the league.

In January 2006, Groningen moved from the outdated Oosterparkstadion—the club's first home stadium—to the newly-built Euroborg. The club's average home attendance increased from approximately 12,000 in Oosterparkstadion to around 20,000 in its new stadium. Groningen went the first 15 league games unbeaten at Euroborg, and the stadium was soon nicknamed "De Groene Hel" (lit. 'The Green Hell'). Groningen finished the 2005–06 season in fifth place and qualified for the play-offs which determined a place in the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League. Groningen reached the final but were narrowly beaten by Ajax on aggregate, after Ajax scored in the last minutes of the second leg; the side qualified instead for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup in which they were eliminated by Partizan Belgrade in the preliminary round. Groningen again qualified for the UEFA Cup preliminary round the following season, but were eliminated by Italian side Fiorentina after a penalty shootout. In 2010, Jans left the club and went to local rivals Heerenveen; his successor was former Groningen player Pieter Huistra.

Under Huistra, the team finished 5th in 2010–11 and reached the European competition play-off final; Groningen turned around a 5–1 deficit against ADO Den Haag but lost after a penalty shootout. In 2013–14, Groningen won the European competition play-off final under coach Erwin van de Looi and qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, but were eliminated by Aberdeen in the second qualifying round. Groningen claimed their first major honour during the season, however, defeating PEC Zwolle 2–0 in the 2015 KNVB Cup final. They became the third Groningen-based team to win a major honour, after Be Quick (1919–20 Dutch League Championship) and Velocitas (1933–34 KNVB Cup). By winning the cup, Groningen qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. They gained only two points from six matches and finished the group in bottom place. In 2019, Hans Nijland [nl]—Groningen's CEO since 1996 and the longest-serving director in Dutch professional football—stepped down and was replaced by Excelsior's Wouter Gudde.

In 2022–23, Groningen finished the season in bottom place, winning only 4 times in 34 matches, and were relegated to the Eerste Divisie for the third time. Before the start of the season, the German Frank Wormuth was appointed coach. He was sacked in November 2022, after which Wormuth labelled the working conditions as "mentally unsafe". Under his successor, Dennis van der Ree, Groningen won only once in 21 matches, and were eliminated from the KNVB Cup at home by amateur club SV Spakenburg. During the season, director of football Mark-Jan Fledderus was sacked, and two board members stepped down. Gudde concluded the squad was unfit, unbalanced, and lacked quality and "personality". Under coach Dick Lukkien, Groningen finished runners-up in the Eerste Divisie the following season and were promoted back to the Eredivisie with a squad composed of many players who were recruited from Groningen's youth academy; the team defeated direct rivals Roda JC 2–0 on the last matchday to take second place from them.