Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first tier of Dutch football, following promotion from the 2023–24 Eerste Divisie.

Groningen were promoted back to the Eredivisie as champions in 1979–80 with a squad composed mostly of players who were recruited from the club's youth academy, remaining in the top flight for 18 seasons before they dropped to the second tier in 1997–98.

'Pride of the North'), and has a rivalry with Frisian side Heerenveen, with whom it contests the Derby van het Noorden (lit.

[8][9] Groningen played their first match on 17 July 1971, defeating German Regionalliga side TSR Olympia Wilhelmshaven 6–0.

[11] The club was still mired in financial difficulties; to cut transfer expenses, Groningen established a scouting system.

[10][16] Groningen finished runners-up to Excelsior in 1978–79,[17] but returned to the Eredivisie as champions in the following season under coach Theo Verlangen [nl], losing only 4 of 36 matches.

[2] 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.

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.

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.

[25] 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.

[27][28] Several other Eredivisie clubs were also investigated and punished by the FIOD during this period,[27] with Groningen receiving an additional assessment of 700,000 Dutch guilders from the Tax and Customs Administration.

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.

[30] Although Groningen recorded a 5th-place finish in 1991–92 and qualified for the 1992–93 UEFA Cup,[31] the team began to slide down the league table; they were eventually relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1997–98.

[37] Groningen went the first 15 league games unbeaten at Euroborg,[39] and the stadium was soon nicknamed "De Groene Hel" (lit.

[37] Groningen again qualified for the UEFA Cup preliminary round the following season, but were eliminated by Italian side Fiorentina after a penalty shootout.

[37][40] In 2010, Jans left the club and went to local rivals Heerenveen; his successor was former Groningen player Pieter Huistra.

[41] 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.

[45] 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).

[49] 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.

[52] 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.

[56] Shortly after Groningen were founded in June 1971, Nieuwsblad van het Noorden organised a competition to design a crest for the club.

The draft of 21-year-old Reint Rozema, a designer at a local printing house, was chosen: an abstract letter "G", referring to Groningen.

[68] During their early years, Groningen, and their predecessor GVAV, also had a decent following in Friesland as they were the only northern team in the Eredivisie, which earned them the nickname "Trots van het Noorden" (lit.

[77] During the same period, a local rivalry between Groningen and Frisian club Heerenveen developed—known as the Derby van het Noorden (lit.

Source:[80][81] Ron Groenewoud was the club's first coach; he was relegated with Groningen to the Eerste Divisie in 1974 and remained in charge until 1975.

[82] Groningen won the Eerste Divisie title in 1979–80 under coach Theo Verlangen [nl], who also led them to qualification for their first-ever European campaign in 1983.

[56] The record for the most first team appearances in all competitions for Groningen is held by Jan van Dijk, who played 537 games between 1975 and 1992.

[10] The youngest player to make an appearance for Groningen is Richairo Živković, who was aged 16 years and 88 days on his debut against Heracles Almelo in 2012.

[88] The oldest player to make an appearance for the club is goalkeeper Peter van der Vlag, who played his last match aged 37 years and 163 days against NAC Breda in 2015.

[89][90] In 1991, Hennie Meijer won the Dutch Footballer of the Year award, the first and to date only time a Groningen player achieved this.