[citation needed] In 1949, following World War II, these two clubs went their separate ways, the swimmers under their original name, and the footballers as VfL Heidenheim 1890.

[citation needed] Like other worker's clubs, TB was considered as politically unacceptable by the Nazi regime and was forcibly dissolved in 1933.

The 27 May 1972 merger of TSB and VfL brought all these threads together, returning the footballers to the fold of the original gymnastics club.

In 2007, the football department decided to split off from Heidenheimer SB as a legally independent club with retrospective effect from 1 January 2007.

[4] Having simultaneously won the Württemberg Cup, Heidenheim was allowed to participate in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in the following season, where the team lost 0–3 to VfL Wolfsburg.

FC Heidenheim finished third to play against the 16th-placed Bundesliga club, Werder Bremen, in the promotion-relegation play-offs.

[10] On 17 September 2023, the club won their first ever Bundesliga match, in a 4–2 home victory against Werder Bremen, on the same day that head coach, Frank Schmidt, set the record as the longest serving manager in the history of German football.

[11] An impressive Bundesliga campaign saw the club finish 8th in the 2023–24 season, comfortably securing safety, and with German champions Bayer Leverkusen's victory over Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final meant that Heidenheim qualified for their first European appearance, the UEFA Conference League play-offs in their debut Bundesliga season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.