The initial founders of the club, a group of close friends located in the Kralingen district of Rotterdam, started playing football matches on the fields of the eighteenth century buitenplaats Woudesteyn.

Excelsior once reached the KNVB Cup final in the season 1929–30, but lost the match to fellow Rotterdam club Feyenoord (0–1).

When the KNVB continued to refuse payments in football, Excelsior chairman Henk Zon and board member Aad Libregts managed to persuade association president Hans Hopster, in cooperation with the directors of Feyenoord, Sparta and ADO Den Haag.

The character was supposed to stand for 'Team A', but in reality it stood for Akai, the company of main investor Rob Albers.

"[4] In 2010 Excelsior returned to the highest tier of Dutch football, after defeating crosstown rival Sparta Rotterdam in the final of the Eredivisie promotion/relegation play-offs.

In the 2010–11 season Excelsior made a flying start in the Eredivisie, gaining ten points in its first five matches, including a home victory in the Rotterdam derby against Feyenoord (3–2).

In the final match of the regular season, Excelsior got a 4–1 win away at Vitesse Arnhem, a result that left them one goal short of staying up.

Finishing 16th, Excelsior had to face FC Den Bosch and Helmond Sport in the relegation / promotion play-offs.

[citation needed] Excelsior's home venue is Stadion Woudestein, which has a capacity of 4,500 seats, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands.

When the Dutch government decided to build marine barracks on the Toepad area right before the start of the Second World War, Excelsior moved back to the familiar Woudestein.

The club barely survived a financial crisis, but a newly appointed board under the chairmanship of Martin de Jager had one important goal; a new Excelsior stadium.

[5] When Excelsior promoted to the Eredivisie after the season 2009–10, the club decided to replace the grass surface with artificial turf.

Main reason for the change was the lack of financial resources to install under-soil heating, which is mandatory for clubs participating on the highest level of Dutch football.

On 22 May 2009, Excelsior supporters hosted a funeral as they felt like their club's identity had died due to the partnership with Feyenoord.

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

The Excelsior 'Player of the Year' award is voted for by the club's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season.

The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Excelsior Rotterdam: