In the spring of 1900, a group of young men decided to establish a cricket club, "Phoenix", which in 1901 was renamed "Union", its founding date set to 2 April 1901 to commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Copenhagen of 1801.

Here, Svendborg Boldklub only made one appearance, on 30 May 1926, a match which was played in Vejle during the second round of the tournament DBU Jutland (JBU)'s representative Horsens fS, which they lost 3–1.

[4] Svendborg fB reached the greatest achievement its league history in the 1996–97 season, finishing third, only six points from promotion to the Danish Superliga.

In a direct match for promotion at Høje Bøge Stadium against eventual promotees, Aarhus Fremad, on 9 June 1997, the Funen club lost 1–3.

To make matters worse the club faced financial issues after the relegations, effectively ending their venture into professional football which saw most players leave.

[13] After a five-year absence from the divisions, the team managed to reach promotion to the third tier again in the 2007– 08 season, ending in second place of Group 1 of the Denmark Series.

[fn 1] Svendborg Boldklub's first match in the cup was played in the fall of 1954 and ended in a 1–2 away defeat to the then lower division side Viborg FF.

[21][22] When it became a fact that the Danish 2nd Division team from Svendborg could not avoid relegation from the Danish divisions in the 2002–03 season, local media and members of the parent club began suggesting the option of establishing a closer cooperation on a professional level with the surrounding association football clubs of Svendborg and South Funen in general.

[16][17][24] To successfully reintroduce professional football in Svendborg fB for the first time since their relegation from the third tier in the 2002–03 season, club management had planned a financial goal of raising DKK 3 million in sponsor revenue as well as expanding the staff handling sponsorship deals in the professional department of Svendborg fB ahead of the following season.

[28] At that point, the club's team competing in the Funen Series, the highest regional level under the DBU Funen governing body and one of the fifth highest levels of the Danish football league system, became the reserve squad for the FC Svendborg team and would continue under the name of Svendborg fB and play its home matches at Hellegårdsvej in the traditional white kits.

A new board of directors, with attorney Jens Bertel Rasmussen as new chairman and a number of business people, were brought in August 2001 to assist in both the financial and the football-related.

[31] Svendborg fB's former tenured goalkeeper and captain of the first team, René Sundstrøm, retired his playing career in the fall of 2005, after which he was appointed the new sporting director in the professional department starting 1 January 2006.

Sundstrøm replaced the outgoing sporting director Ulrik Sand Larsen, who had joined the club in August 2001 alongside the rest of the prior board.

[25][33] A fixed division license for the under-19 and under-17 sides was acquired with the intention of becoming an attractive club to the whole of the South Funen Archipelago, which in turn contributed to the youth department's development in terms of professionalism.

The management did not make a definite demand for further promotion to the Danish 1st Division – the highest level which parent club Svendborg fB reached – in the near future, unless an occasion of this suddenly arose.

In the long term, the club's goal was playing in Danish 1st Division, but the main priority was to "be a permanent component of divisional football (D) in Denmark" through the development of the organisation at management level, sponsorship networks, academy and first-team squad.

In the 2007–08 season, Svendborg fB managed to secure a direct promotion spot and return to the third tier with a second-place finish Group 1 of the Denmark Series; a second place which the team had maintained since the winter break.

The promotion was secured by a 3–1 away win in Helsingør on 1 June 2008 over North Zealand side Elite 3000 – four rounds before the season ending – with a massive lead of 14 points to Nivå-Kokkedal FK in third place.

[43][44][45] FC Svendborg's season premiere, which was also the first local Funen matchup, was on 8 August 2008 at home at Høje Bøge Stadium against OB II, the reserves of Odense Boldklub, (a reserve side featuring former Denmark national football team player Morten Bisgaard and Costa Rica national football team player Christian Bolaños in the squad) in the Danish 2nd Division West Group (with 16 clubs from west of the Great Belt).

[fn 2][51][26] In the same season, the DBU Licensing Committee and the Men's Elite Youth Committee awarded FC Svendborg a one-year "Wild Card" – rather than a permanent license – for divisional football for the club's main youth team, as they were deemed to have sufficient strength to participate in the higher divisions; the under-19 and under-17 teams both participated in the second tiers of their respective age groups.

FC Svendborg kicked off their 2009 spring campaign with a 2–1 home win on 22 Match 2009 against top team in the group and eventual promotees to Danish 1st Division, Brabrand IF from the Aarhus region.

[65][66] Coach of the U19-team, Carsten Mikkelsen was appointed as his replacement, and stated that his long-term goal was reaching promotion to the Danish 1st Division with the club.

[70][71] Two seventh-place finishes in the 2nd Division West followed, but the team then managed a fifth place in the 2012–13 season under the helm of head coach Carsten Mikkelsen.

The dismissal had been preceded by months of uncertainty within the club, tied to financial issues related to diminished sponsor income.

[77] Bankruptcy was initially avoided in November 2016, and a new coaching team and club board was appointed, with many key players leaving during the winter transfer window.

[79] The same day, the board decided to change the name back into Svendborg fB (SfB), as they meant that the club's image had been damaged by the financial troubles over the past season.