AGF played its first football match against Aarhus Idrætsklub Olympia in November 1902, a 5–2 loss. Six years later, the club won the Jutland Football Championship by winning 3–2 overRingkøbing IF in the final. AGF won the Jutland Football Championship seven times and was in three finals of theDanish Football Championship before AGF became a member of the newly founded Denmark Tournament in 1927.
In 1911, AGF got its own clubhouse after which the club bought the pitches at Dalgas Avenue. In 1920, AGF began to play its home matches at the newly builtAarhus Stadium, where the club has played ever since. In 1941, the club moved from the clubhouse at Dalgas Avenue to Fredensvang in the suburb ofViby J.[1]For three consecutive seasons (1949 to 1951) AGF finished in third place in the top division. After spending the 1952–53 season in the 2nd Division, AGF returned strongly to the 1st Division and in the next 12 seasons won fourDanish Football Championships and fiveDanish Cups.[2] AGF also participated in the first edition of theEuropean Cup, where they lost 4–2 on aggregate to French clubReims with three goals scored byLéon Glovacki.[3] In 1961, AGF reached the quarter-final in the same tournament where they lost to eventual tournament winnersBenfica.[4] AGF were relegated to the 2nd Division in 1968 and in 1973 but returned to the 1st Division in 1976. This was the start of 30 continuous years in the top division.[5]
The introduction of professional football in Denmark had a major influence on the success AGF experienced from the late 1970s and forward until 1998. With formerReal Madrid starHenning Jensen on the team, AGF were close at winning the Danish Football Championship in 1982.[6] AGF drew 2–2 againstB.93 in the last game of the season which sent the championship toOB.[7] In 1984, AGF were again close to clinching the championship but lost by a single point to the rivals fromVejle Boldklub.[8] Finally in 1986, AGF won their fifthDanish Football Championship.Flemming Povlsen,Jan Bartram andJohn Stampe were the key players of the team these years.[9] In 1987, 1988 and 1992 AGF also won theDanish Cup.[10]
In 1998, AGF finished third in theDanish Superliga but financial problems resulted in poor results the following years. In 2000, Peter Rudbæk was fired after seven years as manager.[13] From 2000 onwards, the club experienced some of its worst ever results, which led to relegations in the2005–06,2009–10 and2013–14 seasons. Each time, however, the club secured a quick return to the top-flight.[5][14]
In the summer of 2014, AGF appointed Jacob Nielsen as their new director. Nielsen had been successful as director ofRanders where he had managed to secure good economic results.[15] AGF also hired a new sporting director andMorten Wieghorst as manager.[16] On 6 December 2015, however, Nielsen announced that Wieghorst was fired and that former Danish championGlen Riddersholm was hired as his replacement.[17]
With Riddersholm as manager AGF finished the2015–16 season in tenth place having won three games, drawn seven, and lost five in the remainder of the season. AGF qualified for2016 cup final, in which they lost 2–1 to FC Copenhagen.[18] In the2016–17 season, AGF finished 11th after having played relegation play-off matches in the new league structure introduced that season.
On 30 September 2017, Riddersholm was fired due to inconsistent results. At that point AGF was seventh in the league having started the2017–18 season with four wins, five defeats, and two draws.[19] Riddersholm's last match was a 5–1 win against FC Helsingør.[19] New manager wasDavid Nielsen who started with four consecutive league defeats but finished the season in seventh place after losing a European play-off final againstFC Copenhagen 4–1. After reaching eighth place in2018–19 season, the club managed to win thebronze medal in the2019–20 season.
AGF's home ground isAarhus Stadium, known asCeres Park for sponsorship since 2015, with a current capacity of 19,433.[20]
In December 2022,Aarhus Municipality selected aZaha Hadid Architects–led team withSweco andTredje Natur to design a new football-specific stadium in the Kongelunden sports district, replacing the old ground on the same site.[21][22] Demolition of the existing stadium began in 2024, starting with the main stand and seat removal for reuse, and construction works have since progressed on site.[23][24] The project was initially planned to open by the end of 2026, though the municipality reported in mid-2025 that the timetable remained "challenged" pending assessment of a requested deadline extension and compensation claim.[25][26]
The project attracted significant public debate in Aarhus. Critics, including local politicians and residents, questioned the total cost of around DKK 1.2 billion, the level of municipal funding compared to private investment, and the stadium's environmental and architectural impact on the surroundingMarselisborg Forests.[27][28] Supporters, including the club and mayor's office, have described the new venue as a necessary investment to secure AGF's long-term growth and enhance the city's international sports profile.[29]
During construction, AGF moved home matches toVejlby Stadium from February 2025, a temporary venue in northern Aarhus with an approximately 12,000 capacity created through hybrid-turf installation and new mobile stands.[30][31]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Some matches is regular seasons were played as knockout matches, as a result these are shown in the regular league columns instead of the cup column and with position replaced with win/loss.
Chart of yearly table positions of AGF in the Danish football league
Season
Competition
Pos.
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
Pts
Cup
1907–08
Jutland A-Series Semi-Final
W
1
N/A
2
0
N/A
N/A
Jutland A-Series Final
W
1
N/A
7
2
N/A
1908–09
Jutland A-Series Semi-Final
W
1
N/A
4
1
N/A
N/A
Jutland A-Series Final
W
1
N/A
3
0
N/A
1909–10
Unknown
N/A
1910–11
Unknown
N/A
1911–12
Jutland A-Series Circuit Final Qualifiers
L
1
N/A
2
3
N/A
N/A
1912–13
Unknown
DNQ
1913–14
Unknown
DNQ
1914–15
Jutland A-Series North Circuit 1
1
3
2
0
1
14
3
4
DNQ
Jutland A-Series North Circuit 1 1st place rematch
AGF's first competitive European match was on 21 September 1955 in the1955–56 European Cup, losing 0–2 at home to France'sStade Reims & eventually losing on aggregate 2–4 in the first round. Since then, the club has participated in numerous UEFA competitions, advancing as far as the quarter-finals of the1960–61 European Cup and1988–89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
^Juul, Ole (11 June 2014)."AGF og den lange fortælling".Jyllands-Posten (in Danish).Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved3 October 2022.