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| Full name | Football Club Groningen | |
|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Trots van het Noorden (lit. 'Pride of the North') De FC (lit. 'The FC') | |
| Founded | 16 June 1971; 54 years ago (1971-06-16) | |
| Ground | Euroborg | |
| Capacity | 22,525 | |
| Owner | FC Groningen BeheerB.V. | |
| Chairman | Jakob Klompien | |
| Head coach | Dick Lukkien | |
| League | Eredivisie | |
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie, 13th of 18 | |
| Website | www | |
 Current season | ||
Football Club Groningen (Dutch pronunciation:[ɛfˈseːˈɣroːnɪŋə(n)]) is a Dutch professionalassociation football club based inGroningen,Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor ofGVAV, Groningen compete in theEredivisie, the first tier ofDutch football.
Groningen played in the Eredivisie during their first three seasons, before the side wererelegated to theEerste Divisie in1973–74 as they got into financial difficulties. Groningen werepromoted back to the Eredivisie as champions in1979–80 with a squad composed mostly of players who were recruited from the club's youth academy, and remained in the top flight for 18 seasons before they dropped to the second tier in1997–98. The team won promotion back to the Eredivisie in1999–2000, where they remained for 23 seasons before suffering relegation in2022–23. Groningen finished as runners-up in the2023–24 Eerste Divisie and returned to the Eredivisie at the first attempt.
Groningen have won theKNVB Cup once, in2014–15, and were runners-up in1988–89. Groningen achieved their highest league finish in1990–91 when they ranked third in the Eredivisie, competing for the league title until the latter part of the season. The side have participated inEuropean competitions on several occasions; Groningen'sfirst participation in European competition came during the1983–84 UEFA Cup, when they defeatedAtlético Madrid onaggregate in the first round, but were eliminated byInter Milan in the following round.Erwin Koeman,Ronald Koeman,Arjen Robben andVirgil van Dijk started their careers at Groningen, while it wasLuis Suárez's first European club.[1]
The team's first home ground wasOosterparkstadion; since 2006, they have played their home games atEuroborg. Groningen's homekit colours are based on the city's coat of arms: green and white. The club is nicknamed "Trots van het Noorden" (lit. 'Pride of the North'), and has a rivalry withFrisian sideHeerenveen, with whom it contests theDerby van het Noorden (lit. 'Derby of the North').
Established in 1921,GVAV were founder members of theEredivisie in 1956, thefirst tier of Dutch football.[2] At the time, they were one of fourprofessional teams from the city ofGroningen, alongsideBe Quick,Velocitas andOosterparkers [nl].[3] GVAV soon faced significant financial difficulties; as a result, "Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV" (lit. 'Professional Football Foundation GVAV') was established in 1963—atriumvirate of GVAV, the Groningen City Council and a consortium of local businesses.[4] Each party contributed 300,000Dutch guilders, becoming equal shareholders in the foundation.[4] GVAV's finances remained fragile, however, also putting the future of professional football in Groningen at risk, especially as GVAV had become the city’s only remaining professional team.[5] The side remained in the Eredivisie until they wererelegated to theEerste Divisie in1969–70.[6]
In February 1970, Harm Brink, the chairman ofamateur clubGRC Groningen [nl], proposed the creation of a new professional team to represent Groningen. His idea gained support from several local amateur clubs, while both the local businesses and the Groningen City Council were willing to write off the debts of Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV.[6] In September 1970, a majority of GVAV's members voted in favour of Brink's proposal. GVAVwon promotion to the Eredivisie after a one-year absence, and Football Club Groningen was founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, who returned to amateur football.[7]
During the 1970–71 season, GVAVgoalkeeperTonny van Leeuwen had conceded only seven goals—the fewest of any goalkeeper in Dutch football—and was honoured by theRoyal Dutch Football Association inRotterdam. Van Leeuwen died in a car accident on his way home, just one day before Groningen's foundation.[8][9] The side played their first match on 17 July 1971, defeating GermanRegionalliga sideTSR Olympia Wilhelmshaven 6–0.[4] Groningen wore a green and whitekit, the colours of the city's coat of arms.[7]
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Groningen lost their first league game 1–0 at home againstFC Utrecht in front of 13,000 spectators.[10] The team recorded their first league victory on the 10th matchday—a 2–1 win atVitesse—and finished the1971–72 Eredivisie season 12th out of 18 sides.[11] The club was still mired in financial difficulties; to cut transfer expenses, Groningen established ascouting system.[12] In1973–74, they suffered a club record 9–0 defeat toAjax, ranked bottom of the league table and were relegated to the Eerste Divisie.[10] The club came close to bankruptcy but was saved by the Groningen City Council.[13] In1974–75, Groningen finished runners-up toNEC Nijmegen, missing out on the title due to an inferiorgoal difference. Although the side qualified for theplay-offs which determined the second and final team to gainpromotion to the Eredivisie, they finished second behindFC Eindhoven and remained in the second tier.[14] In 1975, Groningen established a youthboarding school as the club tried to rebuild the squad with homegrown players.[15] The side finished eighth in the1976–77 Eerste Divisie—their lowest-ever league finish—before missing promotion to the Eredivisie in the promotion play-offs in1977–78, despitePeter Houtman scoring a club record 31 goals during the season.[10][16] Groningen finished runners-up toExcelsior in1978–79,[17] but returned to the Eredivisie as champions duringthe following season undercoachTheo Verlangen [nl], losing only 4 of 36 matches.[18] Most of the squad that won promotion had progressed through Groningen's youth academy.[2]
In the1982–83 season, Groningen qualified forEuropean competition for the first time following a 5th-place finish, meaning that they would enter the1983–84 UEFA Cup.[19] Key playerRonald Koeman left the club during theoff-season in 1983 and joined Ajax, while his brotherErwin remained at the club; both players had made their debut at Groningen.[1][20] The team'sfirst European game was anaway match againstAtlético Madrid, losing 2–1 after being 1–0 ahead. Groningen recorded a surprising 3–0 victory in the return game, winning 4–2 onaggregate. They facedInter Milan in the second round; Groningen won 2–0 at home groundOosterparkstadion, but lost 5–1 away and were eliminated from the competition.[21] Groningen competed in European competition again on five occasions from 1986 to 1992,[2] reaching the third round in the1986–87 UEFA Cup and in the1988–89 UEFA Cup.[22]
As a result of their successful spell, Groningen became almost a fully professional side by the mid-1980s—onlyJan van Dijk andAdri van Tiggelen remained semi-professional players. The club also recorded the fourth highest average home attendances in Dutch football—behind Ajax,PSV andFeyenoord—as it attracted more than 10,000 fans for each match.[23][24] In 1989, Groningen reached theirfirst KNVB Cup final, losing 4–1 against PSV.[25] During the same year, Groningen chairmanRenze de Vries [nl] was found guilty by theFiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) ofembezzlement and the use ofdirty money to sign several players between 1984 and 1989.[26][27] De Vries, the club's chairman since 1980, stepped down and spent several days in prison.[27][28] Multiple 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 theTax and Customs Administration.[26] The club was saddled with debt and again came close to bankruptcy.[29] Despite the financial situation, the team recorded their highest-ever league finish in1990–91: third place. Managed byHans 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. Groningen'sHenny Meijer was namedDutch Footballer of the Year after the season ended.[30]
Although Groningen recorded a 5th-place finish in1991–92 and qualified for the1992–93 UEFA Cup,[31] the team began to slide down the league table; they were eventually relegated to the Eerste Divisie in1997–98.[32] The club had little financial resources left, and made many managerial changes in a search for success.[32][33] The side returned to the Eredivisie in1999–2000 following a first-place finish in the promotion play-offs group.[34] During the season, Groningen set several club records: they scored 81 goals, won 10 matches in a row and recorded their largest victory—10–1 againstDVS '33 in theKNVB Cup.[32] In December 2000, the 16-year-oldArjen Robben made his professional debut under coach Jan van Dijk. Robben, later regarded as one of the best players of his generation, was soon sold to PSV for a fee of 3.9 millioneuros.[35][36] Groningen avoided relegation during their first seasons back in the Eredivisie, and under coachRon Jans, appointed in 2002, the team even began to return into the top half of the league.[37]
In January 2006, Groningen moved from the outdated Oosterparkstadion—the club's first home ground—to the newly-builtEuroborg.[38] The club's average home attendance increased from 12,000 in Oosterparkstadion to around 20,000 in its new stadium.[37] Groningen went the first 15 league games unbeaten at Euroborg,[39] and the stadium was soon nicknamed "De Groene Hel" (lit. 'The Green Hell').[37] The side finished the2005–06 season in fifth place and qualified for the play-offs which determined a place in the preliminary round of theUEFA Champions League. Groningen reached the final but were narrowly beaten by Ajax on aggregate, after Ajax scored in the last minutes of the second leg, with the team instead qualifing for the2006–07 UEFA Cup.[37] Groningen again qualified for the UEFA Cupthe following season, but were eliminated in the preliminary round by Italian sideFiorentina after apenalty shootout.[37][40] In 2010, Jans left the club and went to local rivalsHeerenveen, and was succeeded by former Groningen playerPieter Huistra.[41]
The team finished 5th in2010–11 under Huistra, reaching the European competition play-off final; they turned around a 5–1 deficit againstADO Den Haag but lost after a penalty shootout.[42] In2013–14, coachErwin van de Looi led Groningen to victory in the European competition play-off final and qualification for the2014–15 UEFA Europa League,[43] where they were eliminated byAberdeen in the second qualifying round.[44] Groningen claimed their first major honour during the season, however, defeatingPEC Zwolle 2–0 in the2015 KNVB Cup final.[45] They became the third Groningen-based team to win a major honour, afterBe Quick (1919–20 Dutch League Championship) andVelocitas (1933–34 KNVB Cup [nl]).[46][47] By winning the cup, they qualified for the2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage.[48] The side gained only two points from six matches and finished their group in bottom place.[49] In 2019,Hans Nijland [nl]—the club's CEO since 1996 and the longest-serving director in Dutch professional football—stepped down and was replaced by Excelsior'sWouter Gudde.[50]
In2022–23, Groningen finished in bottom place, winning only 4 of 34 matches, and were relegated to the Eerste Divisie for the third time.[51][52] Before the start of the season, the GermanFrank Wormuth was appointed coach.[53] He was sacked in November 2022, after which Wormuth labelled the working conditions as "mentally unsafe".[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 clubSpakenburg.[52][54] Gudde concluded the squad was unfit, unbalanced, and lacked quality and "personality".[55] Under coachDick Lukkien, Groningen finished runners-up in the Eerste Divisie in2023–24 and were promoted back to the Eredivisie with a squad largely composed of players who had progressed through the club's youth academy. They clinched second place by defeating direct rivalsRoda JC 2–0 on the final matchday, overtaking them in the standings.[56]
Shortly after its founding in June 1971,Nieuwsblad van het Noorden organised a competition to design acrest for the club. The winning design, submitted by the 21-year-old Reint Rozema, a designer at a local printing house, featured an abstract letter "G" representing Groningen.[7] In 1993, board member and commercial manager Jos Smulders added aPegasus to the badge to give Groningen a more "dynamic and aggressive" image. However, following criticism from fans and the local press, the Pegasus was removed in 1996 and the original crest was restored.[57][58]
Groningen's kit colours have been green and white since the club's foundation, derived from the city's coat of arms. During the first seasons, the team also played in a purple shirt.[7] Groningen's jerseys had no kit sponsor until 1975, whenAdidas became the first to have its logo on the club's shirt.[59][60] The first sponsor's name to appear on Groningen shirts was that of insurance companyAGO, which featured from 1982 to 1983.[61] Since then, the club has had a variety of kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors.[60][61] Until 1991, the club used various permutations of green and white on its home kits, when it adopted a white shirt with two vertical green stripes.[62][63]
Since January 2006, Groningen have played their home matches at Euroborg, which replaced Oosterparkstadion, the home of GVAV and Groningen since the 1930s.[38][64] TheNetherlands national team played two international matches at Oosterparkstadion: againstCyprus in 1981 and in 1983 againstIceland.[65] In 1985, Groningen recorded their largest attendance at the stadium during a 1–1draw against Feyenoord, when 21,500 spectators attended.[66] The club first expressed an interest in building a new stadium away from Oosterparkstadion in 1996 as it had become outdated and had only a capacity of around 12,500. In 2004, the club began construction of Euroborg, designed by architectWiel Arets. The stadium was officially opened on 13 January 2006 with a match against Heerenveen, which Groningen won 2–0.[37][38]
Euroborg hosted the final of the2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, in which theNetherlands defeatedSerbia 4–1.[67] In 2014, Groningen became the first Dutch club to install its ownsolar power plant,[68] with more than 1,000solar panels fitted to the stadium's roof to make the club "more eco-friendly".[69] The ground hosted its first senior women's international match in 2017, when theNetherlands playedNorway.[70] It staged its first senior men's international game in June 2025, as the Netherlands defeatedMalta 8–0 in a2026 World Cup qualifier match.[71][72]
Euroborg's current capacity is 22,525,[73] and is nicknamed "De Groene Hel" (lit. 'The Green Hell') and "De Groene Kathedraal" (lit. 'The Green Cathedral').[37][38] The stadium consists of four stands: the Tonny van Leeuwen Tribune, thePiet Fransen Tribune, the Koeman Familie Tribune and a stand containingskyboxes.[74]
The club's supporters are mainly drawn from the provinces ofGroningen andDrenthe.[75] During their early years, Groningen, and their predecessor GVAV, also had a decent following inFriesland as they were the only northern team competing in the Eredivisie at the time, which earned them the nickname "Trots van het Noorden" (lit. 'Pride of the North').[5] During the late 1970s, anultras group known as the Z-side emerged from within Groningen's fanbase.[76] The Z-side and other Groningen ultras groups have had long-standing friendships with the ultras andhooligans ofRoma,Beerschot andRot-Weiß Erfurt.[77][78] The club's fans also have had a long-standing friendship with supporters of Scottish teamHibernian since the 1990s.[79]
As Groningen are one of the few professional sides from the Northern Netherlands and the only team from the province of Groningen,[75] the team lack rivalries.[80] Until local sideVeendam was dissolved in 2013,[81] Groningen contested theGroningse derby [nl] with them.[82] The sides met only four times in the Eredivisie—in1986–87 and1988–89, with both teams winning once—as Veendam spent most of their existence in the lower tiers.[83] During the 1990s, Groningen contested heated matches withTwente as hooligans of both clubs often clashed.[84] In the same period, a local rivalry between Groningen and Frisian club Heerenveen developed—known as theDerby van het Noorden (lit. 'Derby of the North')—following Heerenveen's first-ever promotion to the Eredivisie in1989–90.[85][86] Groningen went down to the Eerste Divisie in 1998, and by 2000, had been overtaken in performance by Heerenveen. The rivalry intensified during the 2000s, and supporters of both clubs engaged in a series of pranks and provocations, such as Groningen fans painting the statue of Heerenveen'sAbe Lenstra in green and white colours. The rivalry began to fade in the mid-2010s after another Frisian club,Cambuur, won promotion to the Eredivisie; Heerenveen regard Cambuur as their main rivals.[85]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dick Lukkien |
| Assistant coaches | Casper Goedkoop Mischa Visser |
| Chairman | Jakob Klompien |
| Chief executive officer | Frank van Mosselveld |
| Chief operating officer | Marc-Jan Oldenbandringh |
| Director of football | Mohammed Allach |
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.[89] The team won the Eerste Divisie title in 1979–80 under coachTheo Verlangen [nl], who also led them to qualification for their first European campaign in 1983.[18] Groningen recorded their best league finish underHans Westerhof: third in the 1990–91 Eredivisie.[30] After relegation in 1998, the side won promotion back to the top flight in 1999–2000 withJan van Dijk in charge.[32]Erwin van de Looi led Groningen to their first major honour: the2014–15 KNVB Cup.[90] The GermanFrank Wormuth became the club's first foreign coach when he took the post in 2022.[53] UnderDick Lukkien, the side won promotion back to the top flight in 2023–24.[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.[93] The club's top goal scorer is Peter Houtman, who scored 128 goals in three spells for Groningen.[94] He also holds the club record for the most goals scored in a season, when he netted 31 times in 1977–78.[10] In 1991, Henny Meijer won the Dutch Footballer of the Year award, the first and to date only time a Groningen player achieved this.[30]
The youngest player to make an appearance for the club isRichairo Živković, who was aged 16 years and 88 days on his debut againstHeracles Almelo in 2012.[95] The oldest player to make an appearance for Groningen is goalkeeperPeter van der Vlag, who played his last match aged 37 years and 163 days againstNAC Breda in 2015.[96][97]
Groningen's largest victory has been a 10–1 win against DVS '33 in the1999–2000 KNVB Cup. The club's largest win in league football has been a 7–1 home victory againstWillem II in the 2010–11 Eredivisie.[32] The club's largest defeat is a 9–0 loss to Ajax in the 1973–74 Eredivisie.[10] The highest transfer fee received by Groningen is the €11 million fromCelta de Vigo for Norwegian strikerJørgen Strand Larsen in 2022,[98] while the highest transfer fee paid by the club was for Nigerian midfielderOluwafemi Ajilore fromMidtjylland in 2008; he was bought for a fee of €3.3 million.[99]
Specific
General
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| Grounds |
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| Notable matches | |
| Rivalries | |
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