On 16 June 1971 a new professional club was born in the north of the Netherlands, taking the name of its city. FC Groningen turns 56 on 16 June 2027. It is a club whose shirt comes from the city's coat of arms and whose academy has produced world-class stars.

From GVAV to a fresh start

Before FC Groningen there was GVAV, a football and athletics club with roots going back to 1915. GVAV was a founder member of the Eredivisie in 1956, but its finances were fragile and in 1970 it was relegated.

In February 1970 Harm Brink, chairman of the amateur club GRC Groningen, proposed a new professional team for the city. In September GVAV's members voted yes.

GVAV still managed to win promotion back to the top flight, and then returned to amateur football. Its place in the professional game was taken by FC Groningen.

Green and white from the coat of arms

From day one the club's colours have been green and white, taken from the city's coat of arms. In the early seasons there was also a purple shirt in the wardrobe.

In 1975 a brand appeared on the shirt for the first time, Adidas, and the first sponsor, insurer AGO, arrived on the chest in 1982. Until 1991 the home kit kept switching between different combinations of green and white.

Then came the design you recognise at once: a white shirt with two vertical green stripes.

A "G" and a Pegasus

The crest was born in 1971 from a competition run by the newspaper Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. The winner was 21-year-old designer Reint Rozema, with an abstract letter "G".

In 1993 the club added a Pegasus to look more dynamic and aggressive. Fans and press criticised it, and in 1996 the winged horse was dropped and the original crest returned.

From the Oosterpark to the "Green Hell"

For decades the team played at the Oosterpark. In January 2006 it moved to the Euroborg, designed by architect Wiel Arets, which opened with a 2-0 win over Heerenveen.

The ground holds around 22,500 and fans call it "The Green Hell" or "The Green Cathedral". In 2014 Groningen became the first Dutch club with its own solar power plant, on the roof of its stadium.

The nickname "Pride of the North" dates from the early years, when GVAV and then Groningen were the only northern team in the Eredivisie.

Atlético, Inter and the 2015 Cup

In 1980 the team won the second-tier title with a squad drawn largely from its academy. In 1983-84 it made its European debut and knocked out Atlético Madrid before going out to Inter.

In 1991 it finished third, the best league placing in its history. The great day came on 3 May 2015 at De Kuip: a 2-0 win over PEC Zwolle with two goals from Albert Rusnák brought the Dutch Cup, the club's first major trophy.

Brothers Erwin and Ronald Koeman, Arjen Robben and Virgil van Dijk all started out here, and Groningen was Luis Suárez's first European club. Peter Houtman is the record scorer with 128 goals and Jan van Dijk holds the appearance record with 537.

In 2023 the team was relegated, but a year later, with Dick Lukkien in charge and many academy players, it was back in the Eredivisie.

Celebrate with us

From the GVAV crisis to a packed Euroborg, Groningen has stayed loyal to green and white and to the kids of its academy. Happy 56th birthday to the Pride of the North!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: A packed Euroborg, home of FC Groningen – Kevster at Dutch Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.