Feyenoord Rotterdam was founded on 19 July 1908 in the working-class south of Rotterdam, originally as Wilhelmina before becoming RVV Feijenoord in 1912 and finally Feyenoord in 1971. The club represents the city's industrial, port-worker identity, in deliberate contrast to the more cosmopolitan Amsterdam Ajax. De Kuip — formally Stadion Feijenoord — has been the club's home since 1937, with capacity 47,500.
Feyenoord's defining moment came on 6 May 1970, when the club became the first Dutch side to win the European Cup, defeating Celtic 2-1 after extra time in Milan's San Siro. The squad — featuring Wim van Hanegem, Coen Moulijn, Wim Jansen, Joop van Daele and Ove Kindvall — represented Rotterdam's industrial pride at the highest European level. Six months later, Feyenoord added the 1970 Intercontinental Cup against Estudiantes — the only Dutch club to do so.
Feyenoord's 16 Eredivisie titles place them third in Dutch football history (behind Ajax's 36 and PSV's 26). The 1973-74 and 2001-02 UEFA Cup victories — the latter the most recent major European trophy by a Dutch club — round out the European cabinet. The 2022-23 Eredivisie title under Arne Slot ended a six-year drought; Slot moved to Liverpool in 2024 after sustained Feyenoord success. The club's youth academy Varkenoord produces top Dutch talent including Robin van Persie (later coach), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (later coach), Stefan de Vrij and Lutsharel Geertruida. The fierce De Klassieker against Ajax — Dutch football's most-played, most-watched fixture — defines Feyenoord's identity in opposition to Amsterdam.