Gamba Osaka were founded in 1980 in Nara Prefecture as Matsushita Electric SC, a club backed by the company now known as Panasonic. They relocated to Suita, Osaka Prefecture, and became one of the founding members — the so-called "Original Ten" — of the J.League when professional football launched in Japan in 1993.
The club's first golden era arrived in the mid-2000s under manager Akira Nishino. Their inaugural J1 League title came on a dramatic final day in 2005, decided in part by a late equaliser in the cross-city rival Cerezo Osaka's match that swung the championship to Gamba. Three years later, in 2008, they conquered Asia by winning the AFC Champions League, defeating Adelaide United 5–0 on aggregate in the final, and then finished third at the FIFA Club World Cup — defeating Pachuca and falling only to Manchester United.
A sharp reversal followed when the club was relegated from J1 in 2012 despite finishing the season with a positive goal difference. They bounced back immediately, winning the J2 League title in 2013 and then completing a rare domestic treble in 2014 — J1 League, J.League Cup, and Emperor's Cup — becoming only the second club in the professional era to achieve that feat.
Gamba's fiercest local rivalry is with Cerezo Osaka, the two clubs contesting the Osaka Derby. Their name, drawn from the Japanese word ganbaru, captures the club's identity: to stand firm and give everything. As of the mid-2020s, Gamba remain active in continental competition, reaching the AFC Champions League Two final in the 2025–26 edition.