K.A.A. Gent was founded in 1864 in the Belgian city of Ghent — originally as an athletics club, with its football section added in 1900. The club's full Dutch name, Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent, translates as Royal Athletic Association Ghent, reflecting its long-standing civic roots in one of Belgium's oldest cities.
For much of the twentieth century, Gent were a solid but unspectacular presence in Belgian football. Their first Belgian Cup win came in 1963-64, and further cup successes followed in 1983-84 and 2009-10, building a reputation as a cup-fighting side. The club's crowning achievement came in the 2014-15 season, when they claimed their first and so far only Belgian First Division A title, ending a championship drought that had lasted more than a century of top-flight competition. A Belgian Super Cup followed in 2015, and most recently the club added a fourth Belgian Cup in 2021-22.
The 2010s also saw Gent make a genuine mark on European football, reaching the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in 2015-16 — a landmark moment for the club and for Belgian football as a whole.
In 2013, Gent moved from the historic Jules Ottenstadion, their home for over ninety years, into the purpose-built Ghelamco Arena, a 20,000-capacity modern stadium that has become the hub of the club's identity. The team's nickname, the Buffaloes, has a characterful origin: it traces back to 1913, when Buffalo Bill and his travelling circus visited Ghent, leaving a lasting impression on the local community.