GO Ahead Eagles were founded in 1902 in Deventer, a city in the eastern Dutch province of Overijssel. The club began life as Be Quick before being renamed Go Ahead in 1905 at the request of the Dutch Football Association. The "Eagles" suffix was added in 1971 when the professional department separated from the parent club — a fitting choice, as the eagle features prominently in Deventer's coat of arms.
The club's most celebrated era came in the decades between the two World Wars, when Go Ahead dominated the Eastern regional league, winning the regional championship fifteen times and claiming eight consecutive titles from 1916 to 1923. Four of those campaigns translated into national championships: 1917, 1922, 1930, and 1933. A second golden period arrived in the late 1960s, when Go Ahead consistently challenged the Eredivisie's elite, finishing third behind Ajax and Feyenoord in the 1967–68 season. They also hold the notable distinction of being the only side to beat Ajax in any competition during the 1971–72 season.
Go Ahead experienced prolonged spells in the second tier across the 1990s and 2000s, but returned to the Eredivisie in 2021 after winning promotion from the Eerste Divisie. The club's crowning moment of the modern era arrived on 21 April 2025, when they lifted the KNVB Cup for the first time in their history.
The club's fiercest rivalry is the IJssel Derby against PEC Zwolle, with both clubs separated by little more than the River IJssel. FC Twente and De Graafschap also feature among their traditional rivals, while supporters maintain a well-known friendly bond with English club Luton Town.