NAC Breda were founded on 19 September 1912 in Breda, in the southern Dutch province of North Brabant, through the merger of two local clubs, ADVENDO and NOAD. The club's name is a compound of those two abbreviations, with the C standing for Combinatie (combination), and the full name expands into a lengthy Dutch phrase roughly meaning: never give up, always persevere, pleasant for entertainment and useful for relaxation — a combination, Breda.
The club's earliest golden era came in the 1920s and 1930s, when NAC established themselves as one of the finest teams in Dutch football. Their crowning achievement from this period was winning the Dutch national championship in 1921, defeating Ajax, Be Quick 1887 and Go Ahead along the way. Six Southern Division titles also underlined their regional dominance during these decades, and their technically polished style of play earned widespread admiration. A further piece of silverware arrived on 31 May 1973, when NAC defeated NEC Nijmegen 2-0 in the KNVB Cup final — their only Dutch cup title to date — earning entry into the following season's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
NAC's history has been punctuated by recurring financial hardship, relegations, and remarkable recoveries. The City of Breda played a decisive role in the club's survival on more than one occasion, most notably purchasing the stadium in 2003; in gratitude, NAC formally added "Breda" to their name that same year. The club plays its home matches at the Rat Verlegh Stadion, named after Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh, an iconic figure from the club's founding generation. NAC won promotion to the Eredivisie via the play-offs in 2024.
Passionate home support, long known as an Avondje NAC — an evening of Burgundian atmosphere, fierce noise and deep local pride — remains the club's most distinctive cultural identity.