Xerez CD

Due to the link that Jerez established with the United Kingdom via the export of its Sherry wine to England, football began to be practiced informally in the city very early on. The first written record of football in Jerez dates from 1 November 1870 and appeared in the newspaper "El Progreso"; it reads: "We know that today a game of Cricket will be played, in the immediate site of the hippodrome, whose spectacle will begin at twelve o'clock sharp in the morning. In the afternoon, the fans of bumps will enjoy a while of foot-ball". Other early notes appearing in Jerez publications about football date from 1876 and 1884. The first one reads "new sport of strange rules and complicated foreign words", in the second note it reads "amusements of employees of English export firms based in Jerez fond of the goal".

In subsequent years there is talk of a football society in Jerez, but due to the little importance the new sport had, not many references are made to it. The clearest allusion is from 1887, when a news item appears reporting that "the Jerez society" will pay for the travel of some English sailors from the Port of Cadiz to Jerez to play a friendly match.

A few years later, the great introducer of football in Jerez appeared, Sir Thomas Spencer, an employee of the Bodega William & Humbert. He was the creator, president, player, and captain of the "Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club". This was the first society of which there are clear references in Jerez and dates from 1907. It started with a simple white kit, but soon changed to blue and white colors. Other early Jerez teams were "Fortuna Foot-Ball Club" (yellow and black stripes) in 1908, which was later absorbed by Sociedad Jerez; "Jerez Balompié" (blue and claret stripes) in 1912, and "España-Mundo Nuevo F.C." (red and white stripes) in 1913. Other teams referenced in newspapers of the time are "Jerez Bote Club", "Racing Jerezano", "Club Deportivo Hércules de Jerez" and "Jerez Sporting Club", but due to their short lives, there are not many references to them, except isolated mentions.

Despite this proliferation of teams, Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club was the most important team in the city and, due to the diverse ways of referring to its nomenclature in the newspapers of the time, it is named as Jerez, Xerez, Xerez F.C., Jerez F.C. or Xerez Club. The merger with "Fortuna F.C." soon arrived and its activity was intermittent. It is doubted if it was created even before the year 1907 and the Jerez society alluded to in 1887 in a match with "English sailors" was this same society.

One of the most important re-foundations the team had was in December 1933, with José Manuel Domecq Rivero as president. The Villa Mercedes football field was designated as the home ground, the construction of the Estadio Domecq was announced, and this time the official name was Xerez Fútbol Club. The most important milestones of this team were playing in the promotion phase to La Liga twice and reaching the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey (1943), where they were eliminated by Real Madrid.

On 4 June 1942, Club Deportivo Jerez was constituted as a reserve team of Xerez Fútbol Club. Both clubs shared facilities and stadium. Highlights of that era include consecutive Pichichi trophies in the second division in 1943/44 and 1944/45 by Pato Araujo, with the team close to being promoted to the first division.

Due to a combination of poor sporting and economic results, the disappearance of Xerez Fútbol Club was announced on 26 August 1946, and the board reorganized leading the reserve team Club Deportivo Jerez which remained as an independent team. On 24 September 1947, the club was refounded with the name "Jerez Club Deportivo". On 21 August 1963, the name was changed to "Xerez Club Deportivo" in honor of the original Xerez Fútbol Club, which in turn refers to the name of the city after the Christian reconquest.

The current club took, scrupulously and contrary to most football clubs that ignore new re-foundations, the date of September 1947 as its founding date. In reality, it could have taken any of the previous important dates as the founding date, since the history of football in Jerez since its arrival has been a gradual transfer through different people taking over. If the sports society had made the same decision as most football clubs, it could have taken 1876 as the founding date (because the "Football Society" of Jerez already existed then), 1907 or 1911 with the foundation of "Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club", 1914 for the merger with "Fortuna Foot-Ball Club", 1922 for the first reappearance of Jerez FC, 1933 for its second reappearance, or 1946 when CD Jerez was intervened.

This is one of the golden decades of Xerecismo. After the impossibility of promotion to Segunda División in the 40s due to the "high national interest" of the dictatorial regime, which decided to promote España de Tánger, the club was promoted and allowed to play for the first time in Segunda División (1953–1954), where it managed to remain for five consecutive years. Notable signings included Rafa Verdú (later a prominent figure in the club's management). The first official Jerez derby was played between Jerez CD and Jerez Industrial (1958).

Also noteworthy is the creation of the Trofeo de la Vendimia, in whose first edition (1952) FC Barcelona defeated Jerez C.D. 6–3.

Two Segunda División B championships were achieved.

It was difficult for Jerez to regain the second division status despite dominating the third division in this decade, winning two championships and four runner-up spots; only in 1967 did it have a fleeting stint in the silver category of Spanish football, remaining for a single season.

The name was changed from Jerez C.D. to Xerez C.D.

Another Third Division championship was achieved, leading the team back to the second division, but the joy lasted only one season. In the 1973–1974 season, they were close to the relegation places, which would have been a major setback. The division system was remodeled and Xerez moved to Segunda B.

Two Segunda División B championships were won, both rewarded with promotion to Segunda División. The first was again an ephemeral passage, but the second, achieved with a goal by Antonio Poyatos, was the beginning of a golden era of 5 years where at times they fought with teams at the top of the table.

Xerez signed a black player for the first time in its history, "El Pantera" Benítez.

In 1988, the mythical Estadio Domecq was left behind to move to play at Estadio Municipal de Chapín, which was inaugurated in a match against Real Madrid.

It was hard for Xerez to get out of Segunda División B, although in a historic season with local players, in 1996/97, one of the most awaited promotions was achieved against Gramanet, which only served to remain for one season in Segunda División.

In 1992 Xerez became a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva (Public Limited Sports Company), so the club ceased to belong to the members and passed into the hands of shareholders.

In the 1994–95 season, the first victory at the Estadio Ramón de Carranza was achieved, with a goal by Javi Peña.

In 1997, businessman Luis Oliver took over the presidency of the club, promoting the team from Segunda División B to Segunda División, although his initially good relations with the City Council deteriorated.

With the year 2001 came a new promotion of Xerez to Segunda División, consummated with a 2–0 victory against CD Toledo at the Estadio Municipal de Chapín, a success that caused a huge pitch invasion by the fans. A new stage opened for the Xerez entity, which from the first moment would seek success in the silver division of Spanish football.

On the other hand, on the extra-sporting level, the City Council denounced Luis Oliver, majority shareholder and president of the entity.

During the 2001–02 season, the first after its return to the category, Xerez was very close to achieving promotion to La Liga, with Bernd Schuster as coach. However, the club's precarious economic situation, which kept the players unpaid and forced the team to play many home matches in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, decisively influenced a resounding fall in the last 8 matchdays, in which they were only able to get 4 points, wasting a very important cushion of points with respect to the fourth classified. Finally, on 19 May 2002, Xerez lost 2–1 against Recreativo de Huelva, coached by Lucas Alcaraz, saying goodbye definitively to promotion.

In subsequent seasons, it established itself as one of the constant contenders for promotion and imposing itself as one of the strongest teams in the championship (despite remaining in economic hardships that even forced the players to appear semi-naked in a magazine as a sign of protest). In the 2005–06 season, coached by Lucas Alcaraz, they managed to be winter champions only to fall into an inexplicable negative streak and finish seventh in the League. A similar situation was experienced in the 2006–07 season, with Pepe Murcia on the bench, where the team occupied promotion places between the 3rd and 17th matchdays, but deflated again in the second round and finished 9th.

During the 2007–08 season, Xerez remained in the relegation zone for 28 matchdays. On 12 January 2008, after a resounding defeat against UD Las Palmas (0–3) and 10 games without winning, the president and majority shareholder Joaquín Morales presented his resignation in a press conference, which ultimately did not become effective. The coach, Juan Martínez Casuco (who had previously replaced the resigned Miguel Ángel Rondán), was sacked after losing to Numancia (0–3) in the 24th matchday. His successor was Esteban Vigo who, despite taking charge of a team that seemed doomed and starting with 3 consecutive defeats, managed to save Xerez from relegation in the last matchday, after achieving 8 consecutive home victories (a historical club record). That season, the Xerez striker Yordi won the Pichichi Trophy and Zarra Trophy of the Segunda División, with 20 goals scored, 9 of them from penalties.

On 19 June 2008, the majority shareholder and president, Joaquín Morales, announced in a press conference the sale of his shares to Francisco Garrido, a businessman born in Espera but based in Jerez de la Frontera. However, the sale did not materialize, and Morales began negotiating the sale with Sevillian businessman Francisco Nuchera. The agreement became unofficial on 12 September 2008, although Xerez did not release details due to the lack of signatures before a notary. The Mayor of Jerez de la Frontera, Pilar Sánchez, announced that the City Council would continue to support the club. This operation ultimately did not happen, with Joaquín Morales remaining as the maximum shareholder.

After this "in extremis" salvation, in the 2008/09 season, after an excellent start, Xerez surprised everyone by finishing the first half as winter champions and finding themselves in promotion places to La Liga as category leaders. Some professionals described the team as one of the best squads in the club's history.

On 19 March 2009, youth coordinator and former goalkeeper Carlos Osma became the new President, replacing Joaquín Bilbao, who resigned after being involved in an altercation for which he had to testify before a judge, after which he was released without charges. On 30 May 2009, the team led by Esteban Vigo, after a spectacular season, practically sealed promotion to La Liga after beating SD Eibar 3–0, which was mathematically achieved on 13 June by beating SD Huesca at home 2–1. Additionally, in the last matchday, the team managed to finish as champions of Segunda División. It was undoubtedly a totally unexpected success, as the Andalusian team had barely achieved permanence in the previous season and faced a significant lack of signings before starting the new campaign.

However, shortly after, bad news arrived for the Xerez fans: Esteban Vigo, the coach considered the main architect of the promotion, did not receive a renewal proposal from the board and left for Hércules CF. This provoked protests and incidents against the majority shareholder, Joaquín Morales.

On 15 July 2009, the Fundación Xerez Club Deportivo was registered in Seville, independent of the S.A.D., with objectives including social goals such as the dissemination of sporting values in youth through academy management, dissemination of football history in Jerez, and management of future sports infrastructure. The foundation's board had eleven trustees distributed among the club, City Council, Provincial Council, veterans, and fan clubs. The first President of the Foundation was Juan Carlos González Benítez.

In January 2010, coach José Ángel Ziganda was dismissed due to poor results in the debut in La Liga (only 7 points in 18 matches), preceding the arrival of a new owner, although Antonio Poyatos had to act as interim coach for one match. However, after a turbulent end to 2009 off the pitch, an Argentine business group led by Federico Souza acquired the majority of shares from Joaquín Morales, on 15 January 2010. The chosen coach was Néstor Gorosito, who managed to change the team's face and start a positive streak.

However, despite staying in the fight for permanence until the last matchday, the team finally sealed its relegation to Segunda División after drawing 1–1 against CA Osasuna, as Xerez needed to win and rely on other results.

With the return to Segunda División, the club entered a new phase, directed by bankruptcy administrators, with Emilio Viqueira as sports director and Javi López as coach. Key players left, replaced by veterans like Pablo Redondo, Barber, José Mari and Gerard Autet.

On 23 February 2011, a new Board was formed with Antonio Millán Garrido as president. The 2010–11 season ended in 8th place. For the 2011–12 season, Juan Merino was hired but was dismissed after 16 matchdays, replaced by Vicente Moreno.

In early 2012, debt reached almost 29 million euros. Jesús Gómez Martos bought shares but left shortly after. The team saved itself from relegation.

In July 2012, the bankruptcy process concluded, returning power to Joaquín Morales. For the 2012–13 season, Esteban Vigo returned, but after a terrible run, he was dismissed. His replacement, Carlos Ríos, could not prevent relegation to Segunda División B, ending a 12-year professional spell.

On 28 June 2013, Xerez Deportivo FC was born by fans to replace Xerez CD, which was on the verge of dissolution. On 1 August 2013, Xerez CD was administratively relegated to Tercera División due to debts with players. The club also lost the use of Chapín stadium and had to play in various grounds in the province (La Granja, Rota, etc.).

After several seasons of instability, relegation to regional leagues (1ª Andaluza), and financial struggles, the club managed to return to Tercera División in 2017.

In October 2017, Ricardo García and the Energy group left, and a group involving Luis Oliver Albesa and Afición Xerecista took over management.

On 16 January 2019, the club exited the judicial liquidation process. In the 2019–20 season, debts almost prevented the team from competing, but fundraising allowed them to play.

In 2022, the club celebrated its 75th anniversary with a match against Cádiz CF.

In the 2023–24 season, the team achieved the feat of being the only team in the big five leagues not to concede a goal after 9 matchdays. In matchday 33, after beating CD Gerena 2–0, Xerez CD secured promotion to Segunda Federación virtually.

In the 2024–25 season, Xerez Club Deportivo secured permanence in the category several matchdays before the end of the championship, which kept their chances of playing the promotion play-off to Primera Federación alive. However, these possibilities faded after dropping points against teams from the lower zone, such as CD Don Benito and CF Villanovense. In matchday 33, after the defeat against Xerez DFC, coach Checa announced that he would not continue leading the team the following season.

For the 2025–26 season, Xerez Club Deportivo incorporated Diego Galiano as coach, a technician from Jerez with extensive experience in Segunda Federación, recognized for his experience at Atlético Antoniano.

On 27 June, Xerez CD was the protagonist of prominent news following the publication of the annual list of debtors of the Spanish Tax Agency. Although the information was officially disseminated by the club that same day, it had already been advanced hours earlier by the tax body. According to this list, the blue entity had achieved a substantial reduction of its debt with the Treasury, which went from exceeding eight million euros in the previous year to standing slightly above two million in 2025, representing a decrease of approximately 85%. This improvement in the club's economic situation could be further accentuated in the next fiscal year, as part of the pending debt would be subject to prescription, which could reduce the amount owed to just 400 euros.