The club experienced mixed fortunes throughout its history, although it was a regular fixture in the
Eredivisie in the 1990s, with players such as
Kevin Hofland,
Mark van Bommel and
Fernando Ricksen emerging from its youth system. These players later joined
PSV Eindhoven and
Rangers and played for the
Netherlands national team. The team also signed
Wilfred Bouma and
Patrick Paauwe from the youth setup of PSV. Both players developed under manager
Bert van Marwijk before joining the Dutch national side and moving to bigger clubs. Fortuna 54 won the
KNVB Cup in the 1956–57 season and finished the
Eredivisie season in second place behind champions
Ajax. Sittardia were less successful and battled against relegation for many seasons. Fortuna 54 won the KNVB Cup again in 1964 before the merging of the two clubs in 1968, due to financial difficulties. At the end of the
1999–2000 season, manager Bert van Marwijk left to join
Feyenoord, and the team was relegated to the
Eerste Divisie in the 2001–02 season.
Financial difficulties (2002–2016) Financial irregularities were discovered, and the team faced bankruptcy over several seasons. In the winter of 2003, two of the club's fans won the Dutch lottery and donated all of the prize money to the club. The club cleared most of its debts by selling off its new stadium, the Wagner & Partners stadium. On 19 May 2009, the
KNVB announced it would withdraw the club's license to play for the 2010–11 season. After going to
civil court, this decision was revoked. Despite ongoing financial difficulties, the club gradually began to recover financially in the following years, leading to improved results. In the
2011–12 season, Fortuna Sittard narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs for promotion to Eredivisie, conceding an equaliser in the final seconds of the season in a home match against the
Go Ahead Eagles, resulting in the Eagles taking the final playoff spot instead. Although the club qualified for the playoffs in the
2012–13 and
2013–14 seasons, offering them a chance to return to Eredivisie since relegation in 2002, Fortuna was unsuccessful in both first-round matches against
De Graafschap.
Takeover and Eredivisie (2016–present) The club again faced financial troubles in 2016, leading to its takeover by Turkish investor
Işıtan Gün, who previously served as the
chief operating officer of
Galatasaray. The
2016–17 season was a tough start for the club, but it managed to avoid relegation after changing coaches and recruiting new players, including some from Galatasaray. In December 2016,
Sunday Oliseh was appointed as the new coach of Fortuna Sittard. During his time as coach, he set two new records for the club, with eight consecutive home victories and the biggest away victory in the club's history, against
Telstar by a score of 6–0. In January 2018, the team won a
periodetitel after a 2–1 victory over
Jong Ajax. However, on 14 February 2018, Oliseh was suspended due to "repeated and culpable actions towards multiple individuals within the organisation over an extended period," according to a statement on the club's website announcing his release. Oliseh posted online that he was suspended due to his "refusal to participate in Illegal activities." In 2018, after 16 years in the
Eerste Divisie, Fortuna won promotion to the Eredivisie again after beating
Jong PSV 1–0 to stay clear from
NEC and finishing runner-up to champions
Jong Ajax, which cannot be promoted. Fortuna Sittard finished in 16th place during the
2019–20 season. However, because the season was suspended and declared void due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the club remained in the Eredivisie for the
2020–21 season. After that reprieve, the club finished in 11th place that season.
The following year, Fortuna Sittard finished 15th, just one point clear of the relegation playoff. Since then, the club's results have placed it more comfortably in the mid-table. Fortuna Sittard finished in 13th place in the
2022–23 season and 10th place in the
2023–24 season. == Honours ==