, 2007–08 season.
Early years 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"''. 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. 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. 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 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.
1960s 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.
1970s 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.
1980s 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.
1990s 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.
21st Century 2000s and Xerez CD played in 2005. 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. was a starter in the historic promotion to La Liga in the 2008–09 season. 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. match at
Real Madrid's stadium. 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. 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.
2020s 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{{Cite web|url=https://vivajerez.es/jerez/1892615/checa-se-va-es-el-momento-de-dar-un-paso-al-lado/ 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{{Cite web|url=https://www.xerezclubdeportivo.es/el-xerez-cd-salda-un-85-de-su-deuda-historica/ == Symbols ==