The Crest CopyCats Of Football 2
2 Copy 2 Cat
This is the second instalment of an article titled "Identity Theft Is Not a Joke - The Crest Copy Cats of Football", the link to which can be found here.
Since writing the first addition of this article last month, I've come across more and more badge similarities that I wish I had spoken about.
So with that in mind, I thought I would present ten more clubs that took inspiration from, or outright plagiarised, another club's badge.
No, I have not run out of ideas.
1. Everton and Leek Town
Everton featured in part 1, where we discussed the similarities between The Toffee's and Sudanese outfit El Hilal Sports Club El Obeid's badge.
Everton's badge is one of the most recognisable in England and contains an icon of Prince Rupert's Tower, two laurel wreaths to symbolise victory and honour above a Latin motto which translates to "Nothing but the best is good enough".
To the right of Everton's badge is the badge of Northern Premier League side Leek Town. Leek is a town based in northern Staffordshire and is only around an hour and a half drive from Everton, who are based in Liverpool.
In terms of Leek Town's badge, the Staffordshire-based side haven't ripped off Everton's badge as much as El Hilal Sports Club El Obeid's did, but you can certainly see where they got the inspiration from. The badge includes an emblem of the Staffordshire Knot, a synonymous sign of the region, and a garb, both of which can be found on the town's official coat of arms. The central aspect of the badge is a caduceus, the staff wielded by Hermes in Greek Mythology, which was found on the token coin first issued in Leek in 1793.
2. The Italian National Team and Brisbane City
Italy's national team represent one of the most successful and football-passionate nations on the planet. The Azzurri have lifted six pieces of major silverware and have appeared in ten major finals.
The badge pictured to the left belonged to the Italian national team from 2006 to 2017, containing a stylistic Italian flag, four stars to commemorate the nation's World Cup triumphs of 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2021 in addition to the logo of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
Next to the Italian's former badge is the badge of Australian semi-pro side Brisbane City Football Club. Brisbane City were founded in 1952 and currently play their football in the NPL Queensland, situated in the second level of football in the Australian football league system.
Brisbane City's badge bears a striking resemblance to the Italy badge of old, and for good reason. Brisbane City were founded by Italian Australians who were a part of Brisbane's large Italian community. The founders wanted to pay homage to their roots, so nicknamed their new team 'The Azzurri' and chose blue as their home strip colour, as well as adapting the Italian flag into their badge.
The previous Brisbane City badge was not as similar as the Italian national side's badge; however, it still contained elements of the country, such as the Italian flag and a white lily flower, a cultural Italian emblem symbolising purity and beauty. When the Italian national team introduced their new badge in 2006, Brisbane City followed suit in their template and created the badge they still use to this day.
3. SK Rapid Wien and Botev Plovdiv
Founded in 1899, Rapid Wien are the most successful club in Austria with 48 major titles, including a record 32 league wins. Whilst Die Grün-Weißen boast a rich history, they are currently considered somewhat of a sleeping giant in Austria, having not won a trophy since 2008.
Rapid's badge has undergone a number of alterations through the years but has pretty much always contained similar aspects to the badge shown above. Said badge is from the 1980s and includes horizontal green and white stripes in homage to the club's home kit colours. The club originally played in red and blue until 1904, but still sometimes utilise these colours for away/third kits; these colours are also commemorated in the badge.
Botev Plovdiv, whose badge is pictured to the right, are a Bulgarian first division outfit who were founded in 1912. The Canaries have won eight major titles in their 113-year history, including two league titles.
Botev have taken a similar approach to Vihar Slavyanovo and SPG Rasen/Antholz that we saw in last month's article, whereby they have copied the template of another club's badge but added their own information and colours. Even the stylistic curve of the text is the same as Rapid Wien's.
The black and yellow vertical stripes on Botev's badge represent the team's home colours, with yellow representing the golden grain fields of the Thrace border, upon which Bulgaria sits and black representing the fertile soil in which the grain grows. The additional colours of white, green and red have been used to represent the flag of Bulgaria.
4. Palermo and Vancouver FC
Their current badge, pictured above, was designed by Danilo Li Muli and introduced in 2019. The badge includes a white eagle to represent the city of Palermo and pay homage to the city's coat of arms. The eagle is outlined by black and pink colouring, the colours of Palermo's home strip. Palermo changed from a red and blue to a pink and black home kit in 1907 because of a suggestion made by founding member Count Giuseppe Airoldi. The colours are said to represent the sweetness of winning (pink) and the bitterness of losing (black).
Found above, next to the eagle of Palermo, is the eagle of Vancouver FC. Vancouver were founded in 2022 and currently play in the Canadian Premier League, the highest tier of Canadian 'soccer'. The side make up one of the eight teams in the Canadian Premier League and have finished 7th twice in their two seasons as a professional outfit.
Their badge includes an eagle to represent strength and balance. The wings are represented by four parallel lines to resemble the cables of the Lower Mainland bridges and the field of the Fraser Valley. The eagle is stylistically positioned in a V shape to incorporate the club's and subsequently the city's initials.
While the reasoning for utilising an eagle makes sense, and the typography is somewhat different, Vancouver's badge is still very similar to Palermo's. You can see where they have taken inspiration from, as details such as the eye and beak are very similar. However, with that being said, I do like Vancouver's adaptation and their reasons for the symbolism.
5. Lincoln City and Lincoln Red Imps
Lincoln City were founded in 1884 and currently play in League One, the third division of English football. The highest division of football, 'The Imps', as they're nicknamed, have competed in, at the time of writing, is the second division with their highest finish being 5th in the 1901/02 season.
The current Lincoln badge depicts the famous Lincoln Imp found in the city's cathedral. The Imp is a 'grotesque', which is a mythical being carved from stone, usually found on the walls or roofs of churches or cathedrals. The badge as we see it today was introduced in 2024, with its predecessor being a more detailed, or realistic, version of the Imp.
The Lincoln Red Imps' badge, pictured right, could be mistaken for a previous badge of Lincoln City, when in fact the Red Imps are a different team playing in a different country. The Lincoln Red Imps are Gibraltar's most successful team, having won 79 trophies, including 29 first division titles.
The Lincoln Red Imps have clearly taken more than just badge inspiration from Lincoln City, having incorporated Lincoln City's actual city name and nickname into their club.
The Lincoln Red Imps do, however, have a tangible link to their English counterpart. Former Lincoln City director and Lincoln resident Reg Breasly sponsored the Red Imps for a brief few years and suggested that the club should change their original name, 'Blue Batons', to the Lincoln Red Imps to commemorate the English side.
Lincoln Red Imps' badge contains the recognisable Imp of Lincoln Cathedral, sat in front of the Moorish Castle, a medieval fortification whose origins date back to the 700s, found in Gibraltar.
6. Cardiff City and Abacha City
Cardiff City, despite being a Welsh-based side, play in the third division of English football, after their relegation from the Championship last season. The Bluebirds were founded in 1899 and are the only team not based in England to have won the FA Cup after their victory in 1927.
Cardiff's current badge was introduced in 2015 and depicts a bluebird in homage to the club's nickname bestowed upon them in the 1920s due to their blue and white home strip. Below the bluebird, one can find a red dragon, a symbol synonymous with Wales due to a red dragon being the centre piece of the national flag of Wales, the dragon is said to represent courage, power and the spirit of the Welsh people.
Parallel to The Bluebird's badge is the badge of Sierra Leone Premier League side Abacha City FC. There isn't too much information online surrounding Abacha City, other than that they were founded in 2016, and finished 13th last season.
In regard to their badge, it's a clear rip-off of Cardiff's, with the only additions being Abacha's founding year and a red dragon.
Due to the lack of information online surrounding Abacha City, it's not entirely known why their badge includes a red dragon. At first glance, one may assume that the red dragon has just been taken from Cardiff City's badge, along with everything else. However, the inclusion could be in homage to the Red Dragon ship from the East Indies that docked in Sierra Leone in 1607.
Who knows? What I do know is that it's shameless regardless.
Reading are one of the oldest professional sides in England, having been formed in 1871. The Royals currently play in League One but are historically considered a Championship side, even holding the record Championship points tally after amassing 106 points in 2005/06.
Reading's current badge was introduced in 1998 to commemorate the club's move to the Madejski Stadium. The badge includes an icon of a crown to represent the Royal County of Berkshire, in which Reading is located. Also included is an icon of the Maiwand Lion, which is a sculpture found in the Forbury Gardens Park of Reading. The sculpture was installed to commemorate the soldiers of the Royal Berkshire Regiment who died during the Battle of Maiwand in 1880.
The colour scheme of the badge is utilised to represent the home strip colours of Reading (blue and white), and the, then, traditional away strip colour (red).
UD Ourense, or to give them their full name Unión Deportiva Ourense, are currently playing in the Segunda Federación, the fourth division of Spanish football. The Galicia-based side play in the fourth division for the first time this season, having been promoted from the fifth tier last season.
UD Ourense are the phoenix club of Club Deportivo Ourense (CD Ourense), who were dissolved in 2014 due to financial issues. CD Ourense's badge was heavily inspired by the Ourense coat of arms, which included an icon of the Ponte Vella bridge, the city's cathedral and a lion wielding a sword, all of which featured on CD Ourense's badge.
UD Ourense have also paid homage to both the Ourense coat of arms and simultaneously CD Ourense's badge, by including a stylised image of the bridge, lion and cathedral in the bottom left square of their badge. The diagonal square includes an image of a goldsmith, which was a famous trade in Ourense, with the aforementioned Ponte Vella bridge being famous for having goldsmith shops along it. The badge's colour way of dark red and royal blue is utilised to represent the side's home colours.
There seemingly is no connection between Reading and UD Ourense, as there is very limited information online correlating the two sides. However, it's another situation where you can see where UD Ourense have found their inspiration. There are subtle differences between the two badges; however, the icon and word placement, along with the inclusion of a central football and striped colour way, would suggest that UD Ourense have modelled their badge off Reading's.
8. Oldham Athletic and Union Omaha
Oldham were founded over 130 years ago as Pine Villa FC, before changing their name to Oldham Athletic in 1899 after local rivals Oldham County folded. The Owls were promoted via the Conference League play-offs last season and currently sit 14th in League Two after eight games.
Since the 1950s, Oldham Athletic have utilised an owl in their badge. There are four owls pictured on Oldham's coat of arms in reference to the local dialectical pronunciation of Oldham being 'Owldham'. The more modernised badge pictured above was introduced in 2021.
Pictured to the side of the Owl of Oldham is the Owl of Union Omaha. The American side were founded in 2019 and, despite only playing five full professional seasons, have won the USL League One twice.
Union Omaha's Badge includes an icon of a Great Horned Owl, which are native to Omaha. While the reasoning for the owl's inclusion makes sense, the placement of said Owl could raise a few eyebrows. While aspects of Omaha's owl are different to Oldham's, such as the eye colour and direction faced, the decision to place the owl on a football does indicate the badge was modelled after Oldham's.
9. Coventry City and Kilmarnock
9. Coventry City and Kilmarnock
Nicknamed The Sky Blues, Coventry City were founded in 1883 and currently play their football in the Championship. The West Midlands side have had a tumultuous last few decades, having played Premier League football from 1992 to 2001, yet finding themselves as low as League Two in 2017/18. However, the side look somewhat revitalised under manager Frank Lampard and look like one of the favourites to achieve promotion this season.
A similarly designed badge to the Coventry badge pictured above was first introduced in 1983, with the current badge being utilised since 1996. The badge is heavily inspired by the Coventry coat of arms, with the right-sided Phoenix, left-sided eagle and central elephant and tower also being found on the coat of arms. The eagle is a representation of the symbol of Earl Leofric, an 11th-century figure who founded monasteries in Coventry, the burning phoenix represents the rise of Coventry following the Second World War and the elephant carrying a tower represents Coventry's 'enduring spirit'.
Found next to Coventry's badge is the badge of Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock. 'Killie' are Scotland's oldest professional football side, yet have only won the Scottish first division once in 1965.
Like Coventry, Kilmarnock's badge has also been heavily inspired by the region's coat of arms; in fact, previous iterations of the badge are almost exactly the same as Kilmarnock's coat of arms. The badge utilises the hand signal and motto of the Boyd Clan, a Scottish Clan of the country's lowlands, and two squirrels, which are native to the surrounding area, all of which can also be found on the coat of arms.
Out of all the badge comparisons in both this list and the last, this comparison is probably the weakest. It would be hard to argue that the similarities between the two are intentional from either side. However, they do look similar at a glance, with the two animals either side of a football and the comparably positioned banderols aiding in the similarity.
10. Bayern Munich and Bayern Alzenau
Just like last time, we're ending with a Bayern copy!
Bayern Munich are not only a domestic and continental powerhouse; they are one of the most recognised teams and brands in the world. Bayern's badge, therefore, is internationally recognised and respected by football fans and non-football fans alike
Admittedly, my knowledge of lower league German football is not the best. Passable, but not the best. So I always thought that Bayern Alzenau were in some way connected to the Bavarian giants. Looking at the badge, I thought it was different but similar enough to potentially be the badge of a phoenix club or a feeder team.
But this is not the case. Bayern Alzenau are a fourth division German side who were founded in the 1920s and, unless my research has failed me, have no connection to Bayern Munich.
Alzenau, like Munich, is based in Bavaria so the inclusion of both the Bavarian diamonds on Alzenau's badge and tag 'Bayern' in their name is representative of their region. Therefore, Alzenau do have the right to use elements of their region in their branding.
But come on. That is a stolen badge if I've ever seen one.
Another shameless Bayern steal, not that they're bothered though by the looks of things.
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