Manchester City

Before the billions, before the Etihad, before Pep and the Treble, Manchester City were just a small side from the east of the city playing under a different name entirely. They began life in 1880 as St Mark’s (West Gorton), a church team founded to steer local lads away from drink, crime, and boredom. This was typical Victorian thinking—sport as salvation. It worked. The team became Ardwick AFC in 1887 and moved to Hyde Road, gaining a proper ground and a growing fanbase. But financial trouble hit, and in 1894 they were reborn as Manchester City, with a name to match their ambition and a badge that would slowly evolve to tell the story of an industrial powerhouse.

One of the most recognisable elements of the modern badge is the golden ship. It might seem strange for a landlocked city, but it's a perfect tribute to one of Manchester’s greatest feats: the Manchester Ship Canal. Opened in 1894—the very same year City adopted their current name—the canal turned Manchester into an inland port, connecting it directly to the Irish Sea. Suddenly, goods could flow in and out of the city without needing to pass through Liverpool. It was a bold move, one that symbolised Manchester’s independence and refusal to be overshadowed. Cotton, textiles, machinery—everything that made Manchester rich and respected in the 19th century—flowed down that canal. So when you see the ship on the badge, you’re looking at a symbol of engineering triumph, economic power, and civic pride.

Beneath the ship sit three diagonal blue stripes. These are often overlooked, but they’re some of the most meaningful elements on the crest. They represent the three rivers that run through the Greater Manchester area: the Irwell, the Irk, and the Medlock. These rivers weren’t just scenic features—they were the lifeblood of Manchester’s industrial boom. They powered the mills, drove the looms, and flushed the dye from the factories. Without them, there is no industrial revolution in Manchester. No spinning jenny. No cotton capital of the world. No City, in any sense of the word. The badge doesn’t shout about it, but those three stripes are the key to the city’s working-class roots and restless energy.

At the centre of the crest sits a bold red rose—a link to Manchester’s past before modern boundaries rewrote the map. Historically, Manchester was part of Lancashire, and many locals still see it that way. The red rose is the traditional emblem of the county and has deep roots in English history. It dates back to the Wars of the Roses, a brutal 15th-century civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Shakespeare dramatised it in Henry VI and Richard III, but for Mancunians, it’s not just theatre—it’s heritage. The red rose on City’s badge reminds fans that while football changes, geography and identity still matter. It’s a nod to the city’s place in a wider northern story.

Manchester City have always had to adapt. After a fire at Hyde Road, they moved to Maine Road in 1923 and made it home for the next 80 years. Then, in 2003, they shifted again—this time to the newly built City of Manchester Stadium, now known as the Etihad. The move came just a few years before the game-changing takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008. Since then, City have become a global force: Premier League champions, Champions League contenders, a team transformed. But in 2016, the club made a deliberate choice to return to its roots. The badge was redesigned, stripping away the eagles and stars of previous decades and going back to the fundamentals—ship, stripes, rose, and the year it all began.

The badge is, I have to admit, one of my favourites for adopting simplicity but without sacrificing meaning and powerful symbolism. It tells a story of mills and rivers, of canals and county pride, of a city that built itself from bricks, steam, and stubborn ambition. The ship sails forward. The rivers flow on. The rose blooms defiantly. And 1894 stands as a reminder that long before the trophies, there was a team trying to represent a city.

So next time you see that crest—on a shirt, a flag, a mural, or a cup final screen—remember what it means. It's not just design. It's Manchester. It’s a badge that carries the weight of a city’s past and the promise of its future.