New York City FC

At first glance, this one is another soulless logo. A vain attempt to create a funky-looking logo that mimics the New York Yankees' famous "interlocking monogram" badge that adorns a gazillion baseball caps around the world.

That the club is now also part of the City Group and appears to follow the round crest template used by Manchester City, Melbourne City, Montevideo City, etc., etc. (check them all out - they have a standard-looking "corporate style") doesn't fill the heart with much hope that there is a cracking story to tell behind this badge.

But hold your horses - well, hold your horseless underground carriages, to be more precise.

Because despite my initial scepticism, the designers here have been a lot smarter than one would think.

So, without further ado, let's #GetTheBadgeIn for the MLS' New York City FC.

Firstly, let's go back to those letters. Redesigned in 2024, this typeface is unique to the club, but is based on and inspired by the same tiled typeface used in NYC subway station signs dating back to the 1940s. This is perfectly fitting, as the round design itself was, when created by Rafael Esquer (the designer who also made the Houston Rockets' logo), based on the iconic New York City subway token.

I admit I'd never heard of these things until writing this. Introduced in 1953, the idea was that people would buy a bunch of these tokens to insert into the turnstile machines to allow entry - and this meant that the price of the token could fluctuate without forcing people to insert the exact change while holding everyone else up. They were discontinued in 2003 and now, obviously, everyone uses contactless cards or phones to pay their fare. These copper coins, with their large Y engraved on the front - millions were in circulation - have now become collectors' items. eBay and local shops are awash with jewellery and cufflinks made from them.

If you were going to link the club to any institution in NYC that embodies the heart and soul of the city, the subway is probably it.

Formed in 1904, it is the largest (by station count) public transport network in the world - and one of the world's oldest. Aside from the sheer engineering marvel of the subway, it is also a cultural phenomenon. The NYC subway buskers are world-famous, and the "Subway Series" is a term for baseball games between the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees - all of which can be reached via the subway. During November and December, a special "Nostalgia" train is run on Sundays using old carriages and rolling stock from the 1930s and 40s that are still preserved and kept usable.

The two pentagons on either side of the badge are also a nod to the old subway token. The last batch issued contained a cut-out pentagon in the centre, which alluded to the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.

Manhattan is the city's financial and cultural centre, Brooklyn is known for its arts scene and diverse neighbourhoods, Queens is celebrated for its multicultural communities and international cuisine, the Bronx is famous as the birthplace of hip-hop and home to the New York Yankees, while Staten Island is quieter, with a more suburban feel, historic sites and the famous Staten Island Ferry.

The last aspect of the badge to mention is the colour scheme – based on the NY flag colours – blue, white and orange – which in turn derives from New York's link to the Netherlands. As we all know, New York began as New Amsterdam – a Dutch colony.

The short version is that the British and Dutch had been fighting a series of wars against each other during the 1600s – the two North Sea powers had both built vast merchant fleets and powerful banking institutions, which were doing a grand job of building trading posts and colonies around the globe to enrich themselves. Their main problem was each other – they kept getting in each other's way.

The Third Anglo-Dutch War ended in 1674 with a treaty that saw New Amsterdam officially transferred to the British – overseen by Charles II's brother, James, Duke of York. Hence "York".

The city (well, a small outpost at the head of the Hudson River at this time) was becoming increasingly important because it linked England's northern and southern American colonies. On the other hand, the Dutch were more interested in protecting their immensely profitable Asian spice empire.

Through the Dutch East India Company, they controlled much of the global spice trade, particularly nutmeg and cloves. The small volcanic islands of the Banda Islands were among the only places in the world where nutmeg naturally grew, making them extraordinarily valuable in the 17th century. They were more valuable than oil is today, per tonne.

Looking back, the exchange seems like a remarkable deal for the British. Today, New York is one of the world's most influential and richest cities, while the spice trade no longer really exists. But in 1674, few could have predicted that. At the time, spices were among the most valuable commodities on Earth, and Dutch leaders viewed this as a good deal – they believed they had got the better end of it. A collection of small buildings on a soggy little island in North America in exchange for the richest spice islands in the world.

History, however, had other ideas – and today New York is home to around 20 million people if you take in its wider urban area. It contributes $1.3 trillion to the US economy and is still one of the world's top tourist destinations (despite Trump doing his level best to deter people these days).

So there you have it – New York City FC. A well-funded team in the heart of the city that has funded much of the world's development over the last hundred or so years. They already have a trophy, the MLS Cup in 2021, and only a fool, or a Dutchman, would bet against them adding to the tally in the future.

A tale of treaties, trains and trophies – not bad for what, at first glance, looks like an unremarkable badge.