S.S.C. Napoli

S.S.C. Napoli is one of Italy’s most well-supported and most successful clubs, based in the city of Naples, in the country’s south. Its badge – a plain white “N” inside a blue circle – has become one of the most recognisable in the game. Officially adopted in the 1970s, the design is simple and clear - but there's nothing straight forward about Naples.

The team was set up, like many Italian teams, by an Englishman. He was a sailor who visited Naples and stayed - he was called Hector Bayon and together with some local friends they established the Naples Foot-Ball & Croquet Club in 1905. They played in sky blue from day 1.

The blue used in the badge contrasts sharply with the red and yellow of Naples’ city flag, and may symbolise the sea and sky that surround the city. While understated in style, the badge sits in a city shaped by dramatic geography – notably Mount Vesuvius (e.g. the bad boy that wiped out Pompeii), and has left a lasting mark on the region’s culture and mindset.

Naples has always stood slightly apart from the rest of Italy. The city is a major Mediterranean port and has long held strategic, economic, and cultural importance – often punching above its weight despite economic challenges. Today it’s home to the Allied Joint Force Command Naples, NATO’s key southern headquarters.

When the football club was founded northern Italian teams, particularly from Milan and Turin, dominated the domestic scene. Naples offered a different story – less industrial, more chaotic, but also deeply passionate.

That independent streak can be traced back to the history of the Kingdom of Naples, which from the 13th to the 19th century operated as a sovereign state. Naples was not simply a city – it was a capital. It headed the largest Italian state before unification - The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies - which included much of mainland Southern Italy and Sicily.

Governed at various times by the French Angevins, Spanish Aragonese, and the Bourbon dynasty, the city developed its own cultural identity. Following Italy’s unification in 1861, many in the south felt economically and politically sidelined - there was even a guerilla resistance to rule from Rome - fostering a regional pride that persists today.

Napoli, like Newcastle in England, is a one club city. No cross city rivals exist in the major leagues so the fanbase, drawn from the nearly 3 million that live in the area, is devoted and sees the club and city as one.

That pride found new expression in 1984 with the arrival of Diego Maradona. His time at Napoli marked the club’s most successful era. With Maradona, the club won its first ever Scudetto in 1987, followed by a UEFA Cup, a Coppa Italia, and a second Scudetto in 1990. These titles were significant not only for the club, but for southern Italian football as a whole, challenging the dominance of northern teams.

After Maradona’s departure, Napoli entered a long period of decline, which included relegation and eventual bankruptcy in 2004. Film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis re-founded the club and began a steady rebuild. Over the following years, Napoli returned to the top flight and eventually claimed their third Scudetto in 2023 under manager Luciano Spalletti, with standout players such as Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. They won it again last year. The Scudetto, as a reminder, is the shield featuring the Italian colours that the reigning champions get to sew onto their kits for the next season.

The 2023 winning season’s awau kit also included a subtle depiction of Vesuvius behind the crest.

Napoli’s badge may be simple, but it represents a city with its own distinct history, a club with deep local roots, forged on the edge of a volcano but visitijg sailors and a city that is proudly behind it.

So let’s #GetTheBadgeIn for Napoli.

Because sometimes, a single letter is enough.