The Yellow and Reds. The Wolves. La Magica. Few football clubs are so tightly bound to the identity of their city as Roma. Founded in 1927 through the merger of several Roman clubs, the idea was simple: create a footballing force powerful enough to challenge the wealthy giants of northern Italy. Since then, Roma have become one of Italy’s most passionately supported clubs, winning league titles, European trophies and producing legends such as Francesco Totti, the eternal captain who came to embody the city itself. But to understand Roma’s badge, you need to understand Rome. Most of you will be familiar with the legend that inspires the badge – but let’s go back and flesh it out a little. According to Roman legend, the city was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, sons of the god Mars. After being abandoned on the banks of the River Tiber by their jealous uncle, the babies were discovered and protected by a she-wolf who nursed them in her cave. The twins eventually overthrew their uncle and set out to found a new city — but after an argument over where it should be built, Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself: Rome. The wolf and the twins still sit proudly on Roma’s badge today, less a football logo and more a symbol of the entire Eternal City. From those mythical beginnings grew one of the most important civilisations in world history. Rome began as a republic around 509 BC after the overthrow of its kings. Power was shared between elected officials, senators and assemblies of citizens, creating a political system that would influence governments for thousands of years. Through military discipline, engineering brilliance and ruthless expansion, the Roman Republic spread across Italy and eventually much of the Mediterranean world. Roads, aqueducts, armies and laws tied together an empire unlike anything Europe had seen before. But republics can become unstable when they grow too large. By the first century BC, Rome was torn apart by corruption, inequality and civil wars between ambitious generals. Figures such as Julius Caesar gained enormous military and political power, weakening the republican system. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, further conflict followed until his adopted heir Augustus emerged victorious. In 27 BC he effectively transformed Rome from a republic into an empire ruled by one man — though the emperors were careful not to openly call themselves kings. Rome had moved from senate debates to imperial dictatorship, and the empire would dominate Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for centuries. Rome’s dominance did not last forever. In the 4th century AD, Emperor Constantine the Great transformed the empire by embracing Christianity after centuries of Roman persecution against Christians. He legalised the religion, supported the Church and founded a new eastern capital at Constantinople — modern Istanbul — closer to the empire’s richest trade routes and most threatened frontiers. Soon after, Emperor Theodosius I permanently divided the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, hoping it would be easier to govern and defend. Instead, the Western Roman Empire slowly collapsed under invasions, economic decline and political chaos, with Rome itself falling in 476 AD. Italy then fractured into rival kingdoms and powerful city states such as Venice, Florence, Milan and the Papal States. Yet Rome never truly disappeared. During the Renaissance, the city became one of Europe’s great artistic capitals once again, filled with the works of masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and countless ruins, statues and paintings ensured that even after the empire died, Rome still shaped the culture of Europe centuries later. That imperial legacy still runs through Roma today. The club’s deep red and golden yellow colours mirror the traditional colours of the city of Rome itself, representing Roman imperial dignity and power. Their nickname, I Lupi — “The Wolves” — comes directly from the founding myth, while the badge ties modern football to one of the oldest stories in European civilisation. More recent kits have simply used a simplified version of the wolf's head (see image). Roma are not just representing a football club when they take to the pitch. They are representing two and a half thousand years of mythology, empire, conflict and identity every time they step onto the pitch. Enjoyed discovering the history behind this badge? This story also appears in Wolsey Academy's Renaissance History curriculum, where students explore the people, places, ideas and events that shaped the Renaissance through enquiry-based lessons, projects and historical investigations. Teachers can browse the full collection at www.wolseyacademy.com/shop and receive 50% off any lesson bundle using the exclusive #GetTheBadgeIn code GTBI50.

Málaga Club de Fútbol, currently sitting 4th in the second tier of Spanish football at the time of writing, is a club that represents a city breathtaking in both its history and beauty. The team itself won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002 and reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2013, beating AC Milan and Porto before being stopped by German giants Borussia Dortmund by just a single goal. Since then, the club has faltered somewhat. However, with strong backing from their ownership group, led by Qatari royal Abdullah Al Thani (the Al Thani family are the ruling family of Qatar), they continue to push up the league table with their sights firmly set on a return to La Liga. The badge is a beauty. A shield split in two, with the club's name running diagonally across the middle alongside a football. The top half shows the stunning combination of Castle Gibralfaro, which leads down via a castle wall to the fortified palace known as the Alcazaba of Málaga. The lower half features the blue and white stripes of the club's on-field colours. There is a lot to unpack here. Málaga is the perfect city through which to tell the story of the wider Mediterranean, and therefore much of the Western world. Sitting on the south coast of Spain, it has been a vital trading, fishing and maritime centre for millennia. It can both export the goods of the Spanish interior and project power across the sea and onto the land. As such, it has long been a prize sought after by every empire that has sailed the waters of the Mediterranean. Founded initially by the Phoenicians, arguably the first large-scale Mediterranean trading empire, the city later came under the control of the Carthaginians, who themselves evolved from Phoenician settlements. These were the Tunisian-based rivals of Rome who famously sent their general, Hannibal, and his elephants through Spain and over the Alps into Italy, trampling Roman armies underfoot and causing all manner of trouble for the Roman Republic. After the Carthaginians were defeated, Málaga came under Roman rule until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths then took control of the remnants of Roman Spain, only to be displaced by Islamic armies advancing from North Africa. The hill overlooking the city takes its name from this period: Gibralfaro is derived from the Arabic Jabal Faruh, much as Gibraltar comes from Jabal Tariq. In Arabic, jabal means "mountain" or "hill". Islamic rulers governed Málaga for centuries (and their Islamic architecture can be seen throughout - see images) from their centre in Córdoba, until they were in turn defeated during the Reconquista by the forces of Isabella and Ferdinand. The conquest brought not only political change but also massacres and expulsions of parts of the Muslim population. It is quite a story, and the city's architecture today reflects these many influences, combining to create one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in Spain. The famous Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta visited the city in 1325 and described it as "one of the largest and most beautiful towns in Spain... abundantly supplied with foodstuffs and fruits". He praised its grapes, figs and almonds, noting that its "ruby-coloured Murcian pomegranates have no equal in the world". Another important export was its excellent gilded pottery. The town's mosque was large, with exceptionally tall orange trees in its courtyard. During the Spanish Civil War, Málaga served as a maritime headquarters for the legitimate Republican government in its struggle against General Franco. Franco ultimately prevailed, but not without assistance from his fascist allies. The Luftwaffe honed its large-scale bombing techniques on Spanish towns such as Guernica, while the Italian Navy sailed into Málaga and bombarded the port. Meanwhile, the British Royal Navy largely stood by as Britain's government pursued a policy of non-intervention. All of this changing of hands over the centuries has given Málaga a vibrant culture, rich with festivals and local traditions. One of these links directly to the club's nickname, Los Boquerones — "The Anchovies". The city's summer festival ends in early September with the "Burial of the Anchovy" ceremony and parade. In the days leading up to it, local chefs prepare and compete with dishes made from the city's famous delicacy: the anchovy. For centuries, local fishermen have brought abundant catches ashore, and the region remains renowned for its seafood. Hence this rather unusual festival. A giant papier-mâché anchovy is constructed and paraded through the city, carried by hundreds of people in masks and fancy dress before being taken to the beach. There, it is ceremonially set alight amid fireworks and celebrations. Symbolically, the event purges the excesses of the summer and marks the transition into the quieter winter months. Visually, it is quite spectacular. The new Málaga home shirt for the 2026–27 season pays tribute to this tradition, featuring a striking fish-scale pattern across the fabric, while the green and red trim references the colours of the regional flag. All in all, Málaga's history tells the story not just of Europe, but also of how wonderfully eccentric its people can be. I love it.

The Griffin. The Red and the Blues. The Old Fool. Founded in 1893, they are officially the oldest football club in Italy, and for large parts of the early game they dominated Italian football. But Genoa’s history has rarely been smooth. Periods of glory were followed by chaos, relegation, revival and collapse all over again. It was the great Italian journalist Gianni Brera who affectionately labelled them Il Vecchio Balordo — “The Old Fool” — a nickname that captured both the club’s age and its wonderfully unpredictable nature. To understand Genoa’s badge, you first need to understand the city itself. Genoa was not just another Italian port. For centuries it was one of the great maritime republics of Europe, competing with Venice, Pisa and Amalfi for control of Mediterranean trade. From the 11th century until the fall of the republic in 1797, Genoa built enormous wealth through shipping, banking and naval power. At its height it was one of the richest cities on Earth. Petrarch (famous scholar bloke – said to be the ‘father of the Humanities’) even nicknamed it La Superba — “The Proud One” or “The Superb One” — because of its grand palaces and dominance of the seas. That long maritime history explains much of the symbolism still attached to Genoa CFC today. The most obvious feature is the griffin. Half eagle and half lion, it symbolised strength and vigilance over both land and sea. According to local legend, the symbol was adopted after workers discovered a griffin statue while building Genoa’s defensive walls in the 9th century, with the creature becoming a protector of the city and its harbour ever since. A fitting image for a city whose merchants and sailors spread across the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Even today the griffin remains one of the defining symbols of the city itself, not just the football club. Then there are the team’s famous colours. Genoa’s famous red and blue halves are among the oldest and most recognisable shirts in Italy. The red cross of Saint George has long been tied to the city and its republic. Genoese ships carried the Cross of St George across the Mediterranean long before England became closely associated with it. According to tradition, the English even paid Genoa for the right to sail under the protection of the Genoese flag in dangerous waters. This seasons Genoa away kit is a giant St George’s cross – and the promo video was half shot in London to show that connection to the English and their shared patron Saint. Genoa as a city is simply remarkable: Christopher Columbus was born here. So too was the violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. Genoa created one of the world’s earliest banks, financed parts of the Spanish Empire, and helped shape Mediterranean commerce for centuries. Its narrow alleyways — the famous caruggi — still twist through one of the largest medieval old towns in Europe. The city’s influence extended to the Americas – its banks financed many of the expeditions to the New World. The Genoese trading networks stretched astonishingly far. Their ships sailed from Spain and North Africa to the Black Sea and the Crimea, where Genoa controlled colonies such as Caffa. This vast port became a key gateway between Europe and Asia, handling silk, spices, grain, timber, wax, furs and precious metals flowing in from the Silk Roads. Genoese merchants also traded enslaved people through the city’s markets and built enormous wealth through banking, maritime insurance and advanced credit systems that helped shape modern finance. Their shipbuilders developed fast and durable galleys that dominated Mediterranean trade for centuries, while some historians even credit Genoa with helping popularise blue jeans, named after the hard-wearing sailor cloth exported from the city itself. Caffa also became infamous during the Black Death, when plague is believed to have spread westwards aboard Genoese ships fleeing the besieged city in 1346. A sleeping maritime power with a phonemenal history of contributing to history and football. Affectionate. Frustrated. Proud. Ancient. Genoese. There’s more yet to come from the Old Fool I’m sure. Enjoyed discovering the history behind this badge? This story also appears in Wolsey Academy's Renaissance History curriculum, where students explore the people, places, ideas and events that shaped the Renaissance through enquiry-based lessons, projects and historical investigations. Teachers can browse the full collection at www.wolseyacademy.com/shop and receive 50% off any lesson bundle using the exclusive #GetTheBadgeIn code GTBI50.

Ancient city, from a culturally rich and unique island with a famous club that today is backed by one of the richest footballing stables in the world. Sounds like a winning mix right? Let's #GetTheBadgeIn and see what we can discover as we peek into the eagles' nest of Palermo. First things first - the team - they are currently in Serie B but have competed in Serie A and been in the UEFA Cup 5 times. They have tended to bounce between the two top leagues, having won the second-tier title on 5 occasions. While a historic - and iconic - team, they have not had the success of other Italian clubs like your Milans, Napolis or that other "Le Aquile" team based in Rome. Before we even dig into the wider history of Palermo and Sicily as a region - and the origin of their eagle - we need to appreciate the fantastic story behind the club’s own history. Founded in 1900 by English sailors and shipyard workers in Sicily, they named the team Anglo Palermitan Athletic and Football Club in 1900.They initially played in white and red shirts as a homage to the Union Flag and changed their name to Palermo Football Club a few years later. In 2025 Man City played them in a one-off Anglo Palermitan Trophy to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Sicilian club’s first ever fixture - played against a team of British sailors in 1900. That City have a ship - the sort that would have traded between Manchester and the Mediterranean - on their badge was quite fitting for the occasion. They are also famous for their pink kits. Today pink and black is a bit of a marketing gimmick - embraced by Inter Miami (tbf - this is in part in honour of their city's art deco past) but also used a lot in teams' third kits for fans who want to stand out a little more (or, perish the thought... "female fans" (the best pink third kit of all time of course being Ipswich's Ed Sheeran kit from 24/25)). Palermo got there first however. In 1907 they made the unconventional switch. The idea came from Count Giuseppe Airoldi, one of the club’s key founders. In a letter written on 2 February 1905 to English club official Joseph Whitaker, Airoldi described the colours as representing “the bitter and the sweet”. He joked that they perfectly suited a team whose fortunes were “as up and down as a Swiss clock”, while also pointing out that red and blue were already overly common across Italian football at the time. The club then faced an unexpected delay, having to wait three months for their new shirts because no suitable pink cotton flannel could be found in Palermo. Eventually, the material had to be imported from England before the kits could finally be produced. Palermo first wore the now-famous colours in a friendly match against the crew team of Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht, The Erin*, winning 2–1. Between 1936 and 1940, however, the club was forced to abandon pink and black under orders from the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Instead, they wore red and yellow, the official colours of the city of Palermo. Following a merger and refoundation in 1941, the team briefly switched to light blue shirts before returning to the hugely popular pink and black just a year later. But let's go back a bit - who was this rather un-Italian sounding Joseph Whitaker feller? Born in Huddersfield to a rich industrial and banking family, he grew up on his family's lands in Sicily - where they owned the famous Marsala vineyard (Marsala fortified wine is today an EU protected brand for its historical and cultural importance to Sicily). Whitaker quickly became a backer of the new football club - excited to see this "English" game he knew from his Huddersfield roots now being played in Sicily. And as a complete coincidence Whitaker became a renowned ornithologist (bird... expert?). He spent his time touring North Africa, collecting specimens and studying bird life. His collection of taxidermy birds can be seen today in the British Museum. That the team he helped start also carries a famous avian logo is pure coincidence - but a nice one. Right. Phew. This is turning into quite a tale - and we have yet to even get to the story behind the eagle itself. Let's quickly wrap the section about the club itself by simply noting that in 2019 the club was bought by City Football Group - headed by the UAE's Sheikh Mansour and who also own a stable of clubs - including Man City, Girona, New York City FC and a handful of others in places with emerging football leagues; like Australia, China, Brazil and India. Right then. The Eagle. Found on Palermo's coat of arms. Hence adopted by the club upon its formation. Fine. Fairly standard. But why then was there an eagle on Palermo's coat of arms in the first place? To answer that we need to go back about 2200 years. Give or take a day. Palermo was first settled by the Phoenicians around the 8th century BC. The Phoenicians were expert seafaring traders from the eastern Mediterranean, based around the cities of Tyre and Sidon in modern Lebanon. Rather than building one huge empire, they created chains of ports and colonies across the Mediterranean to control trade. Palermo’s enormous natural harbour made it ideal. They called the settlement Ziz, meaning “flower”, and used it as a stopping point for ships carrying metals, timber, dyes, glass and luxury goods between North Africa, Iberia and the Near East. Indeed, the Phoenicians spread the world's first fixed alphabet along with their trading. However, every empire has its day and when their influence began to fade, power shifted to one of their own colonies - Carthage in modern-day Tunisia. Taking on the Phoenicians' trading empire, they expanded - and gradually took control of Sicily’s western coast. Sicily became hugely important because it sat directly in the centre of Mediterranean trade routes. The island exported grain, olives and wine, while its ports allowed Carthaginian soldiers and sailors to dominate sea trade between Europe and Africa. That dominance eventually brought Carthage into conflict with the growing Roman Republic - who felt hemmed in by the ring of Carthaginian islands dotted around mainland Italy. The largest of which was Sicily. Palermo suddenly became the hottest real estate in this clash of civilisations. The struggle between Rome and Carthage became known as the Punic Wars, fought between 264 BC and 146 BC. The name “Punic” comes from the Latin word Punicus, meaning Phoenician (because the Romans correctly labelled the Carthaginians as descendants of the Phoenicians). In 254 BC, Rome besieged Palermo with a large fleet and eventually forced the city to surrender. Although the population was spared, they had to pay tribute to Rome to keep their freedom. Carthage did not give up easily. Commanders such as Hasdrubal and later Hamilcar Barca attempted to recover the city. Hamilcar even established a military camp on Monte Pellegrino, towering above Palermo, hoping to pressure the Romans and inspire revolt. Yet Palermo — now known by the Romans as Panormus, meaning “all harbour” — stayed loyal to Rome. As a reward for its loyalty, Palermo gained special privileges including the right to mint its own coins, a rare honour in Roman Sicily - it was also awarded new titles - and the right to its own Imperial Roman Eagle. And that ladies and gentlemen, is why the city's coat of arms still has it on there - it is a reward for being excellent Romans and fighting off aggressors. Little did they know at the time it would, 1850 years later, become the emblem for a local sporting team - playing in pink. Since then Palermo has remained one of the Mediterranean’s great crossroads. After the Romans came the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and Spanish rulers, each leaving their mark on the city’s language, architecture and culture. During the Arab period especially, Palermo became one of the wealthiest cities in Europe, famous for its gardens, citrus fruits, silk production and busy markets trading with North Africa, the Middle East and mainland Europe. Norman rulers later transformed it into a cosmopolitan royal capital where Latin, Greek and Arabic cultures mixed together. Even today, Palermo’s streets, churches, palaces and food still reflect centuries of Mediterranean trade, conquest and cultural exchange. Today the city still operates in this capacity, with it bringing in millions of tourists every year. The area is also heavily influenced by the Sicilian Mafia but, as far as I can tell, the football team has kept its nose clean and not indulged in anything to break the letter or spirit of the competition. So there you have it... Plamero. Strategic hub. City of trade, wine and defiance - a team built by English sailors and local dockers and supported by the very biggest of characters from the game's early history. And today, part of a stable of teams that are looking to dominate the world. *Lipton was born into poverty in Glasgow but worked his way up to become a great tea merchant (hence the Lipton brand...). He also loved his sailing and his football. He helped kick-start a swathe of teams in Latin America and Italy - the first ever international cup was the Lipton Trophy - won by Argentina who beat rivals Uruguay. He also arranged some of the first European domestic games - which is where West Auckland FC became famous - they won the cup. Anywho - in terms of Palermo his yacht, The Erin, was in harbour as the original team was looking for someone to play. Both Lipton and Whitaker sat side by side as they watched the yacht's crew play the Palermo side - sporting their pink and black for the first time. Enjoyed discovering the history behind this badge? This story also appears in Wolsey Academy's Renaissance History curriculum, where students explore the people, places, ideas and events that shaped the Renaissance through enquiry-based lessons, projects and historical investigations. Teachers can browse the full collection at www.wolseyacademy.com/shop and receive 50% off any lesson bundle using the exclusive #GetTheBadgeIn code GTBI50.

I’ve written over 300 of these #GetTheBadgeIn posts so far – and one thing I’ve learned is that is very often the most simple of the badges that represent the most complex stories. Bologna is one of those. Founded in 1909, Bologna became one of the giants of early Italian football. Seven league titles, Coppa Italia triumphs and periods where they were genuinely one of the strongest sides in Europe. During the 1930s they became so dominant that they earned the nickname “Lo Squadrone che Tremare il Mondo Fa” – “The Team That Shakes the World.” Not a bad reputation to have. Bologna has a fascinating origin story. Some clubs are formed by dockers, by factory workers – but this one – a little like the southern teams in England – were formed by students and academics. Bologna is a football club born from one of Europe’s great centres of learning. Because Bologna is known as the La Dotta - “The Learned One.” Long before football existed, Bologna was famous across Europe for education. The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is widely recognised as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Think about that for a second. Students were gathering here to study law, medicine, philosophy and theology while much of England was ablaze as the Normans slaughtered the northerners and built mud forts to keep an eye on the rest. Meanwhile, scholars were travelling to this beautiful Italian city to debate, argue, study and exchange ideas. And that atmosphere shaped the football club itself. Bologna FC was officially founded inside the Ronzani beer house in 1909 by a strange collection of football obsessives, students and foreigners. The official president was Swiss dentist Louis Rauch, but the true driving force behind the club was Emilio Arnstein, a young Bohemian football enthusiast who had arrived in the city a year earlier and immediately gone searching for others equally obsessed with this new British sport. Locals reportedly referred to the early footballers around the Prati di Caprara area simply as “Those crazy ones who chase a ball.” Many of those early crazy people were directly connected to the university and its international student communities. Among them were Spanish students from the famous College of Spain, including Antonio Bernabéu — brother of the future Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu. Right from the beginning Bologna FC was tied to student life, cosmopolitanism and the wider European exchange of ideas that had defined the city for centuries. Even the club colours carry traces of this story. The famous red and blue stripes came from a shirt worn by Bologna captain Arrigo Gradi who showed up to training sessions wearing the kit he was given while studying in Switzerland – and where he was first introduced to the game. But the colours quickly became perfectly tied to Bologna itself. The city is famously nicknamed La Rossa – “The Red One.” Partly because of the sea of terracotta rooftops and medieval red-brick architecture stretching across the city centre, but also because Bologna developed a long reputation for radical politics, intellectual debate and progressive thinking. The crest then combines Bologna’s red-and-blue stripes with the red cross on a white background of Saint George — the historic civic symbol of Bologna itself. Like many medieval Italian communes, Bologna adopted Saint George as a protector during the Middle Ages. The badge therefore merges two identities into one: the football club and the ancient city. Behind this badge however sits one of the most important intellectual movements in European, or indeed World, history. Because during the Renaissance, Bologna became one of the great centres of Humanism. Now admittedly “Humanism” sounds like the sort of word designed specifically to make teenagers fall asleep in history lessons (I should know – I am responsible for putting a good number to sleep during my own lessons). But it genuinely changed Europe. During much of the medieval period, education focused heavily on religious doctrine and accepting knowledge handed down through authority. Humanist scholars believed people should instead question things, compare sources, study languages, debate ideas and rediscover the ancient Greek and Roman world for themselves. They justified it by saying that if God had created man in his image - then studying man - rather than god - was simply another way of doing the same thing. Nice workaround. Some of the most famous examples of Renaissance Humanism can be seen in the works of figures like Leonardo da Vinci, whose studies of anatomy, engineering and art reflected a belief that humanity and nature could be understood through observation and reason; Michelangelo, whose sculptures and paintings celebrated realistic human beauty and emotion inspired by classical Greek and Roman ideals; and Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, who challenged traditional beliefs by using mathematics, experimentation and evidence to better understand the universe. Humanism also influenced literature through writers like Dante Alighieri and Petrarch, who encouraged people to study classical texts, human behaviour, politics and ethics rather than relying purely on religious authority. So inside Bologna’s lecture halls, scholars pored over the works of Cicero, Aristotle, Plato and Virgil looking for lessons on politics, morality, science, leadership and human behaviour. This movement helped create, and have the name we still use, to the modern humanities themselves: history, philosophy, politics, literature - all grew from this Renaissance obsession with understanding humanity rather than simply accepting inherited truths. And the list of names associated with Bologna is absurd. Figures connected to Bologna across the centuries included Dante Alighieri (author of The Divine Comedy, which helped shape the Italian language and blended Christian ideas with classical learning), Petrarch (the scholar who helped revive classical learning and lay the foundations for Renaissance Humanism), Nicolaus Copernicus (developer of the Sun-centred model of the universe) and Galileo Galilei (pioneer of modern scientific inquiry). Not bad. The city itself still visibly reflects this Renaissance identity. One of Bologna’s most famous landmarks is the Fountain of Neptune, built during the Renaissance and deliberately designed to evoke the gods and imagery of the classical ancient world that Humanist scholars were rediscovering inside the university. Centuries later Bologna FC even released a special Neptune-inspired kit linking the football club directly back to the city’s Renaissance heritage. And it gets away with it because Bologna is a football club born from lecture halls, medieval debates, libraries, wandering students and one of the greatest universities in human history. Up the Academicals of Bologna. Enjoyed discovering the history behind this badge? This story also appears in Wolsey Academy's Renaissance History curriculum, where students explore the people, places, ideas and events that shaped the Renaissance through enquiry-based lessons, projects and historical investigations. Teachers can browse the full collection at www.wolseyacademy.com/shop and receive 50% off any lesson bundle using the exclusive #GetTheBadgeIn code GTBI50.

Pisa Sporting Club. What a badge. No hiding from it. Does exactly what you would expect of it – so let’s dig a bit deeper and see if there is anything else hiding behind this other than that tower slightly on ‘the huh’ - as they'd say in my home county. Founded in 1909, Pisa became known as I Nerazzurri — “The Black and Blues” — because of their famous dark blue and black colours. They are also nicknamed I Torri — “The Towers” — for obvious reasons. The club have experienced dramatic highs and lows. Pisa won the Mitropa Cup twice during the 1980s under the charismatic ownership of Romeo Anconetani and spent periods competing in Serie A before suffering financial collapse and refoundation. Yet like the city itself, Pisa has repeatedly rebuilt. Their recent return to Serie A after 34 years feels fitting for a place deeply familiar with lost greatness and revival. So. Pisa. City on the west coast of Italy - for centuries it was famous not for that wonky tower – but being the centre of a rich, feared and powerful maritime empire. A seaborne trading power competing fiercely with Venice and Genoa for wealth, trade routes and influence. Its football badge still carries the symbols of that forgotten empire. Their badge contains two instantly recognisable symbols. The first is the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, originally constructed in the twelfth century as the bell tower for Pisa Cathedral. Built on unstable ground, it began leaning almost immediately – and instantly became famous around Europe. But the second symbol on the badge is arguably even more important historically: the white cross on a red background. This is the Pisan Cross, taken from the flag of the medieval Republic of Pisa. Unlike the plain Saint George’s Cross associated with England and Genoa, the Pisan version has rounded blobby bits on the end of each arm. During the Middle Ages it appeared on the sails, forts and banners of Pisa’s fleets, ports and forts. Like Venice and Genoa, Pisa was governed not by kings but by wealthy merchant families, councils and elected officials. These maritime republics consciously looked back toward Roman Republic ideals of civic government, trade, law and urban power. The maritime empire of Pisa stretched across much of the western Mediterranean during the Middle Ages, with influence over Sardinia, Corsica, parts of the Balearic Islands and trading ports in North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Pisan merchants and fleets were especially active in Crusader cities like Acre and in major trade hubs such as Constantinople. They traded goods such as grain, timber, iron, wool and Tuscan cloth in exchange for spices, silks, precious metals and luxury goods from the Islamic world and Asia. The city’s fleets participated in the First Crusade and later campaigns, transporting soldiers, pilgrims and supplies across the Mediterranean. But for Pisa, crusading was also business. Every victory opened up new ports, trading privileges and access to the rich markets of the Middle East and North Africa. At its peak, Pisa stood alongside Venice, Genoa and Amalfi (just the other side of Naples) as one of the four great maritime republics of Italy. The rivalry with Genoa would eventually prove fatal. In 1284, Pisa suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Meloria. Much of the Pisan fleet was destroyed and thousands of sailors were captured. The city never truly recovered its maritime dominance. Although I have to say the illustration of the battle looks incredible. Two groups of guys in bath tubs just hacking at each other with swords as they bob up and down next to each other - while one feller blows a horn - which I imagine was quite off-putting. Brutal stuff. Pisa however remained culturally important long after its political decline. The University of Pisa became one of Italy’s major centres of learning, most famously associated with Galileo Galilei. According to tradition, Galileo even carried out gravity experiments from the Leaning Tower itself. Like many Italian cities, Pisa became shaped by Renaissance ideas: classical learning, mathematics, engineering, scientific enquiry, humanism. Pisa Sporting Club ‘s badge tells an incredible story, from whatever angle you look at it.

I love European cities. I love coffee. I love cakes… I love Vienna. This shirt was made for me I feel. This year for the World Cup competition in the USA (boo), Austria have a glorious away kit. No fancy zigzags and meaningless designs like the Americans tend be so fond of. Instead, the shirt leans heavily into perhaps the most Viennese thing imaginable: coffee houses. White marble textures ripple across the fabric while subtle golden arch patterns stretch across the shirt. At first glace it may seem an odd combination but once you know what it is referencing, it is brilliant. The shirt is essentially trying to turn the famous coffee houses of Vienna into a football kit. Vienna’s coffee houses are not simply cafés in the modern sense, not identikit Starbucks restaurants (not that I have anything against a good Starbucks dark roast). These things are real cultural institutions. During the height of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna became one of Europe’s great imperial capitals. While London dominated finance and Paris often grabbed attention culturally, Vienna became known for intellectual life, music, architecture, diplomacy, and conversation - and much of that happened inside coffee houses. Places such as Café Central became gathering spots for writers, politicians, artists, revolutionaries, philosophers, and businessmen. Figures such as Freud, Trotsky, Tito, and countless composers and academics all passed through Vienna’s café culture at various points. You could sit for hours with a newspaper and a coffee while discussing politics, literature, war (or later – football) without anybody bothering you to leave. The marble effect on the shirt references the famous marble tabletops found in many of these cafés. The golden archway patterns meanwhile resemble the elegant curved interiors and entrances of Vienna’s grand coffee houses. I have been to Café Central myself and it genuinely does feel like stepping into a magical era. High ceilings, chandeliers, marble surfaces, waiters moving around in near silence, and cakes that look like they should be displayed in museums rather than eaten. My son’s favourite thing there was the pancakes — the Kaiserschmarrn, the famous shredded Austrian pancake dusted in icing sugar and served with plum compote. Very difficult to leave Vienna without consuming an irresponsible amount of them. Vienna itself is one of Europe’s more fascinating capitals because layers of history seem to pile on top of each other. Walk through the centre and you move between Roman foundations, medieval streets, plague memorials, imperial palaces, socialist housing projects, and grand 19th-century boulevards within minutes. One of the city’s most striking landmarks is the enormous Plague Column, or Pestsäule, standing in the middle of the Graben. Built after the devastating plague epidemic of 1679, a complex piece of Baroque architecture (so I am told) where clouds, angels, gold, and religious symbolism all appear to explode upwards toward the heavens. And that power mattered because Vienna sat at the frontier of Europe for centuries. Before the famous coffee houses emerged, the city had already become one of the most important defensive strongholds on the continent. In 1683 came the famous Battle of Vienna, when the Ottoman Empire attempted to capture the city after a huge siege. Had Vienna fallen, the balance of power in Europe may have looked very different. Instead, a relief force led by John III Sobieski arrived alongside German and Habsburg troops. The battle culminated in one of history’s most famous cavalry charges as the Polish Winged Hussars thundered downhill into the Ottoman lines. The Ottoman advance into Central Europe was effectively halted there. There is also a superb coffee-house connection to all of this. One popular legend claims that sacks of coffee beans abandoned by the retreating Ottomans helped fuel Vienna’s later coffee culture. Historians debate how true the story is, but it is far too good a story for Vienna not to keep telling it. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Vienna had become one of Europe’s great imperial capitals. The Habsburg Empire stretched across huge parts of Central and Eastern Europe, encompassing modern-day Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, and beyond. Vienna became a centre for classical music, diplomacy, science, philosophy, and architecture. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Mahler, and Strauss all became associated with the city. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 effectively helped redraw Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. That imperial legacy also appears on Austria’s football badge. The black eagle seen on the crest of Austria national football team is derived from the heraldry of the old Habsburg and Austrian imperial tradition. More specifically, it connects to the double-headed eagle long associated with the Holy Roman Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The eagle symbol itself goes back centuries and represented imperial authority, power, and sovereignty. The two heads traditionally symbolised authority looking east and west across the empire. Under the Habsburgs, the black eagle became one of the defining visual symbols of Austrian imperial rule. Modern Austria simplified the imagery after the fall of the empire following the First World War, but the eagle remained central to Austrian state identity. The current football badge uses a more streamlined version of this black eagle symbolism combined with Austria’s red-and-white shield. So even on a football shirt, there are echoes of emperors, imperial banners, and the long political history of Central Europe. Coffee. Cake. Culture. And Conquest. Sounds like a top night out.

Purdue University, tucked away in West Lafayette, Indiana — about one hour north of Indianapolis and two hours south of Chicago — boasts one of the best sporting names in the game. Comprising one of the original ‘Big Ten’ college teams, they are, of course, the Purdue Boilermakers. Like a lot of great nicknames, “Boilermakers” was originally an insult. After a brutal defeat to Wabash College in 1889, local newspapers and students described the Purdue players as oversized industrial workers — “blacksmiths”, “foundry hands”, “rail-splitters”, and eventually “burly boiler makers”. The students at Purdue embraced it, and today the Boilermakers are entrenched in local heritage and pride. To understand the name, you need to understand that Purdue University was born during the great age of American expansion. The university emerged from the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, a programme designed to create practical universities focused on agriculture, engineering, mechanics, and science rather than purely classical education. America in the late 19th century was industrialising at astonishing speed. Railroads were stitching together a continental nation. Steel mills, foundries, machine shops, grain elevators, bridges, and locomotive works transformed the Midwest into the engine room of the United States — and the world. Few inventions shaped American history more than the railroad. Before the railways, the United States was a collection of distant regions linked mainly by rivers and well-trodden tracks that would freeze or wash away in bad weather. Railroads unified the country economically and politically. They allowed Midwestern grain to reach eastern cities, coal and iron to fuel factories, cattle to move from the plains to Chicago slaughterhouses (hence the Chicago Bulls), and migrants to spread westward. Time zones themselves were standardised largely because rail companies needed reliable scheduling. Entire towns existed because tracks passed through them; others died when they did not. The railroads also created a distinct American mythology. The locomotive became a symbol of progress, strength, noise, smoke, and unstoppable momentum. Industrial workers who forged boilers, riveted steel plates, and maintained engines became folk heroes of the machine age. The now controversial painting American Progress — showing European settlers advancing across the Great Plains of America, represented by Lady Liberty, with trains behind her and Native Americans scattering ahead of her — reflected this belief that trains built the modern USA. To be called a “Boilermaker” in the 1890s, then, was a backhanded compliment for a football team — it suggested toughness and industrial masculinity. Purdue’s footballers looked less like refined scholars and more like men who had stepped directly out of a locomotive workshop. What was the local connection between trains and Purdue then? To answer that, we have to look at the Monon Railroad. The Monon, opened in 1847 — formally the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway — operated almost entirely inside Indiana and became woven into the identity of the state. Its lines linked Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, and the industrial towns between them. More importantly, it connected universities. Purdue, Wabash, Butler, Indiana University Bloomington, and DePauw University all sat along Monon routes. Student traffic was so important that the company painted rolling stock in university colours. Purdue’s black and gold eventually appeared on Monon locomotives themselves. In Europe, universities were often medieval institutions tied to cathedrals or royal courts. In Indiana, they partnered with rail yards, engineering shops, and freight lines — sending their students to get hands-on experience in industry. The Monon trains famously ran straight down the middle of streets in several Indiana towns. It developed its own unusual crossing signals where a green light stayed on permanently unless a train approached — drivers were warned to “STOP when signal is out”. The university’s mascot reflects all of this history. Purdue’s official mascot, the Boilermaker Special, is a road-going locomotive styled after a 19th-century steam engine. The name of the university itself lies with John Purdue. Purdue began as a high school teacher before buying land and entering the farming business. Rather than being a farmer, however, he turned his hand to becoming a broker between local farmers and buyers. He supplemented this business by opening a general store. He dabbled in all sorts of local investments — including part-funding a wooden toll bridge over a local river. When the American Civil War broke out, his ‘dry goods stores’ suddenly became essential suppliers to the Union Army and the profits began to roll in. Local Confederate sympathisers, however, began raiding his sites at night, so Purdue recruited a 100-strong regiment, known as the ‘Purdue Rifles’, to provide protection for his logistics operations. From the very beginning, Purdue was an active citizen, contributing to local good causes and initiatives. When a site for a new university under the Morrill Land-Grant Act was up for debate, a bidding war broke out to attract the new university to the local area. Purdue stepped up with $100,000 of his own money to bring the deal home — but only on the condition that the university bore his name. It became one of the defining engineering institutions in the United States. Its practical focus perfectly matched the industrial economy around it. Purdue students did not merely study engineering in theory — they worked directly with machinery. Between 1891 and 1897, the university even maintained a fully operational steam locomotive for research and training. That fact alone probably helped people believe the legend that Purdue footballers were secretly railroad workers drafted in from nearby yards. The colours of the Purdue Boilermakers — old gold and black — resemble coal dust, brass fittings, locomotive metalwork, and the grime of the machine age. And that is really why the nickname has endured. “Boilermakers” does not simply refer to a football team. It represents an entire era of American history: railroads crossing the Midwest, engineering workshops roaring with noise, practical universities training industrial specialists, local philanthropists funding improvements, and the belief that technology and hard work could build a nation. They’re the best of America.

Salford in Greater Manchester who currently play in League Two (although on the 25th May this year have a chance to win promotion at Wembley against Notts County. Founded in 1940 as Salford Central, the club spent many years in local and non-league football before climbing steadily through the divisions. Their rise was turbo boosted after a 2014 takeover by former Manchester United F.C. players Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes, later joined by David Beckham. Salford play at the Peninsula Stadium, traditionally wore tangerine and black colours, and are nicknamed “The Ammies”, a reference to their former name, Salford Amateurs. So that's the club - what of their badge and their heritage? Well, before Manchester became the giant that dominated north-west England, Salford was actually the more important settlement. In the medieval period, Salford functioned as the main market town of the area, while Manchester was smaller and less economically significant. Salford’s position on the River Irwell and its early market rights helped it develop first, with trade and local governance centred there long before industrial Manchester exploded into global prominence. The city's coat of arms features two lions as 'supporters' (holding up the shield) - and it is from there that Salford City FC as has always taken the lion on its badge. The recent rebrand has switched which lion is used - picking the left hand one so it is looking forwards, rather than backwards. Over time, however, Manchester’s textile boom, railway links, and commercial expansion eventually overtook its older neighbour, gradually absorbing it into the shadow of the much larger city next door. Yet Salford remained a hugely important industrial centre in its own right. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the city had become one of Britain’s great factory districts, heavily focused on cotton and silk spinning and weaving during the Industrial Revolution. Chimneys, mills, warehouses, and workers’ terraces dominated the skyline. The opening of Salford Docks in 1894 transformed the city further, making it a major inland port connected directly to the sea through the Manchester Ship Canal. Goods from across the world passed through the docks, helping fuel the wider industrial economy of Lancashire. The two circles on the bage are supposed to reflect the Salford gas works - two large gasholders - which for a century dominated the view in and out of the city. They were discontinued in 2013 and torn down in 2019. But for more than a hundred years they were a landmark and made their way into the famous song 'Dirty Old Town' first performed by Salford song writer Ewan MacColl and then later the Pogues. This has now become the official club anthem played every match day. But like many industrial British cities, Salford suffered badly during the 20th century. The collapse of heavy industry, the decline of the docks, and deindustrialisation left large areas run-down and associated with poverty, crime, and social deprivation. Vast slum clearance programmes began as early as the 1930s, with terraces demolished and communities reshaped through waves of regeneration projects. One hang over from this industrial past can be seen in the rose, held by the lion on the badge. It is taken from the Salford Lads' Club. Opened in 1903 and funded by local businessmen it was designed as a social space and recreation area for young boys in the area to 'keep them out of trouble'. Fittingly, at the opening the guest of honour was Baden Powell - the founder of the Scouts movement. The club offered sports like boxing and football to the residents of the poorer areas of Salford. It still operates today and holds an annual camp each year. Over its more than a century of operation it has provided invaluable support and guidance to generations of locals. In recent decades Salford has undergone another transformation. The redevelopment of the former docklands into Salford Quays and MediaCityUK helped reinvent part of the city as a modern media and digital hub. From 2007 onwards, major organisations including the BBC and ITV Granada established major bases there. Alongside them sit institutions such as the University of Salford, Salford City F.C., and Salford Red Devils. From its origins as the local trading market town, to the very heart of the industrial revolution and into the new digital age - its people have kept the city flourishing - organising thesmelves to bring along even the poorest and most vulnerable as they went. That is a superb heritage to celebrate every match day.

Tonight Sports Club Freiburg will take to the pitch at Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul to play in their first ever European final - for a chance to win the Europa League Trohpy. England's historic Aston Villa stand in their way. Freiburg have been on supreme form in Europe this season as they're progressed to the final, making short of work of Belgium's Genk (5-2), Spain's Celta Vigo (6-1) and Portugal's Braga (4-3). But who are they? They aren't the most famous of German teams - they only made it into the top flight of German football in 1994 (exactly 100 years after the original club was formed). They’ve had some highs, finishing 3rd in 1996. During that time they earned the nickname Brazilians of Breisgau (Freiburg's full name being "Freiburg im Breisagau"2) for their free flowing and attacking style of football. Since then they’ve apent then last 30 years being the bounce back kings - being relegated a handful of times but coning right back up at the first attempt - they’ve also played a good number of UEFA and Europa League cup games in that time too. So that's the club - let's #GetTheBadgeIn and dog a bit deeper into who Freiburg really are. On their badge - in their black and white colours - you can clearly see their initials - SCF. A reminder that in Europe most teams called Sporting Club rather than Football Club usually are a larger organisation that field teams in other sports like basketball too. Although in this instance I can't see any additional teams beyond their woman's team. Someone correct me if im wrong. The most striking thing about the badge is the stylised griffen's head on the top half of the oval. So the question is... why the griffen? The griffen is taken from the Baden-Württemberg coat of arms - the "Bundesland" (State) in which Freiburg sits. The griffen is the left hand supporter of the shield. It is also used in other local symbols like the nearby Ganter brewry - which actually has a stylised griffen head that is almost identical to the one used on the Freiburg badge. So where actually is Freiburg? It is nestled in the bottom South-West corner of Germany near the French and Swiss borders. It's name goes back to its founding when it was formed to be a "Free Town" (Frei - Burg). It was in the perfect place for trade - being at the meeting of several rivers and roads that came up from the Mediterranean and those that come down from the North Sea - it also provides great access to the Black Forest which today brings in North Face clad tourists with thermo flasks but used to provide timber and furs for trade. It also had one other secret ingredient- local silver mines. So much silver was dug out of the local quarreys that the town soon became one of the richest in Europe and boasted its own mint from which it made coins. This led to the building of the iconic red merchant hall in the town centre which is still there today. All this success attracted the interests of the Gods - or just the one God I suppose - and the city erected the incredible Freiburg Minster cathedral which dominates the city skyline and oozes gothic beauty. It then was further boosted when it founded its university which, starting in 1457, is one of Germany's oldest. The residents of Freiburg have always been a resourceful bunch - despite the city's great strategic location it suffered from a deep water table (e.g. only really deep wells would provide water). To solve this problem, starting as far back as 1100, locals began channeling small gulleys into their road network which channeled water from the Dreisam river into the town. This unique irrigation system, known as the Freiburg Bächle, still exist today and are a tourist draw. Legend has it if you accidently stand in one you are destined to marry a local. Which sounds like quite a burden for the locals to have to deal with to be honest. The city today still retains its medieval beauty despite having experienced several wars over the centuries as Asutrian Habsburgs, the French - and more recently RAF Bomber Command - did their best to level the place. Fortunately it has been rebuilt to its old designs and plans (which is where Britain went wrong - we rebuilt on the cheap with giant 50s and 60s style concrete monstrosities packed with abestos - Germany decided to rebuild its medieval charm). Beginning the 1990s the city adopted strict sustainability criteria for all new buildings and has become a centre of the local solar ans green economices with lots of companies and international organisations based withij the city limits. So there we have it. The good men and women of Freiburg. From silvermines to irrigated road networks to medieval gothic beauty to solar panels and green tech - all in just a thousand years. And tonight - the silverminers of Free Town hope to bring home some footballing silverware too.

One of the giants of African football. Founded in 1908 in the city of Omdurman (on the left bank of the Nile, just opposite Khartoum, the capital), Al-Merrikh SC have won both the Sudanese title and Sudan Cup 19 times each. In 1989 they became the only Sudanese club ever to win a major continental trophy when they lifted the African Cup Winners’ Cup, defeating Bendel United FC of Nigeria. Their rivalry with neighbours Al-Hilal Club is one of the fiercest in Africa, with the two clubs separated only by Al-Ardha Street in Omdurman itself (Al-Merrikh means ‘Mars’ and Al-Hilal means ‘Crescent Moon’ – so this is a rivalry on a planetary scale!) More recently, though, the club has become symbolic of something larger than football. Because of the ongoing war in Sudan, Al-Merrikh have been forced to temporarily play league football in Rwanda. Recently they have been managed by former Newcastle United F.C. midfielder, and now Hartlepool boss, Lee Clark. Their badge is dominated by red and yellow. The red reflects both the club’s name (Mars) and the club’s nickname, “The Red Castle” (their ground), but the centrepiece is the yellow star. Across the region, stars often symbolise guidance, hope and national aspiration. On the flag of South Sudan, the same golden star is often referred to as the “Bethlehem Star”, representing a guiding light leading people forward. It fits Al-Merrikh perfectly. This is a club that, for many Sudanese, represents their efforts to navigate forwards through the turmoil of recent decades. In older Arabian mythology, Mars was linked to harshness, war and the unforgiving nature of the desert itself. There is something strangely appropriate about this club, forged in political upheaval and civil conflict, carrying the name of the red planet. The club itself began life in 1908 as Al-Masalma Sporting Club, founded by students from the Al-Masalmah district studying at Gordon Memorial College in Omdurman. This suddenly English-sounding name matters because it reveals a story about the very origins of the Sudanese state. During the 1880s, Sudan was engulfed by the Mahdist uprising, a massive religious and nationalist revolt led by Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi against Egyptian and Ottoman rule. The rebellion culminated in the siege of Khartoum and the death of Charles George Gordon in 1885. Gordon was an experienced soldier who had fought in Crimea and led a unit of Chinese irregulars to put down the Taiping Rebellion. He was ordered to go to Khartoum and evacuate Westerners ahead of the Mahdist advance. Overstepping his orders, he first evacuated the civilians but then remained with a small group of soldiers to try and negotiate with al-Mahdi. However, these talks failed and al-Mahdi laid siege to Gordon and his men inside Khartoum. Gordon organised the resistance and held out for a year before the Sudanese forces finally took the city, killing Gordon in the process. It was one of the defining imperial disasters of the Victorian age. Al-Mahdi himself died shortly after his victory and was buried at the UNESCO site of the Mahdi’s Tomb. The Mahdists, now led by the Khalifa, one of the Mahdi’s most loyal followers, found themselves in a strategically important position – by controlling the upper Nile they could exert pressure on Egypt, technically in Ottoman hands at the time but heavily influenced by the British. Doing that put pressure on Britain’s access to the Red Sea through Suez – which was always something of a red line for the British. They would fight and die to protect it. The British response came through Herbert Kitchener (the same fellow who was later brought out of retirement during the First World War to lead the recruitment campaign – it is his moustached face on the famous “Your Country Needs You” posters). In 1898, after constructing military railways across the desert and advancing south with overwhelming firepower, Kitchener defeated the Mahdist forces at the Battle of Omdurman. Sudan then became part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan under effective British control. But empire was not built only with armies. It was also built with schools, railways, administration and sport. Gordon Memorial College was one of the flagship institutions of Kitchener’s reforms. Opened in 1902 and named after Gordon himself, it was designed to train a new Sudanese administrative and professional class. Engineering, surveying, teaching, law and clerical work were all taught there. The British brought with them the working man’s game of football, already deeply embedded in industrial Britain by this point. Like so many clubs across Africa and Asia, Al-Merrikh emerged from that collision between colonial education systems and local identity. Over time the club evolved far beyond those origins. Football in Sudan became a vehicle for civic pride, nationalism and mass identity. Al-Merrikh were no longer simply a team formed by students under colonial reforms. They became representatives of Omdurman, then representatives of Sudan itself. Their victories in continental competition carried enormous significance for a country often overlooked internationally except in times of famine, war or political upheaval. Even the city of Omdurman carries layers of symbolism. It was the capital of the Mahdist State after Khartoum fell. It was here that the Mahdi’s revolutionary Islamic state ruled Sudan before the British reconquest. The streets around Al-Merrikh’s stadium were once at the centre of one of the great anti-colonial movements of the nineteenth century. Then, a generation later, those same streets helped produce one of Africa’s oldest football clubs. The city has grown since these colonial days into the beating heart of an independent and powerful Sudan. Souq Omdurman is one of the largest street markets in the world and shows how important the city, Sudan’s second largest, is for trade and culture – with the River Nile and a series of important roads intersecting within the city. Tragically, the market is currently closed and, in large parts, gutted by the recent civil war. But the spirit of Omdurman will return – the essential ingredients for success have not left. While the football team has had to pack up and leave for foreign leagues, the guiding star of Bethlehem will surely bring the team of Mars back to its Red Castle before long. They have a nation to make proud.

Inter Milan. Italian giants. Nay — global giants. One of the most recognisable football clubs on Earth. I do a deep dive #GetTheBadgeIn on the club itself elsewhere. But in this post I wanted to look at something else. A symbol that appears all over Inter kits, third strips, marketing campaigns, and social media — despite not actually being the club badge. The snake. Or, more specifically, the Biscione. To understand why a giant serpent swallowing a bloke appears across the branding of one of Europe’s biggest football clubs, we need to head back into the history of Milan itself. And Milan has quite the history. During the Renaissance it became one of the great city states of Italy, ruled for long periods by the Visconti and later Sforza dynasties. Sitting in the wealthy plains of northern Italy, Milan became rich through trade, banking, metalwork, and warfare, developing into both an economic and military powerhouse. It also became one of the great centres of Renaissance learning and culture, attracting figures such as Leonardo da Vinci. When researching Milan, one family name kept appearing over and over again: the Sforzas. So who were they? The Sforzas were one of the great ruling families of Renaissance Italy. Originally rising through military service as powerful mercenary commanders — known as condottieri — they eventually took control of Milan during the 1400s after the decline of the Visconti family. Under rulers such as Francesco Sforza and Ludovico Sforza, Milan became famous for its armies, architecture, and patronage of artists, scientists, and engineers. One of those artists was, of course, Leonardo da Vinci. It was Ludovico Sforza, often known as Ludovico il Moro, who became Leonardo’s great patron in Milan. Leonardo worked for him for around 17 years from the early 1480s onwards. During that period he painted works such as The Last Supper, designed military machines and weapons, organised festivals, worked on engineering schemes, and generally behaved like the sort of absurdly talented overachiever that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Under Ludovico, Milan became one of the great cultural capitals of the Renaissance. The clearest reminder of Sforza influence in the city today is the vast Sforza Castle — Castello Sforzesco. Originally built on the site of an older Visconti fortress, it became both a military stronghold and a grand ducal palace. Leonardo himself worked on decorative and engineering projects there. Today it still dominates central Milan, packed with museums, towers, courtyards, and artworks, including Michelangelo’s unfinished Rondanini Pietà. So that’s the family. What of the snake? Well, the snake actually predates the Sforzas entirely. The famous serpent — the Biscione — originally belonged to the Visconti family, the dynasty that ruled Milan before the Sforzas arrived. The image usually shows a giant snake or dragon swallowing a human figure, and over time it became one of the defining symbols of Milan itself. When the Sforzas took over the city, they inherited much of the prestige and symbolism associated with the Viscontis — including the snake. As a result, the Biscione became deeply linked with Milanese identity, nobility, power, and the ruling elite of the city state. They placed it on their family coat of arms the the symbols appear all over Milan today. Why a snake? Nobody really knows. Some believed the Biscione came from a legend in which a Visconti knight killed a giant serpent near Milan. Others thought the figure inside the snake symbolised rebirth rather than being eaten. Historians have also linked it to ancient Roman or pagan snake symbolism, or suggested it represented the defeat of enemies during the Crusading era. Whatever the origin, the symbol endured. And it still appears all over modern Milan today. Inter absolutely love using the snake motif on special kits and branding campaigns, but another place you have almost certainly seen it — probably without realising — is on the badge of Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan in 1910 and its badge directly reflects the city’s history. One half shows the red cross of Milan, while the other features the famous Biscione serpent of the Visconti family. Even the name “ALFA” originally stood for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili — literally “Lombard Automobile Factory”. The company was originally just called ALFA until engineer and businessman Nicola Romeo took control of the firm during the First World War. His surname was then added in 1920, creating the name Alfa Romeo. So there we have it. Inter Milan are not just carrying a fashionable modern symbol on their shirts, but one tied directly to centuries of Milanese history, warfare, dynasties, Renaissance politics, and civic pride. The snake of Milan has survived dukes, empires, industrialisation, and the modern football marketing department. And frankly, it still looks brilliant on a football shirt. So there you have it – the snake of Milan has survived empires, dukes, and industrial revolutions — and today still slithers proudly across football kits and sports cars alike.