Every soccer club is formed to serve and represent their local area, and a lot of work goes into the design of their badge, logo or crest to do that job.
The world of graphic design is not always obvious though, so interpreting these badges is not always easy. It’s usually fascinating though. Like a piece of art, the longer you look at it, the more you see.
A soccer club’s crest can contain references to the local area, the club’s history, the landscape or industrial past – anything really. The amount of detail and planning that goes into them is immense.
Every tiny decision has been considered:
- The colors
- The shape
- The detailing
- The words
- The imagery
- The style
You can pick out any minute aspect of an MLS club’s badge and there will be a reason it is the way it is.
Much of the time all of this work goes unnoticed, even by fans of the clubs, but it is all significant. I started to wonder about the cultural significance of MLS club badges so I did some research and this is what I found.
What Each Club’s Logo Means
Here, in alphabetical order, we have a rundown of what each MLS club’s logo means.
Many of these clubs have been through numerous crest redesigns over the years, but I am talking about the current designs. Saying that, I have mentioned anything significant which is a throw back to older designs.
Some crests are steeped in history and meaning, others are nothing more than commercials or the fantasies of the club owners.
Which is your favourite?
Atlanta United FC
- Description: A circular badge with a bold black “A” at the center, surrounded by alternating red and black stripes. The name “Atlanta United” is inscribed in gold around the circle.
- Colors: Black, red, gold.
- Cultural Significance: The gold “A” symbolizes Atlanta’s strength. It is rooted to the circle which represents never ending unity, community, and passion for the club and city. The five black and red stripes represent the pillars of Atlanta’s character: Unity, Determination, Community, Excellence, and Innovation. They also look like train tracks, a nod to the city’s history as a railroad town.
Austin FC
- Description: A minimalist black shield with a vibrant green depiction of two oak trees intertwined, their branches spreading upward. “Austin FC” is written in a bold sans-serif font at the top.
- Colors: Green, black.
- Cultural Significance: The oak trees symbolize strength and rootedness, nodding to the city’s environmental values. The two intertwined trunks signify the connection between the team and its community, the four roots signify the four areas of the city (North, East, South and West) and the eleven leaves signify the 11 players on the pitch.
Charlotte FC
- Description: A blue crown centered within a black circle, surrounded by the club’s name in white text. The crown features four distinct points.
- Colors: Blue, black, white.
- Cultural Significance: The crown represents Charlotte’s nickname, “The Queen City,” and its four points symbolize the city’s historical four wards. The badge is inspired by the image of a coin, since Charlotte minted US currency in the 1800s. The words ‘Minted 2022’ are another nod to this and the club’s first MLS season.
Chicago Fire FC
- Description: A thin dark blue outer circle contains a thicker light blue inner circle with four symmetrical indentations. A red “C” at the center is filled with a six-pointed red star.
- Colors: Red, blue, white.
- Cultural Significance: The six-pointed star references Chicago’s municipal flag, while the “C” is a nod to the city’s iconic fire department logo. It is also designed using a grid system with 45-degree and 90-degree angles, just like Chicago itself after the great fire of 1871. This is where the club gets its name. The color scheme is borrowed from the city’s flag.
Colorado Rapids
- Description: A diamond-shaped badge with a maroon mountain peak and a blue water droplet at the center. The club’s name and founding year are inscribed in white text.
- Colors: Burgundy, blue, white.
- Cultural Significance: The mountain reflects the Rockies, and the water droplet symbolizes the Colorado River, crucial to the state’s geography. The badge emphasizes the team’s connection to its natural surroundings.
Columbus Crew
- Description: A shield featuring a bold black-and-gold checkerboard pattern and a stylized “C” at the center. “Columbus” is inscribed above the shield and ‘SC’ below with a number 96 at the bottom right.
- Colors: Black, gold, white.
- Cultural Significance: The shield is actually in the shape of the flag of the state of Ohio, while the fact it is a checker flag represents the diversity of the fans. The “C” represents the Crew as well as the Columbus, while the number 96 represents the year the club was formed.
FC Cincinnati
- Description: A shield with an orange lion holding a sword on a blue background. “Cincinnati” is written diagonally in white.
- Colors: Orange, blue, white.
- Cultural Significance: The lion symbolizes courage and the city’s German heritage, while the sword reflects strength and resilience. The seven points on the lion’s mane represent the seven hills of Cincinnati, while the wings’ three feathers highlight the club’s three-year journey to MLS. Curved into a “C”, the lion’s tail is another nod to Cincinnati.
FC Dallas
- Description: A shield featuring a red, white, and blue background, with a depiction of a bull at the center, a flame on it’s forehead and a star on its neck. The club’s name is inscribed above along with the numbers 96.
- Colors: Red, white, blue.
- Cultural Significance: The longhorn bull nods to Texas’s cowboy and ranching heritage, while the star on its neck connects to the state’s nickname, “The Lone Star State.” The flame shape on the bull’s head is a throw back to the club’s old name, Dallas Burn. The color palette is lifted straight from the state flag, while the 96 marks the club’s first year in the MLS.
D.C. United
- Description: A black and red shield with a white eagle at the center, featuring three red stars below its head and 2 red stripes beneath them.
- Colors: Black, red, white.
- Cultural Significance: The eagle signifies freedom and power, and the 3 stars above the two stripes are a tribute to Washington, D.C.’s flag, which itself took inspiration from George Washington’s family crest.
Houston Dynamo FC
- Description: A hexagonal badge featuring a bold orange “HD” monogram in the center, with the words “Houston Dynamo FC” in white text. An ornage lightning bolt sits at the bottom of the design.
- Colors: Orange, black, white.
- Cultural Significance: The hexagon reflects Houston’s industrial and technological heritage, while also being a nod to the six original wards of the city and the year the club was founded – 2006. The channels within the interlocking monogram represent Bayou City’s waterways. The lightening bolt is to show Houston is the energy capital of the world.
Inter Miami CF
- Description: A circular badge in black and pink, featuring two herons standing back-to-back with their legs intertwined to form the letter “M” in an art deco style. A sunburst appears in the background.
- Colors: Black, pink, white.
- Cultural Significance: The herons symbolize the region’s diverse wildlife, and the pink reflects Miami’s vibrant culture. The intertwined legs emphasize unity and strength, while the sunburst represents the city’s sunny climate. The sun has 7 rays, which is a nod to the shirt number club owner David Beckham wore in his playing days. The art deco style is a reference to the architectural tradition of the city.
LA Galaxy
- Description: A shield featuring a golden starburst at the top right, symbolizing a galaxy. “LA Galaxy” is written across the shield in blue and white.
- Colors: Blue, gold, white.
- Cultural Significance: The quasar star is a reference to the state flag, while the gold colors reflect Los Angeles’ nickname as the ‘Golden State’ and the white represent the stars. The shield shape is there to protect the sporting interests of the city.
Los Angeles FC
- Description: A black-and-gold shield with a monogram “LA” and a stylized wing. The name “Los Angeles Football Club” is written in small text at the top and the base.
- Colors: Black, gold.
- Cultural Significance: The wing pays homage to Los Angeles being known as the City of Angels, but is also a symbol of power, strength and speed. The shield shape of the badge is taken directly from the seal of the city.
Minnesota United FC
- Description: A gray shield with a blue diagonal stripe overlayed with a black loon (the state bird) in flight. A single star is placed at the top left and the team acronym, MNUFC, is inscribed at the base.
- Colors: Black, gray, light blue.
- Cultural Significance: The loon is Minnesota’s state bird, while the light blue stripe symbolizes the Mississippi river which runs through it. The bird had elven feathers to represent the eleven players on the pitch. The state motto is L‘Étoile du Nord, which means The North Star, and explains the star at the top of the crest.
CF Montréal
- Description: A circular badge featuring a stylized blue fleur-de-lis at the center atop a shield. The badge has vertical blue and black stripes at the bottom with the name, “CF Montréal” at the top over a blue background.
- Colors: Black, blue, silver.
- Cultural Significance: The circular badge is a symbol of unity, and the shield in the middle of it represents strength, determination and unity. The fleur-de-lis overlayed on the shield represents the province of Quebec and its French heritage. The black and blue stripes pay homage to the clubs first few seasons, and 1993 is the year the club was formed.
Nashville SC
- Description: A yellow and navy blue shield with two vertical blue bars on either side and a stylized “N” split in half at the center. The shield is octagonal.
- Colors: Yellow, navy blue.
- Cultural Significance: The vertical lines are designed to look like sound waves, highlighting Nashville’s identity as “Music City,”. The colors are the same as the Nashville flag.
New England Revolution
- Description: A circular badge with a white background and the team name and formation year on the outside. A navy blue crest with red detailing and a white ‘R’ sits in the middle.
- Colors: Navy blue, red, white.
- Cultural Significance: The flag connects to the New England region’s revolutionary history. The crest shape is in reference to traditional flag drapery while the typeface of the ‘R’ evokes thoughts of the Boston Tea Party mark and revolutionary era lettering. The red detailing is similar to patriotic bunting and the fact that it strikes through and pins down the ‘R’ represents defiance.
New York City FC
- Description: A circular badge with a monogram “NYC” at the center, surrounded by blue and orange rings. The outer circle includes “New York City Football Club” in white text and a small pentagon on either side.
- Colors: Sky blue, navy blue, orange, white.
- Cultural Significance: The orange reflects the New York City flag and Dutch heritage, while the circular design connects to the city’s subway token history. The monogram highlights the team’s urban identity and is the same as NYC’s traditional signage. The pentagons represent the five boroughs of the city. The badge is also reminiscent of those of other clubs owned by the City Football Group, such as Manchester City. So there is a lot going on in this one.
New York Red Bulls
- Description: A rectangular shield with a rounded lower half featuring two red bulls charging at each other under a yellow sun with a soccer ball between them. , The club name is written in red across a white background.
- Colors: Red, yellow, white, blue.
- Cultural Significance: The design represents nothing but the Red Bull brand. The only thing remaining from the old Metro Stars badge is the soccer ball.
Orlando City SC
- Description: A purple shield with a golden lion’s face at the center, surrounded by a sunburst of 21 rays. ‘Orlando City’ is written in white beneath.
- Colors: Purple, gold, white.
- Cultural Significance: The lion symbolizes strength and courage whilst also being a nod to the Orlando Lions, the city’s first soccer club. The sunburst that is also the lion’s mane represents Florida’s nickname, “The Sunshine State”, while the 21 sun flares that make up the sun represents Orlando SC being the 21st club to join the MLS.
Philadelphia Union
- Description: A circular badge with a coiled snake at the center, surrounded by a blue and gold shield, with 13 gold stars encircling the design.
- Colors: Navy blue, gold, light blue.
- Cultural Significance: The circle means unity while the shield in the middle is taken from the town’s coat of arms. The snake is inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” political cartoon which became the national symbol during the revolution. The light blue stripe in the middle derives from the civil flag of Philadelphia and is a tribute to the Sons of Ben supporter’s club. The 13 stars represent the original colonies, reflecting Philadelphia’s historical significance as America’s first capital. The colors were chosen to mimic those of the Continental soldiers during the revolutionary war. Great badge.
Portland Timbers
- Description: A circular green and gold badge featuring a stylized axe at the center, overlaid with a yellow chevron pattern.
- Colors: Green, yellow, white.
- Cultural Significance: The axe reflects the city’s logging history and nickname, “Stumptown.” It is also in the shape of a ‘T’, for Timbers. The green and yellow honor Portland’s lush forests, and the 3 chevrons on either side are designed to look like a pine tree and also represent the three leagues the club has played in over the years.
Real Salt Lake
- Description: A shield with a red, gold, and blue color scheme, featuring a golden crown at the top and “RSL” written in gold across the middle.
- Colors: Red, gold, blue.
- Cultural Significance: The crown reflects the club’s royal identity and connection to Real Madrid, while the colors represent loyalty, valor, and passion and are, bizarrely, borrowed from Barcelona. The whole things is designed to look like a royal crest. There is little cultural significance here, the original owner was obsessed with Spanish football so basically had Real Salt Lake’s badge and name created on that basis.
San Diego FC
- Description: A blue shield with a multi-color trim. A silver outline creates different areas of the shield, with San Diego written at the top and a circular design made of 18 white woven lines at the bottom. ‘FC’ is written in the middle of the circle.
- Colors: Blue, White, Silver, Orange, Red,
- Cultural Significance: The woven circle is called ‘The Flow’, and the 18 white lines represent the 18 cities of San Diego county. The ‘San Diego’ font is the same used in monumental signs across San Diego’s neighborhoods. The multi-color trim reflects the fact that San Diego is a diverse place and no single color could properly represent its people, while the deep blue background reflects San Diego’s location next to the sea.
San Jose Earthquakes
- Description: A shield with black and blue horizontal stripes, featuring a white soccer ball at the center with “Quakes” written above it and “San Jose 1974” in smaller lettering below.
- Colors: Black, blue, white, red.
- Cultural Significance: The three sided shield pays homage to the roots of the game itself, while each side represent the three largest communities in the bay area. The stripes symbolize seismic waves and the sifting of tectonic plates, while the shape holding the ball in the centre is designed to look like a globe spinning on its axis. This is a nod to their original badge, as is the red colouring of the ‘1974’, which is when the club was founded. Their whole history is important to them, not just their MLS years.
Seattle Sounders FC
- Description: A green shield overlaid with a blue depiction of the Space Needle, with the team name inscribed in white.
- Colors: Green, blue, white.
- Cultural Significance: The Space Needle is Seattle’s most iconic building, while green and blue reflect the Pacific Northwest’s forests and waters. 1974 was the club’s founding year.
Sporting Kansas City
- Description: A shield with a stylized “SC” monogram at the center, divided into two sections: a blue and navy striped pattern on the left and a solid blue section on the right. ‘Kansas City Sporting’ is written in white letters.
- Colors: Light blue, navy blue, Silver, white.
- Cultural Significance: The stripes represent the Missouri and Kansas rivers, and there are 11 of them to match the number of players on the pitch. The contemporary monogram reflects the club’s modern and aspirational identity. The intertwined ‘SC’ letters were inspired by architecture representing health and vitality.
St. Louis City SC
- Description: A shield featuring a stylized arch in pink and blue, with the team name displayed prominently across the design.
- Colors: Pink, navy blue, white.
- Cultural Significance: The top of the shield is the same shape as St. Louis’s iconic Gateway Arch. This is also displayed in the abstract red lines. Two of these are the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and the others are the arch itself. The ‘SC’ means both ‘soccer club’ and ‘soccer capital’ and the colour scheme pays homage to the city’s flag.
Toronto FC
- Description: A red and gray shield with a bold “TFC” monogram and the word Toronto across the front, plus a stylized maple leaf at the top.
- Colors: Red, gray, white.
- Cultural Significance: The maple leaf connects to Canada’s national identity, and the shield reflects strength and unity. Red and white are the colors of Canada’s flag. The design is supposed to show that Toronto are resilient, relentless, and fiercely loyal.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Description: A diamond-shaped badge with stylized white peaks above a blue points below plus a silver outline. “Vancouver Whitecaps FC” is written in white between them.
- Colors: Blue, white, silver.
- Cultural Significance: The white peaks and blue points represent Vancouver’s natural landscape, emphasizing the team’s deep connection to its environment and community. The silver outline is a reminder of the silverware the club won since their foundation in 1974.
The Importance of Symbolism
One thing you notice about most of these badges, is the amount of symbolism they contain.
Sometimes this is overt, like the Seattle Sounders crest showing the Space Needle, but other times it is much more discreet, such as Atlanta United’s train tracks. Often, we might not instantly understand what we are looking at, but we know we get a certain feeling from it.
Some badges feel industrial but we aren’t sure why. Some evoke thoughts of times gone by. The Portland Timbers crest always felt forest like to me, but I didn’t realise those chevrons were in the shape of a pine tree until I read about it. These things are obvious once they are pointed out, but still do the job regardless. This is what good design looks like, and this is why symbolism matters.
Like a country’s flag, a club badge or crest is more than just a logo. It’s unifying symbol that is instantly recognisable. Something fans can get behind, display proudly, and feel loyalty to. Hell, some people even get their club’s crest tattooed on their bodies!
These symbols mean something, and the longer they are around the deeper fans will feel about it. This is why there can be such uproar when club badges are changed.
Symbolism is especially important for newer clubs who need to attract a fan base. They don’t have any history to draw on, so they need to appeal to people in other ways. This is why so many crests have elements of their state flag or city crest. These clubs are aiming to be focal points for the community, they want to draw on that local loyalty.
The Vancouver Whitecaps were founded in 2009. Not only did they name themselves after Vancouver’s incredible landscape, they made their badge reflect it to. Why? Because Vancouverites are proud of where they live. Those snowy peaks are beautiful and the people love them. The club has to reflect these things for the people to feel like it is ‘their’ club.
Getting the symbolism right, blending it harmoniously with excellent design, is what gives a club its character and identity. It’s more important than most people realise.