Football club names

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Football club names are a part of the sport's culture, reflecting century-old traditions. Club names may reflect geographical, cultural, religious or political affiliations — or simply be the brand name of a club's primary sponsor. Because of the British origin of the sport, many clubs, even outside Europe, have their names written in English.

Contents 1 Formation of the name 1.1 Common components 1.2 Common versus official usage 2 Club names referring to a profession or education 2.1 Club names referring to a profession 2.2 Club names referring to education 3 Club names referring to days and dates 4 Club names referring to the club's specific origins 5 Club names referring to an ethnic, social, national or religious background 6 Club names referring to geographical features 6.1 Club names referring to specific geographical features 7 Club names referring to plants 8 Club names referring to real or mythical creatures 9 Club names referring to real or mythical people 10 Club names referring to sport 10.1 Sports societies 11 Club names referring to values and ideals 12 Club names referring to natural phenomena 13 Unknown 14 Initials 15 References

[edit] Formation of the name

[edit] Common components

A club's name is usually composed of two or more of the following elements, in most cases in the language of the club's home country:

• a word describing the type of entity that runs the club (or ran it when it was founded), such as "Club", "Association", "Society", "Centre", "League", "Union", etc. More recently some clubs are regular commercial enterprises^{[citation needed]} and may have this reflected in their names.
• a word indicating that the club is associated with some sport(s), usually (but not always) including football. Examples are "football", "athletics", "exercises", "sports", etc.
• a geographical name associating the club with some place (usually the town or region where it plays home matches). Examples: "Paris", "Milano", "Recife", "Croatia", "Goiás" or, alternatively, a word that associates the club with something else (a religious, cultural or political tradition). Sometimes the name of the town or the country may be written as in English (AC Milan).
• a proper name, mascot or nickname, like "Cruzeiro" "Betis", or "Crusaders".
• in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands some clubs are associated with the monarchy like Real Madrid.
• some football clubs (especially in Austria and eastern Europe) also have sponsors in their club names.

Official names often also contain common component (prepositions, conjunctions, etc.) (See List of common club name components section).

In Europe, many (if not most) clubs are named after their towns or cities (e.g. "Deportivo La Coruña", "Liverpool FC", "Hamburger SV", etc. In South America, clubs are more likely to have proper names than to bear the city's name. Some clubs, like Hansa Rostock or Torpedo Moscow may have both.

[edit] Common versus official usage

See also: Lists of nicknames in football (soccer)

It is not uncommon for a club to be known in common usage by a name other than its official name, or the name on the badge.

Official names may reflect the instances where two different clubs with exactly (or more or less) the same name, prompting one or both to be suffixed with a geographical distinction. Famous instances of this are PFC CSKA Moscow and CSKA Sofia; Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Dresden and Dinamo Tbilisi; América de Cali (Colombia) and Club América (Mexico).

Other clubs are more usually known by nicknames or contractions of their full names, for instance, Vasco da Gama is usually called simply "Vasco", F.C. Internazionale Milano is contracted to Inter, Sporting Clube de Portugal are often called Sporting. Manchester United is ofted shortened to Man United (or even Man U), and Lyon used instead of Olympique Lyonnais.

Some clubs are commonly referred to by their initials, such as QPR, for Queens Park Rangers.

In a few cases there are even common misconceptions about the official name of the club. A common example being Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic, where their proper official names are simply Rangers F.C. and Celtic F.C. Another misunderstanding is Belfast Crusaders where the proper name is just Crusaders F.C.

[edit] Club names referring to a profession or education

[edit] Club names referring to a profession

Topic	Meaning	Country	Clubs
Armed forces	For sport clubs affiliated with the armed forces of a country. See also CSKA.	Belize	Belize Defence Force
		Bhutan	Royal Bhutan Army FC
		Botswana	Botswana Defence Force XI
		Cambodia	Army Division of Logistics, Royal Cambodian Air Force, Royal Navy
		Ecuador	El Nacional
		Myanmar	Army
		North Korea	Haeju Army
		Pakistan	Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy
		Singapore	Singapore Armed Forces Football Club
		Trinidad and Tobago	Defence Force
Arsenal	Factories creating weapons	Argentina	Arsenal de Sarandí
		England	Arsenal
		Honduras	Arsenal Roatán
		Ukraine	FC Arsenal Kiev
Beer		Eritrea	Asmara Brewery
		Ethiopia	Harrar Beer Botling
		Serbia	FK ČSK Pivara
Carpentry		Italy	Mobilieri Ponsacco Calcio
Cobre-	Spanish for copper, after association with copper mining	Chile	Club de Deportes Cobreloa, Club Deportes Cobresal
Company name	Club names containing the name of a company. These clubs were either founded as works teams by a company for its employees (e.g. PSV), bought by a company (e.g. the three Red Bull teams), or incorporate a corporate sponsor's name (e.g. Technogroup).	Austria	Red Bull Salzburg
		Brazil	Red Bull Brasil
		Colombia	La Equidad
		England	Vauxhall Motors, Rolls Royce Leisure, Billingham Synthonia (An ICI fertiliser brand), Sunderland Nissan, Cammell Laird
		Germany	Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Wacker Burghausen
		India	Air India, Amity United FC, Chirag United SC, Dempo SC, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC,Indian Bank Recreational Club, JCT FC, Kingfisher East Bengal FC, Hindustan Football Club, Mahindra United, Oil India Ltd. FC, ONGC FC
		Japan	Honda Motor, Honda Locks, Mitsubishi Mizushima, Sony Sendai, TDK
		Mexico	Cruz Azul
		Moldova ( Transnistria)	Sheriff Tiraspol
		Netherlands	Philips Sport Vereniging
		Russia	Lada Togliatti, FC Torpedo-RG, FC Torpedo-ZIL
		ROC ( Chinese Taipei)	Tatung
		Turkey	Türk Telekomspor
		Turks and Caicos Islands	KPMG United
		USA	Red Bull New York
		Wales	Airbus UK, Technogroup Welshpool Town
Electrical	Bargh: Persian for Electricity	Iran	Bargh Shiraz F.C., Bargh Tehran F.C.
		Ecuador	Emelec (The club was founded by the E.M.E.L.E.C. Company.)
		ROC ( Chinese Taipei)	Taipower
		United States	Houston Dynamo (Refers to Houston's energy-based industrial economy)
		Germany	1. FFC Turbine Potsdam(The club was initially supported by the local energy supplier.)
Douanes	French term for Customs and Taxation enforcement, clubs sponsored by these entities	Niger	AS Douanes (Niamey)
		Senegal	AS Douanes (Dakar)
		Togo	AS Douanes (Lomé)
		Morocco	Racing de Casablanca was renamed Association des Douanes Marocains (ADM) from 1969-1980s
Industrial Revolution	formed during the late Victorian Industrial boom	England	Middlesbrough Ironopolis F.C.
Metallurgy	Foolad, Zob Ahan, and Mes: Persian for Steel, Steelworks, and Copper. Vasas: "Vas- és Fémmunkások" Hungarian for "Iron and Steel Workers"	Iran	Foolad F.C., F.C. Zob Ahan, Mes Kerman F.C.
		Hungary	Budapesti Vasas Sport Club
		Latvia	FK Liepājas Metalurgs
		Russia	Metallurg Krasnoyarsk, Metallurg Lipetsk, Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk
		Ukraine	Metalurh Donetsk, Metalurh Nikopol, Metalurh Zaporizhia, FC Stal Alchevsk
		Poland	Stal Mielec
		Germany	Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt
		Norway	Stålkameratene
		Uzbekistan	FK Metallurg Bekobod
Mining	Górnik: Polish for miner Zagłębie: Polish for coalfield Minero: Spanish for miner Colliery: Coal mine	England	Atherton Collieries, Bentley Colliery, Harworth Colliery Institute, Pontefract Collieries, Thoresby Colliery Welfare, Thorne Colliery, Welbeck Colliery Welfare
			Blackwell Miners Welfare, Calverton Miners Welfare, Gedling Miners Welfare, Holbrook Miners Welfare
		Poland	Górnik Łęczna, Górnik Polkowice, Górnik Wieliczka Górnik Zabrze, Zagłębie Lubin, Zagłębie Sosnowiec
		Venezuela	Atlético Club Mineros de Guayana
Municipal	Indicates a club formed by workers of, or associated with, a city hall or otherwise related local government unit.	Guatemala	CSD Municipal
		Peru	Deportivo Municipal
		El Salvador	Once Municipal
Navy	Malavan: Persian for Sailor	Iran	Malavan F.C.
Petroleum	Naft: Persian for Petrol	Angola	Académica Petróleo Kwanda Soyo, Atlético Petróleos do Huambo, Atlético Petróleos do Namibe, Atlético Petróleos Luanda
		Bolivia	Oriente Petrolero
		Colombia	Alianza Petrolera
		Ecuador	Esmeraldas Petrolero
		Iran	Sanat Naft F.C.
Police	For football clubs affiliated with a police force	Botswana	Police XI
		Cambodia	Military Police
		China	Vanguard Hubei Police Academy
		Ecuador	Escuela Superior de Policía (ESPOLI)
		England	Metropolitan Police, West Midlands Police
		India	Punjab Police
		Iraq	Al-Shorta
		Lithuania	Sostinės Policija Vilnius
		Isle of Man	Police
		Nepal	Mahendra Police Club
		Uganda	Police FC
		Poland	Gwardia Warszawa
Railroad workers	Rah Ahan (Persian), Ferro Carril (Spanish), for Railroad (noun). Ferroviário (Portuguese) for Railroad (adjective). The "CFR" in CFR Cluj is Căile Ferate Române, the Romanian state railway system. Vasutas means "railroad worker" in Hungarian.	Argentina	Ferro Carril Oeste, Rosario Central (from Central Argentine Railway)
		Brazil	Ferroviário Atlético Clube, Associação Ferroviária de Esportes
		England	Darlington Railway Athletic, Harrogate Railway Athletic, Leigh RMI
		Germany	1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig
		Hungary	Debreceni Vasutas Sport Klub
		Scotland	Inverurie Loco Works F.C.
		Iran	Rah Ahan F.C.
		Mozambique	Clube Ferroviário da Beira, Clube Ferroviário de Maputo, Clube Ferroviário de Nampula
		Romania	CFR Cluj
		Russia	FC Lokomotiv Moscow
Shipbuilding	After the Cammell Laird ship yard	England	Cammell Laird F.C.
Textile	Nassaji: Persian for Textile Industry	Argentina	Textil Mandiyú
		Croatia	NK Varteks Varaždin
		Iran	Nassaji Mazandaran F.C.
		Mozambique	Grupo Desportivo da Companhia Têxtil do Punguè
Tractor manufacturing		Iran	Teraktor Sazi F.C.
		Russia	Rotor Volgograd
		Uzbekistan	FK Traktor Tashkent
General		Italy	SPAL 1907 (Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor)

[edit] Club names referring to education

Topic	Meaning	Country	Clubs
Academical	Affiliation with academics. See also Estudiantes, University, Polytechnic.	Bulgaria	Akademik Sofia, Akademik Svishtov
		Denmark	Akademisk Boldklub
		Germany	Akademischer BC 1897 Charlottenburg, Akademischer SC 1893 Berlin
		Mozambique	Associação Académica de Maputo
		Portugal	Académica de Coimbra
		Scotland	Hamilton Academical
Old Boys	Named by ex-pupils of the English High School of Rosario in homage to its director and football coach, English immigrant Isaac Newell	Argentina	Newell's Old Boys
Young Boys	Named in contrast to nearby club Old Boys Basel (see Old Boys above)	Switzerland	BSC Young Boys
Polytechnic	Affiliation with academics. See also Academical, Estudiantes, University.	Moldova	FC Politehnica Chişinău
		Romania	FC Politehnica Iaşi, Politehnica Ştiinţa Timişoara
Students	Affiliation with students. See also Academical, Polytechnic, University.	Argentina	Estudiantes de La Plata, Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, Estudiantes de Buenos Aires
		Brazil	Estudantes Sport Club
		Peru	Estudiantes de Medicina
		Romania	Sportul Studenţesc
		Venezuela	Estudiantes de Mérida
University	Affliation with universities. See also Academical, Estudiantes, Polytechnic.	Bolivia	Club Universitario
		Brazil	Sport Club Ulbra, Universidade Estácio de Sá Futebol Clube
		Chile	Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile, Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción
		Costa Rica	Club de Futbol Universidad de Costa Rica
		Ecuador	Liga Deportiva Universitaria (Quito)
		England	Cambridge University A.F.C., University of Exeter, Oxford University A.F.C.
		Honduras	Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
		Ireland	University College Dublin A.F.C.
		Mexico	Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Club Universidad Nacional, Club Deportivo UANL, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Benemerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Ocelotes de la UNACH, Universidad del Futbol, Universidad Autónoma de Hidalgo, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua
		Peru	Universitario de Deportes, Universidad San Martín de Porres
		Romania	FC Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj, Universitatea Craiova
		Scotland	Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh University
		South Africa	Pretoria University FC
		Spain	AD Universidad de Oviedo, Universidad de Las Palmas CF
		Venezuela	Universidad de Los Andes Fútbol Club

[edit] Club names referring to days and dates

Topic	Meaning	Country	Clubs
Days of the week	Clubs named after a specific day of the week	England	Sheffield Wednesday
		Wales	Abergavenny Thursdays
Independence Day	Clubs named after the day of independence of the country	Argentina	9 de Julio de Rafaela, 9 de Julio de Morteros, Sportivo 9 de Julio Río Tercero (July 9)
		Ecuador	Club 9 de Octubre (October 9)
		Portugal	Sociedade União 1º de Dezembro (December 1)
Labour Day		Angola	Estrela Clube Primeiro de Maio
		Portugal	Associação Naval 1º de Maio
Political change		Brazil	Clube 15 de Novembro, Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Piracicaba), Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú) (November 15, 1889)
		Yemen	May 22 San'a' (May 22, 1990)
Year of establishment	Club names containing a reference to the year in which the club was established (clubs are listed in chronological order by country)	Belgium	Eendracht Aalst 2002
		Finland	Pallokerho-35, Tampereen Peli-Pojat-70, Klubi-04
		Germany	1860 München, Hannover 96, SV Darmstadt 98, 1899 Hoffenheim, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Schalke 04, Mainz 05, Paderborn 07, SG Wattenscheid 09, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 71
		Netherlands	Be Quick 1887, UDI '19, ADO '20, Quick '20, HSC '21, Be Quick '28, CSV '28, Achilles '29, Zwaluwen '30, Excelsior '31, PKC '83
		Scotlan