Norwich City F.C. - Colours and Crest

Colours and Crest

Norwich City's nickname, "The Canaries", has long influenced the team's colours and crest. Originally, the club was nicknamed the Citizens ("Cits" for short), and played in light blue and white halved shirts, although the halves were inconsistent; "the blue was sometimes on the left hand side of the shirt and sometimes on the right." The earliest known recorded link between the club and canaries, comes in an interview recorded in the Eastern Daily Press with newly appointed manager, John Bowman in April 1905. The paper quotes him saying "Well I knew of the City's existence... I have... heard of the canaries." "This as far as we can tell is the first time that the popular pastime of the day ie... rearing... canaries was linked with Norwich City FC... the club still played in blue and white, and would continue to do so for another two seasons." But the city of Norwich had long connections with canaries owing to its 15th and 16th century links to Flemish weavers who had imported the birds to the Low Countries from the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean.

By February 1907, the nickname Canaries had come more into vogue; thoughts that an FA Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion (nicknamed "Throstles" after a bird) was "a bird -singing contest" were dismissed by the polymath C.B. Fry as "humbug" but Bowman and Fry's colleagues in the national press increasingly referred to the team as Canaries.

The following season, to match the nickname, City played for the first time in Canary livery; "yellow shirts with green collars and cuffs. One paper produced the quote 'The Cits are dead but the Canaries are very much alive'." Apart from the obvious colour link, a canary may seem an odd choice; however, many English football clubs have adopted small birds as emblems that symbolise agility and deftness around the field.

While the home colours of yellow and green remain to this day, the away colours have varied since introduction. The away kit for the 2012–13 season is black shirts and shorts.

A simple canary badge was first adopted in 1922. The current club badge consists of a canary resting on a football with a stylised version of the City of Norwich arms in the top left corner. A competition was held to select the badge, with the winning entry designed by local architect Andrew Anderson.

For the club's centenary celebrations in 2002, a special crest was designed. It featured two canaries looking left and right, and a ribbon noting the centenary.