Football Club Nicknames Across Europe (2021/22)

• Nicknames are commonplace in the world of football

• Almost every professional football club has a nickname of some kind

• If you enjoy betting on football, find soccer team nicknames here at 888sport

Many football clubs around the world are just as famous for nicknames as the official club team name – with the likes of Manchester United known as the ‘Red Devils’ and Arsenal referred to as the ‘Gunners’.

Every team across the Football League has an official club nickname, though punters looking at football odds are likely to revert to the full title rather than the team’s nickname.

Most English club nicknames are reasonably easy to race, with some paying homage to the club’s crest, mascot or trademark kit colours.

In fact, the most popular football nicknames often relate to jersey colours – the ‘Reds’, the ‘Blues’ and ‘Whites’ are all fairly common in English football and sports betting.

European football club nicknames often link back to etymology but we’ll touch on those a little later. For now, let’s get stuck into the Premier League club nicknames… 

Premier League Nicknames

Some of the biggest clubs in the sport play in the Premier League, with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City ranking as three of the top teams on the planet.

Some of the best nicknames are for clubs regularly involved in Premier League predictions and you can find a full list of the EPL nicknames below:

• Arsenal - The Gunners

• Aston Villa - The Villains

• Brentford - The Bees

• Brighton - The Seagulls

• Burnley - The Clarets

• Chelsea - The Blues

• Crystal Palace - The Eagles

• Everton - The Toffees

• Leicester City - The Foxes

• Leeds United - The Whites / The Peacocks

• Liverpool - The Reds

• Man City - The Citizens / The Sky Blues

• Man United - The Red Devils

• Newcastle Utd - The Magpies

• Norwich City - The Canaries

• Southampton - The Saints

• Tottenham - Spurs / The Lilywhites

• Watford - The Hornets

• West Ham - The Hammers / The Irons

• Wolverhampton Wanderers - Wolves

Championship Nicknames

• AFC Bournemouth - The Cherries

• Barnsley - The Tykes / The Reds

• Birmingham City - The Blues

• Blackburn Rovers - Rovers / The Blue and Whites / The Riversiders

• Blackpool - The Seasiders / The 'Pool / The Tangerines

• Bristol City - The Robins

• Cardiff City - The Bluebirds

• Coventry City - The Sky Blues

• Derby County - The Rams

• Fulham - The Cottagers / The Whites / Black and White Army

• Huddersfield Town - The Terriers

• Hull City - The Tigers

• Luton Town - The Hatters

• Middlesbrough - Boro / The Smoggies

• Millwall - The Lions

• Nottingham Forest - Forest

• Peterborough United - The Posh

• Preston North End - The Lilywhites / PNE / The Whites

• Queens Park Rangers - The Hoops / The Rs / QPR

• Reading - The Royals

• Sheffield United - The Blades / Red and White Wizards

• Stoke City - The Potters

• Swansea City - The Swans

• West Bromwich Albion - The Baggies / Albion

League 1 Nicknames

• Accrington Stanley - Stanley / Accy Stanley

• AFC Wimbledon - The Dons / The Wombles

• Bolton Wanderers - The Trotters / The Wanderers

• Burton Albion - The Brewers

• Cambridge United - United / The U's

• Charlton Athletic - The Addicks / Red Robins / The Valiants

• Cheltenham Town - The Robins

• Crewe Alexandra - The Railwaymen / The Alex

• Doncaster Rovers - The Rovers / Donny / Vikings

• Fleetwood Town - The Cod Army

• Gillingham - The Gills

• Ipswich Town - Blues / Tractor Boys / "Pride of East Anglia"

• Lincoln City - The Imps

• MK Dons - The Dons

• Morecambe - The Shrimps / Red and White Army (Now Red and Black Army) / Seasiders

• Oxford United - The U's  / Yellows / The Boys from Up the Hill

• Plymouth Argyle - The Pilgrims / Argyle / The Green Army

• Portsmouth - Pompey

• Rotherham United - The Millers

• Sheffield Wednesday - The Owls

• Shrewsbury Town - Salop / The Blues / The Town / The Shrews

• Sunderland - The Black Cats

• Wigan Athletic - The Latics

• Wycombe Wanderers - The Chairboys / The Blues

League 2 Nicknames

• Barrow AFC - The Bluebirds

• Bradford City - The Bantams / The Paraders / The Citizens

• Bristol Rovers - The Pirates / The Gas

• Carlisle United - Cumbrians / The Blues

• Colchester United - The U's

• Crawley Town - The Reds / Red Devils

• Exeter City - The Grecians

• Forest Green Rovers - Rovers / The Green / FGR / The Little Club On The Hill

• Harrogate Town - Town / The Sulphurites

• Hartlepool United - Pools / Monkey Hangers

• Leyton Orient - The O's / Orient

• Mansfield Town - The Stags / Yellows

• Newport County - The Exiles / The Ironsides / The Port / The County

• Northampton Town - The Cobblers

• Oldham Athletic - The Latics

• Port Vale - The Valiants / The Vale / The Valeites

• Rochdale - The Dale

• Salford City FC - The Ammies

• Scunthorpe United - The Iron

• Stevenage - The Boro

• Sutton United - The Us / The Amber and Chocolates / The Yellows

• Swindon Town - The Robins

• Tranmere Rovers - Super White Army / Rovers

• Walsall - The Saddlers

Serie A Nicknames

Whether you’re into in play betting on Italian football or simply enjoy following the sport on TV, Serie A is one of the biggest domestic leagues around.

The Serie A club nicknames can be found below – both with their local nickname and an English translation. So what are you waiting for? Find out Serie A football nicknames here…

• Atalanta - I Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues)

• Bologna - I Rossoblu / I Veltri (The Red and Blues / The Greyhounds)

• Brescia - Le Rondinelle / I Biancazzurri (The Little Swallows / The White and Blues)

• Cagliari - Gli Isolani (The Islanders)

• Fiorentina - La Viola (The Purple One)

• Genoa - I Rossoblu / l Grifone (The Red and Blues / The Griffin)

• Hellas Verona - I Gialloblu (The Yellow and Blues)

• Inter - I Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues)

• Juventus - I Bianconeri / La Vecchia Signora (The Black and Whites / The Old Lady)

• Lazio - I Biancocelesti (The White and Sky Blues)

• Lecce - I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds)

• Milan - I Rossoneri (The Red and Blacks)

• Napoli - Gli Azzurri (The Blues)

• Parma - I Gialloblu / I Crociati (The Yellow and Blues / The Crusaders)

• Roma - I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds)

• Sampdoria - I Blucerchiati (The Blue Circled)

• Sassuolo - I Neroverdi (The Black and Greens)

• SPAL - I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues)

• Torino - il Toro / I Granata (The Bull / The Maroons)

• Udinese - I Bianconeri (The White and Blacks)

Bundesliga Nicknames

• Augsburg - Die Fuggerstadter (Residents of the Fugger City)

• Bayer Leverkusen - Die Werkself (The Company XI)

• Bayern - Die Roten (The Reds)

• Borussia Dortmund - Die Schwarzgelben (The Black and Yellow)

• Borussia Monchengladbach - Die Fohlen (The Foals)

• Eintracht Frankfurt - Die Adler (The Eagles)

• Fortuna Dusseldorf - Die Flingeraner

• Freiburg - Breisgau-Brasilianer (Brazilians of Breisgau)

• Hertha Berlin - Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady)

• Hoffenheim - Die Kraichgauer

• Koln - Die Geissbocke (The Billy Goats)

• Leipzig - Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls)

• Mainz - Die Nullfunfer (The O-Fives)

• Paderborn - N/A     

• Schalke - Die Konigsblauen (The Royal Blue)

• Union Berlin - Die Eisernen (The Iron Ones)

• Werder Bremen - Die Grun-Weissen (The Green-Whites)

• Wolfsburg - Die Wolfe (The Wolves)

La Liga Nicknames

Some of the greatest fantasy football team names are based on Spanish clubs, with players from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia attracting plenty of attention.

The best La Liga team nicknames can help neutrals to pick a side when watching a Spanish football match. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top La Liga soccer names…

• Athletic Club - Los Leones / Los Rojiblancos (The Lions / The Red and Whites)

• Atletico Madrid - Los Colchoneros / Los Rojiblancos (The Mattress Makers / The Red and Whites)

• Barcelona - La Blaugrana

• Celta Vigo - Os Celestes (The Sky Blues)

• Deportivo Alaves - Los Babazorros / El Glorioso (The Glorious One)

• Eibar - Los Armeros (The Gunsmiths)

• Espanyol - Los Periquitos / Los Blanquiazules (The Budgerigars / The White and Blues)

• Getafe - Los Azulones (The Deep Blues)

• Granada - Los Nazaries (The Nasrids)

• Leganes - Los Pepineros (The Cucumber Growers)

• Levante - Los Granotas (The Frogs)

• Mallorca - Los Bermellones (The Vermilions)

• Osasuna - Los Rojillos (The Reds)

• Real Betis - Betis / Los Verderones (Lilywhites / The Big Greens)

• Real Madrid - Los Blancos / Meringues (The Whites / The Meringues)

• Real Sociedad - Txuri-urdinak (The Whites and Blues)

• Real Valladolid - Los Albivioletas (The White and Violets)

• Sevilla - Los Rojiblancos / Los Hispalenses (The White and Reds / The Ones from Hispalis)

• Valencia - Los Che ('Hey!')

• Villarreal - El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine)

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

FIRST PUBLISHED: 29th September 2021