World Cup 2026: Football / Soccer Clubs with Maritime Badges
- Eve Church
- 04 Jun, 2026
- 07 Mins read
With the World Cup 2026 about to kick off (literally) in Mexico on June 11th, we got to thinking about the connection between football clubs and the maritime industry. And a surprising number of football teams (or soccer teams, depending on where in the world you are!) have a strong nautical connection – which is represented in their club badge or crest.
Maybe that’s not so weird when you think about the number of seafaring nations there are across the globe, but we thought it was interesting to see just how many clubs are intrinsically linked to their town or city’s maritime heritage.
So here, in no particular order, is a list of football clubs that feature some sort of nautical symbolism on their crest.
A word of warning, given that the United Kingdom is football-crazy and a traditionally seafaring nation, English teams feature quite heavily on the list!
So before you settle down to watch the World Cup 2026 fixtures and cheer your team on, take a look at our post.
Soccer Teams with Maritime Images on Their Crests
We’ll start with a well-known one. Manchester United probably doesn’t need much of an introduction, but have you ever taken the time to take a closer look at The Red Devils’ crest?
Manchester United, Manchester, England
Although Manchester isn’t located on the coast, it’s a city with strong industrial and canal connections. Man United’s badge features a ship sailing at the top of it, which represents Manchester’s historic importance as a trading and shipping city.
This was especially true following the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal in the late 19th century, helping to transform the city into a major commercial port and global industrial powerhouse.
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Which leads us on to arch-rivals, Manchester City…
Manchester City, Manchester, England
Manchester City – or just ‘City’ to its fans, also includes a ship on its crest, similar to Manchester United. The golden galleon also represents the Manchester Ship Canal and the city’s commercial trading history.
The three blue diagonal stripes beneath the ship are in the light blue color of the kit that the team plays its home games in, symbolizing the city’s rivers and further reinforcing Manchester’s historical relationship with waterways and industry.
FC Hansa Rostock, Rostock, Germany
Rostock is a historic Baltic Sea port city while “Hansa” refers to the Hanseatic League, the powerful medieval trading network that dominated northern European maritime commerce.
The club’s identity is deeply tied to the city’s seafaring and trading heritage, with their entire crest featuring a ship and not much else! This vessel represents Rostock’s long maritime tradition and its importance as a major port while the griffin-like lion on the ship’s sail comes from Rostock’s coat of arms.
Grimsby Town FC, Grimsby, England
Grimsby is a town and fishing port on the northeast coast of England - which is why the club’s crest features a fishing trawler and three fishes set against bold black and white stripes.
The town has deep roots in the fishing industry, and Grimsby was once one of the largest fishing ports in the world. Aptly, Grimsby Town FC’s nickname is The Mariners, making the maritime identity of the club impossible to separate from the town itself.
Delfino Pescara 1936, Pescara, Italy
Italian club Delfino Pescara 1936, more commonly referred to as just Pescara, plays in the coastal city of Pescara on the Adriatic Sea. The word ‘delfino’ means dolphin in Italian and one of the club’s nicknames is I Delfini (The Dolphins.)
The dolphin has become one of the club’s key symbols, reflecting Pescara’s fishing and coastal culture, and features prominently on their blue and white crest.
And from dolphins to seagulls…
Brighton & Hove Albion, Brighton and Hove, England
Brighton and Hove are two separate towns on England’s south coast, however they’re so intertwined that you could be standing in the street (or on the beach) and have one foot in Brighton and the other in Hove. Hence the local football team being known as Brighton and Hove Albion – or The Seagulls to their fans.
The crest features a seagull in flight against a blue background, representing the club’s coastal location and connection to the sea - Brighton has been one of the United Kingdom’s best-known seaside destinations for generations.
And from seagulls to…cattle?
Melbourne City FC, Melbourne, Australia
Hear us out – we’re not talking about livestock carriers! Melbourne is one of Australia’s largest port cities, with Melbourne City FC’s crest featuring both a whale and a ship - plus a cow and a sheep - each in a quarter formed by the Southern Cross.
The ship represents Melbourne’s maritime trade history and its importance as a major harbor city whilst the whale represents the whaling industry which was prominent in the 19th century.
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Barrow AFC, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Barrow AFC (The A stands for Association) is located in the north of England in a stunning region known as The Lake District. However, rather than lakes or sailing boats, the club’s crest prominently features a submarine.
This is a nod to the town’s long connection to shipbuilding and submarine construction, and Barrow-in-Furness remains one of the UK’s most important naval shipbuilding centers and is closely linked with the maritime defense industry.
**CR Vasco da Gama, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil **
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (Vasco da Gama Club of Rowing) is usually referred to as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, and it has one of the most famous maritime-related crests in football.
The badge depicts a ship inspired by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, after whom the club is named while the cross on the ship’s sail celebrates Portugal’s Age of Exploration and maritime history. As for the rowing mentioned in the name, the club was originally a rowing club, then a multi-sports club, and is now best known for soccer.
Morecambe FC, Morecambe, England
Situated across the bay from Barrow-in-Furness, the seaside town of Morecambe in the northeast of England is home to Morecambe FC. The club’s crest features a shrimp – a direct link directly to Morecambe Bay’s famous fishing heritage.
The town has long been associated with the sea, fishing, and coastal tourism, making the maritime theme a natural fit for the club. No prizes for guessing what the club’s nickname is!
Clube Náutico Capibaribe, Recife, Brazil
Another Brazilian soccer team making our list is Clube Náutico Capibaribe, and like Vasco, it’s a multi-sports club. The word ‘Náutico’ - Portuguese for nautical - reflects the club’s origins as a rowing and water sports club.
More commonly known as just Náutico the football team’s crest includes a soccer ball over crossed oars, emphasizing its connection to rivers, boating, and maritime sports culture.
Bristol Rovers, Bristol, England
The historic port city of Bristol in southwest England is home to local rivals Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. Nicknamed, The Pirates, Bristol Rover’s club badge traditionally features a - you guessed it – swashbuckling pirate brandishing a sword.
The pirate symbolizes Bristol’s centuries-old maritime history, when the city was one of Britain’s busiest ports and heavily involved in global trade and naval activity - and in piracy. Pirate activity was particularly rife in the 17th and 18th centuries – AKA The Golden Age of Piracy.
Plymouth Argyle, Plymouth, England
Venturing south from Bristol now to the city of Plymouth - one of the UK’s most well-known naval cities and another pirate hotspot! Although Plymouth Argyle’s club crest features the Mayflower, which sailed from the city’s docks in 1620 carrying the Pilgrims to North America.
The city’s identity has always been strongly connected to the Royal Navy, exploration, and seafaring, and Plymouth Argyle, and their nickname of, yes, you guessed it, The Pilgrims, are a big part of that.
CD Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife
Spanish side Club Deportivo Tenerife is one of the big teams playing in the Canary Islands (the other being UD Las Palmas, based on Gran Canaria). Naturally, being an island, maritime trade and ocean travel were, and still are essential to everyday life.
These days, Tenerife is mostly known for being a holiday hotspot, but its football club’s crest includes four small anchors, a nod to the island’s seafaring heritage.
Rio Ave FC, Vila do Conde, Portugal
Staying in the sunnier parts of Europe, Vila do Conde is a Portuguese coastal town with strong fishing and shipbuilding traditions. Rio Ave Futebol Clube’s crest reflects this with its prominent sailing ship with yellow sails on green and white waves.
These waves symbolize the town and greater area’s close connection to the sea as well as to Portugal’s strong maritime history. However, Rio Ave FC is actually named after the River Ave which flows through the town and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Fleetwood Town FC, Fleetwood, England
Sitting on the northeast coast of the county of Lancashire and about an hour’s drive south of Morecambe, Fleetwood is another fishing town with a football team proud to show its maritime roots.
Fleetwood Town’s crest features an anchor, reflecting the town’s strong maritime and fishing heritage. Fleetwood itself evolved as an important fishing port during the 19th century, and the club’s nicknames, The Fishermen and The Cod Army, further highlight its close connection to the sea and the local fishing industry.
Yokohama F. Marinos, Yokohama, Japan
It seems only right that Japan’s largest port city, Yokohama, should have a badge with a strong maritime theme and the large gold anchor flanked by a football and three waves fits the bill nicely.
Despite the crest undergoing several design changes over the years, it has always featured an anchor. Fun fact; Yokohama F. Marinos (Spanish for ‘sailors’) started life in 1972, as Nissan Motors’ company team and they’re now one of the most successful soccer teams playing in Japan’s J-League.
Southampton FC, Southampton, England
It’s back to the south coast of England now and to Southampton, one of the UK’s most important port cities. Having said that, the club’s crest hasn’t gone overboard (excuse the pun) on the maritime heritage.
Southampton FC’s badge includes a halo, football, scarf, and tree with three wavy lines symbolizing waves below them, and below that a white rose – the symbol of the city. The waves highlight Southampton’s close relationship with the sea and shipping, and also with passenger liners, including the Titanic, which famously sailed from the city on its doomed voyage in 1912.
CS Marítimo, Funchal, Maderia, Portugal
Another multi-disciplined sports club that’s best known for its football team is Club Sport Marítimo, more commonly known as Marítimo or Marítimo da Madeira. Based out of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Maderia, their crest has always featured maritime symbolism.
Madeira has a long connection to maritime traditions, and the original club badge featured a paddle, anchor, float and harpoon. It has since evolved to depict a lion inside a ship’s wheel. The lion standing for ‘strength’, whilst the wheel maintains the longstanding maritime connection.
Sunderland AFC, Sunderland, England
We’re back in the northeast of England at Sunderland, a port city with a long history of shipbuilding. Although, technically, Sunderland AFC shouldn’t really be on this list now as their club crest no longer includes maritime imagery.
Since Sunderland’s formation in 1884 up until 1972 the crest featured a sailing ship alongside a black cat, a football and the top of the Sunderland coat of arms. It was then modified to remove the cat and the ship was updated to a silhouette of a more modern vessel without sails. In 1997, however, the badge was completely redesigned and the ship was removed.
FC Nantes, Nantes, France
Finally, we’re finishing off with a French club that, like Sunderland AFC shouldn’t really be on the list. Since its inception, the FC Nantes badge has undergone significant changes. The original badge was an octagonal shape with a prominent yellow clipper ship on a curved line representing the sea. This design linked the club to Nantes’ identity as a major port city.
Since then, the crest has been redesigned approximately ten times, incorporating various shields and vessels before arriving at the current design, a striped-back ‘N’ inside a shield, in 2019. However, dare we say it, we prefer the club’s ship-centric designs!
Bring on the World Cup 2026!
As World Cup 2026 fever starts to build, we hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through some of the world’s best known football teams with maritime-themed club crests. However, chances are we’ve overlooked other clubs who also have a nautical affiliation. If you know of any, please let us know on our socials!
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Enjoy the 2026 Football World Cup wherever you are – and may the best team win!