However, by replacing the founding year 2007 with the administrative year 1822 in the new design, Ninh Binh Club is making its image ambiguous, easily misleading, and failing to meet the transparency standards required by professional sports .
On July 3rd in Hanoi , Phu Dong Ninh Binh FC held a ceremony to launch its new brand identity. The new logo is inspired by the image of a mountain goat – a familiar mascot associated with the ancient capital region.
Two red goats standing symmetrically represent perseverance, courage, and the strength of unity. At the center of the logo is the team name "NINH BINH FC" against a dark blue background. Above it is the number 2007, the founding year of Vinakansai Ninh Binh Cement Football Club. Below is a ribbon bearing the name of the sponsoring company.
However, on July 14th, the Vietnam Football Federation officially approved the renaming of Phu Dong Ninh Binh Club to Ninh Binh Football Club. Along with the name change, Ninh Binh FC also officially launched its new logo.
It's worth noting that this logo has two changes compared to the previously released design. First, the year 2007 has been replaced with 1822. Second, the words "NINH BINH" have been rearranged into a cross shape that intersects at the letter I, and the letters "FC" have been removed.
Regarding the number 1822, the explanation is that this is an important milestone marking the birth of the name Ninh Binh (in the third year of Minh Mang's reign, 1822, Thanh Binh district was renamed Ninh Binh district).
However, including an administrative historical landmark in a sports logo without clear annotation or distinction could lead the public to believe the club has a history dating back to the 19th century, when in reality the team has only been on the professional scene for less than two decades.
Currently, there is no strict rule or international standard governing the display of the year on football club logos. However, in sports branding and design practice, several unwritten conventions have emerged that most professional clubs follow.
First, the year displayed must reflect the official founding year of the club. This is the core and most common principle. The founding year is usually the year the team is officially recognized by the local association or registers to compete professionally. Displaying this year helps establish the club's rich tradition, legacy, and unique identity within the football system.
Next, avoid using years unrelated to the team. Using the local founding year, the founder's birth year, or historical milestones outside the club's scope is often considered inaccurate or misleading. If clubs want to showcase cultural and historical value, they usually use secondary symbols, slogans, or stadium names instead of replacing the founding year.
In the early decades of the 20th century, when English and European football began to establish a professional competition system, clubs often borrowed the city's emblem as their symbol.
Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Chelsea have previously used royal emblems or local government insignia directly on their jerseys. Since the 1990s, with the globalization of football and the explosion of television, clubs have begun to view logos as an integral part of their brand strategy.
Teams like Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, and more recently Leeds United have all sparked controversy by "simplifying" their logos to better suit digital design and the global market.
The lettering was flattened, the patterns removed, and traditional elements replaced with simpler geometric language. However, not everywhere accepted change so easily. When Juventus unveiled their J logo in 2017, many fans felt as if a part of their history had been taken away.
In fact, one of the most familiar and controversial details in football logo design is the founding year. In the vast majority of cases, this marks the official establishment of the club. However, not every club has had a continuous history. Some teams have been dissolved, merged, renamed, or re-established. In such cases, choosing which year to use as the "official date" for the logo often leads to debate between tradition and legality.
For example, Rangers (Scotland) still retains the year 1872 despite having been re-established, while Parma (Italy) chose 1913, the year the original club was founded, even though the current team was only re-established after bankruptcy in 2015. Including the founding year of a city or locality in a logo, as Ninh Binh FC did, is a rare practice. Research has not yet recorded any similar cases in the professional football system.
A professional logo isn't just for printing on jerseys. It's intellectual property, representing the club across all media products – from stadiums and playing licenses to trademarks and merchandise. In the digital age, where every image can be searched in seconds, transparency and standardization are paramount.
Placed within that frame of reference, the current Ninh Binh Club logo is a "non-standard" design. While it doesn't violate legal regulations, it falls short of professional standards by lacking transparency, being incompatible with the team's history, and potentially misleading international media if the team progresses further.
The absence of the actual founding year (even if it was only recent) also reflects a fear of reality, a preference for the past, instead of confidently building an identity from the present foundation.
If the club wants to honor the cultural depth of the ancient capital, it could add a secondary slogan, design a "heritage" version of the logo, or integrate historical elements into its expanded brand identity. However, the main logo (representing professional competition) needs to be clear, accurate, and reflect the club's age.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/logo-bong-da-khong-phai-la-co-may-thoi-gian-153464.html
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