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What's in a football club nickname? A lot of the time, it takes after the team's shirt colour or a traditional local industry.
But some nicknames are so wonderfully unusual that they need a whole list explaining them – and luckily, FourFourTwo has you covered with exactly that.
Click any of the arrows on the right to start the countdown!
32. AFC Wimbledon: The Wombles
“Overground, underground, wombling free / The wombles of Wimbledon Common are we…”
No prizes for guessing how AFC Wimbledon got their nickname. The South London phoenix club’s mascot is even one of the beloved, litter-collecting creatures – named Haydon after Haydons Road, the closest railway station to Wimbledon’s Plough Lane ground.
31. Everton: The Toffees
Several stories exist as to why Everton are called the Toffees, but it’s generally accepted that the Merseyside club’s affectionate name stems from a local toffee shop which sold, among other sugary treats, Everton Mints (those black and white stripey ones, aka humbugs).
You’ll also regularly hear the nine-time English champions referred to as the Blues – but that’s obviously not remotely as fun.
30. West Brom: The Baggies
While they’ve also been known as the Throstles (that’s the old-fashioned name for the thrush, which appears on the club crest), West Brom are most often fondly referred to as the Baggies.
29. Qarabag: Atlilar (The Horsemen)
Qarabag’s rather apocalyptic-sounding nickname inspired their badge – the focal point of which is a football flanked by two prancing horses.
Those aren’t just any old horses, though; they’re Karabakh horses, native to the region of Azerbaijan where the club played until war with Armenia forced them to relocate to the capital, Baku.
28. Bolton Wanderers: The Trotters
As fun as it would be, Bolton’s nickname is nothing to do with Only Fools and Horses – or pigs’ feet (although they were a local delicacy).
Nope, ‘trotter’ is actually slang in the area for a practical joker (so, to be fair, it would have worked if it was a nod to Del Boy).
27. Koln: Die Geisbocke (The Billy Goats)
You’re going to love why Koln are known as the Billy Goats. It’s because of their mascot – an actual goat, not some poor sod in a very sweaty costume.
Granted, the German outfit have had a fair few goats perform the role over the years – but they’ve all been named Hennes, after legendary player and manager Hennes Weisweiler. What a legacy!
26. Charlton Athletic: The Addicks
Charlton’s nickname traces its origins back to the club’s formation in 1905 – on East Street, which was home to a fishmonger.
The owner of the establishment, Arthur Bryan, laid on haddock and chips for the players after games – and in the South London dialect, ‘haddock’ came out sounding like… ‘addick’.
25. Atalanta: La Dea (The Goddess)
Atalanta may be Italian, but the Bergamo-based club took its name from the Greek mythological heroine.
Now, Atalanta wasn’t technically a goddess, but she was allied to Artemis – the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children and chastity (all of which must have kept her busy!). Anyway, cool badge.
24. Malaga: Los Boquerones (The Anchovies)
It’s not unusual for clubs to take their nickname from animals – but it’s normally something a bit more fearsome than an anchovy, the tiny little fish of pizza topping fame.
Not in Malaga’s case: the club from Spain’s Costa del Sol go by the moniker of Los Boquerones in a nod to the local culinary speciality.
23. Villarreal: El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine)
Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica aka El Madrigal must be the yellowest stadium in world football. Seriously, just about the only part of it that isn’t yellow is the grass (ok, and a minority of the seats are blue).
The 2020/21 Europa League winners are synonymous with an all-yellow kit, too – so their Beatles-adjacent nickname was a no-brainer, really.
22. Hearts: The Jam Tarts
Heart of Midlothian already shorten their name to Hearts as a matter of course – but the Edinburgh outfit really jazz things up when they go by the Jam Tarts (or Jambos).
The four-time champions of Scotland even use the nickname – said to have been coined by Scottish soldiers returning from the trenches of the First World War, where they had fought alongside Cockneys and their rhyming slang – as their Twitter handle.
21. Spartak Moscow: Myaso (The Meat)
Russian giants Spartak Moscow are also known as Gladiatory (the Gladiators) – which is pretty cool – but that’s nowhere as unusual as one of their alternative nicknames: Myaso (the Meat).
Popular among the fans, it stems from the club’s early days when they were associated with the local meat-packing industry. Clearly, Spartak supporters are not ones to mince their words.
20. Reading: The Biscuitmen
You probably know Reading as the Royals, but the Berkshire club were traditionally known as the Biscuitmen, such was the town’s prominence in that particular industry.
Perhaps it’s time for the former Premier League outfit to re-adopt it, and add a digestive or a custard cream or two to their – we’ll be blunt – pretty boring badge.
19. Partick Thistle: The Harry Wraggs
Ok, now we’re getting niche. What on Earth has Harry Wragg, an English jockey from the 20th century, got to do with Scottish club Partick Thistle?
Well, it’s rhyming slang again: Partick are nicknamed the Jags (derived from ‘jaggie’, a Scots word for the prick of a thistle) – which rhymes with… Harry Wraggs. Obviously.
18. Clyde: The Bully Wee
It’s impossible not to read this one in a thick Glaswegian accent. Clyde are fondly known as the Bully Wee – although, as we’ve seen is often the case with these things, quite why is uncertain.
The club themselves have put forward a few theories, and we like the one concerning some confused French spectators who supposedly remarked after a contentious goal, ‘But [pronounced ‘boo’] il’y, oui?’ (‘Their goal, yes?’).
17. Rosario Central: Canalla (Rabble)
One of the more insulting nicknames on this list, ‘canalla’ is the Spanish word for ‘scoundrel’ and can also be translated as ‘rabble’.
Argentina’s Rosario Central were labelled as such after declining to take part in a charity game for a leprosy clinic in the 1920s – and they leaned right into the tag by adopting it as their nickname. Why not?!
16. Juventus: La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady)
Did you know that Juventus’ nickname is actually part-pun? ‘Juventus’ is Latin for ‘youth’ – so, when the Italian giants had a crop of veteran star players during the 1930s, their fans showed their wit.
Juve were already affectionately known as the Lady; now they were the Old Lady – which made the Turin derby against Torino (Il Toro (the Bull)) even more of a mismatch on paper.
15. Gent: De Buffalos (The Buffalos)
Buffalos aren’t native to Belgium, are they? Well, no – but Gent’s nickname has nothing to do with the great big horned cattle; it’s a nod to Buffalo Bill.
The legendary American showman toured Europe with his Wild West circus in the early 20th century, and one of the cities he stopped at was Gent – hence he appears on the club’s crest.
14. De Graafschap: Superboeren (Super Farmers)
Hailing from the agriculturally significant eastern Dutch province of Gelderland, De Graafschap are fondly referred to as the Super Farmers.
Ahead of the club’s would-be promotion clincher against Jong Ajax in 2021, the locals showed their support by forming a guard of honour with more than 100 tractors (De Graafschap missed out on promotion on goal difference – awkward…).
13. Genk: De Smurfen (The Smurfs)
The Smurfs were the brainchild of Belgian comic book artist Peyo, and the little blue humanoids have left quite a legacy – including in football.
Genk play in blue, so it’s only right that they should draw their nickname from the nation’s most famous export (ok, maybe apart from chips and mayonnaise).
12. Partizan Belgrade: Grobari (The Gravediggers)
Visting Partizan Belgrade’s Partizan Stadium is daunting enough without knowing that you’re going to face the Gravediggers – but that’s the Serbian giants’ nickname.
It’s the name of the club’s ultras and can also be translated – only slightly less forebodingly – as the Undertakers. Probably a good idea not to mess with them, then.
11. Ajax: De Godenzonen (The Sons of the Gods)
This might be the most grandiose nickname in world football. To explain it, it’s time for another Greek mythology lesson.
You see, Ajax the Great – the hero from whom the iconic Amsterdam club take their name – was the son of Telamon, who was in turn the son of Aeacus – whose father was… Zeus (big beardy bloke – you’ve heard of him).
10. Zenit Saint Petersburg: Zenitchiki (The Anti-aircraft Gunners)
Arsenal are famously the Gunners. Well, Zenit Saint Petersburg can do a bit better than that: they’re the Anti-aircraft Gunners (of which, incidentally, Dennis Bergkamp was one).
That might suggest a very route-one style of the play, but that’s not something the regular Russian champions are known for, as far we can tell.
9. Alemannia Aachen: Kartoffelkafer (Potato Beetles)
Potato beetles are a notorious crop pest across America and Europe – including Germany, where Alemannia Aachen’s yellow and black striped shirts make them look somewhat like the insects.
Bundesliga runners-up way back in 1968/69, Alemannia’s glory days are well behind them, but they did return to the third tier of German football in 2024.
8. ChievoVerona: I Mussi Volanti (The Flying Donkeys)
The creators of Shrek must have been big ChievoVerona fans… Surely that’s the only way they could have come up with something as off-the-wall as flying donkeys (ok, they’re half-dragon, but still).
Chievo’s nickname – which appears in Venetian, a distinct language from Italian – was actually inspired by a dig from fans of arch-rivals Hellas Verona, who claimed that Chievo would only be promoted “if donkeys could fly”.
7. Albacete: El Queso Mecanico (The Clockwork Cheese)
Rinus Michels’ great Dutch teams of the 70s were known as the Clockwork Orange – inspired by the classic dystopian novel by Anthony Burgess (later adapted into film form by Stanley Kubrick).
So, when Spanish club Albacete had a successful spell during the 80s, they borrowed the nickname and altered it to pay homage to the area’s most famous export: Manchego cheese.
6. Estudiantes de La Plata: Los Pincharratas (The Rat Stabbers)
We love a ridiculously specific nickname and this one is right up there. Argentine outfit Estudiantes de La Plata are known as the Rat Stabbers because of a man called Felipe Montedonica.
5. Newell’s Old Boys: Los Leprosos (The Lepers)
Remember that leprosy relief match that Rosario Central refused to play in? Well, the other major club in the city of Rosario, Newell’s Old Boys, did play in it – and it got them their nickname, the Lepers.
It’s just another facet to the rich history of the club which produced Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
3. Chalvey Sports: The Stabmonks
The origin story of the nickname of Slough-based non-League outfit Chalvey Sports involves an organ grinder, a child and a monkey (yes, really).
Legend has it that organ grinder’s trained primate companion bit the finger of a child who was teasing it, prompting their incensed father to stab the monkey to death. Yet, for some reason, Slough still seems to be most famous as the setting of The Office.
2. Hartlepool United: The Monkey Hangers
From stabbing monkeys to hanging them, we move on up to North East England and Hartlepool, beloved club of legendary Soccer Saturday anchorman Jeff Stelling.
If local folklore us to be believed, a monkey washed up off the coast of the town, the sole survivor of a sunken French ship during the Napoleonic Wars, dressed in a French army uniform – and, unable to answer when interrogated, was assumed to be a French spy and hanged (sounds plausible). Rather brilliantly, Hartlepool’s mascot is a monkey named H’Angus.
1. Stamford: The Daniels
Stamford’s nickname of the Daniels doesn’t seem like much at first – but, of course, it’s got quite the story behind it…
The Lincolnshire non-Leaguers are known as such because of Daniel Lambert, who died in the town. Once the heaviest person in history at almost 53 stone, Lambert was a gaol keeper also renowned for his expertise in breeding cocks and dogs. Every day’s a school day, huh.
