Football Club Nicknames Across Europe (2024/25)

• 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

• Bournemouth - The Cherries

• Brentford - The Bees

• Brighton - The Seagulls

• Chelsea - The Blues

• Crystal Palace - The Eagles

• Everton - The Toffees

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

• Leicester City - The Foxes

• Liverpool - The Reds

• Man City - The Citizens / The Sky Blues

• Man United - The Red Devils

• Newcastle Utd - The Magpies

• Nottingham Forest - Forest

• Southampton - The Saints

• Tottenham - Spurs / The Lilywhites

• West Ham - The Hammers / The Irons

• Wolverhampton Wanderers - Wolves

Championship Nicknames

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

• Bristol City - The Robins

• Burnley - The Clarets

• Cardiff City - The Bluebirds

• Coventry City - The Sky Blues

• Derby County - The Rams

• Hull City - The Tigers

• Leeds United - The Whites/ The Peacocks

• Luton Town - The Hatters

• Middlesbrough - Boro / The Smoggies

• Millwall - The Lions

• Norwich City - The Canaries

• Oxford United - The U's / The Yellows

• Plymouth Argyle - Argyle / The Pilgrims

• Portsmouth - Pompey 

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

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

• Sheffield United - The Blades / Red and White Wizards

• Sheffield Wednesday - The Owls

• Stoke City - The Potters

• Sunderland - The Black Cats

• Swansea City - The Swans

• Watford - The Hornets

• West Bromwich Albion - The Baggies / Albion

League 1 Nicknames

• Barnsley - The Tykes / The Reds

• Birmingham City - The Blues

• Blackpool - The Seasiders / The Tangerines

• Bolton Wanderers - The Trotters / The Wanderers

• Bristol Rovers - Rovers / The Pirates / The Gas

• Burton Albion - The Brewers

• Cambridge United - United / The U's

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

• Crawley - The Red Devils

• Exeter City - The Grecians

• Huddersfield Town - The Terriers

• Leyton Orient - The O's

• Lincoln City - The Imps

• Mansfield Town - The Stags

• Northampton Town - The Cobblers / Shoe Army

• Peterborough United - The Posh 

• Reading - The Royals

• Rotherham United - The Millers

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

• Stevenage - The Boro

• Stockport County - County / The Hatters

• Wigan Athletic - The Latics

• Wrexham - The Red Dragons / The Robin

• Wycombe Wanderers - The Chairboys / The Blues

League 2 Nicknames

• Accrington Stanley - The 'Owd Reds

• AFC Wimbledon - The Dons / The Wombles

• Barrow - The Bluebirds

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

• Carlisle United - Cumbrians / The Blues

• Cheltenham Town - The Robins

• Colchester United - The U's

• Crewe Alexandra - The Railwaymen / The Alex

• Doncaster Rovers - Rovers

• Fleetwood Town - The Cod Army

• Gillingham - The Gills

• Grimsby Town - The Mariners

• Harrogate Town - Town / The Sulphurites

• MK Dons - The Dons 

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

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

• Notts County - The Magpies

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

• Salford City FC - The Ammies

• 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)

• Cagliari - Gli Isolani (The Islanders)

• Como - I Lariana / I Voltiana (Those from Lake Como / The Voltaics)

• Empoli - Gli Azzurri (The Blues)

• 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)

• Monza - I Biancorossi / I Bagaj (The White and Reds / The Boys)

• Napoli - Gli Azzurri (The Blues)

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

• Roma - I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds)

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

• Udinese - I Bianconeri (The White and Blacks)

• Venezia - I Leoni alati (The Winged Lions)

Bundesliga Nicknames

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

• Bayer Leverkusen - Die Werkself (The Company XI)

• Bayern - Die Roten (The Reds)

• Bochum - Die Unabsteigbaren (The Undescendables)

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

• Borussia Monchengladbach - Die Fohlen (The Foals)

• Eintracht Frankfurt - Die Adler (The Eagles)

• Freiburg - Breisgau-Brasilianer (Brazilians of Breisgau)

• Heidenheim - N/A

• Hoffenheim - Die Kraichgauer (From Kraichgau region)

• Holstein Kiel - Die Störche (The Storks)

• Leipzig - Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls)

• Mainz - Die Nullfunfer (The O-Fives) 

• St. Pauli - Freibeuter der Liga (League Buccaneers)

• Stuttgart - Die Roten (The Reds)

• 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 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…

• Alaves - El Glorioso (The Glorious One)

• 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)

• Getafe - Los Azulones (The Deep Blues)

• Girona - Blanquivermells (White and Reds)

• Las Palmas - Los Amarillos

• Leganes - Los Pepineros (The Cucumber Growers)

• Mallorca - Los Bermellones (The Vermilions)

• Osasuna - Los Rojillos (The Reds)

• Rayo Vallecano - Los Franjirrojos (The Red Sashes)

• 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)

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

• Valencia - Los Che ('Hey!')

• Valladolid - Pucela I Pucelanos

• Villarreal - El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine)

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