World Football Club Crests

The Latin motto Audere est facere, which translates as ‘To dare is to do’, is a phrase that has long characterised Tottenham Hotspur. Even if it took until 1983 before this exhortation reached the club’s emblem, the motto has made its mark on the North London team.

The Spurs have certainly dared when it came to their crest, having changed and modernised it five times in almost a century. Formed in 1882, Tottenham played with an insignificant red H on the left breast of players’ shirts until 1921, when a blue cockerel in a shield was adopted. The club stretched back to the 14th century for its inspiration, to the name and crest of Sir Henry Percy, a knight who caught the public imagination of his time. His habit of driving his spurs into his horses’ flanks in the charge gave way to the nickname Hotspur – and earned him a place in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1.

The spurred cockerel appeared on the club crest after the team’s second FA Cup win in 1921, and the bird has been synonymous with the club since. The club’s 1951 First Division championship saw it change to a slimline cockerel, which has remained a constant even while the crest itself has varied.

Even though the club is known for good football and for having footballing superstars like Jürgen Klinsmann, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, David Ginola and Gary Lineker represent it, the big titles have eluded them in modern times. Instead the supporters have had to identify themselves with one of the league’s most attacking and crowd-pleasing teams, whose tactics have largely been about scoring goals.

CLUB: Tottenham Hotspur FC

NICKNAMES: Spurs, The Lilywhites

FOUNDED: 1882

STADIUM: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (62,062 capacity)

HISTORIC PLAYERS: Jimmy Greaves, Steve Perryman, Osvaldo Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric

1921–1930. In 1921 when Tottenham won their second FA Cup title, it was the first time they had worn an emblem with a cockerel on their jerseys. The bird has its origins in Sir Henry Percy (1364–1403), better known as Sir Harry Hotspur, after whom the club was named. He was a nobleman, notorious for his bad temper, and often wore spurs. He was also interested in cockfighting. In 1909, a bronze statue of a cockerel was erected above White Hart Lane’s west stand. Since then the cockerel and Tottenham have been inseparable.

1951–1966. After the club’s first league title in 1951 the club crest was given a facelift which saw the cockerel becoming considerably thinner. This slimline cockerel appeared in several different variations, among them this one.

1983–1995 and 1999–2006. Tottenham’s cockerel was altered many times over the last century. To make the crest harder to pirate, the motto Audere est Facere was included and the club’s initials were flanked by two lions.

1997–1999. Before the new millennium Tottenham chose a more heraldic crest with many different elements. The cockerel, the initials, the lions and the motto were joined by the nearby Bruce Castle and by seven trees representing the Seven Sisters, a famous, perhaps mythical copse, in North London.

2006–present. To help modernise the club, another emblem was introduced. This version was modelled on the crest used between 1967 and 1982 when the cockerel stood on a leather ball. The club name was spelled out below the bird. Before the 2017/18 season, the cockerel was once more framed by the classic shield on the match jerseys to honour the league title of 1961.

Club motto Audere est facere, or ‘To dare is to do’, is a phrase that encapulates the striking talents of Harry Kane, a prolific goalscorer who plays for a club famous for great strikers, incuding Jimmy Greaves, Clive Allen, Jürgen Klinnsman and Gary Lineker.