The Australian Football League could look markedly different next season with reports that three of the league’s 18 teams are considering new visual identities for 2025.
The AFL’s official website published a story on Thursday, August 8, revealing that the Adelaide Crows, Gold Coast Suns and St. Kilda Football Club are all putting the finishing touches on new logos, which are likely to make their on-field debuts next year.
Melbourne-based St. Kilda is the most established of the three clubs considering changes. They were founded in 1873 and have had their current logo since 1995. It features a white shield with a black cross and a red bar at the top, in which “St. K.F.C.” is written. A ribbon below the shield has a red section on the left side, a black section on the right side and a white section in the middle with the club’s Latin motto “FORTIUS QUO FIDELIUS” (“Strength Through Loyalty”).
“After considerable consultation with members and stakeholders we are in the final stages of a refresh to our logo,” reads a statement from St. Kilda to the league website. “This consultation has allowed us to feel confident that the new design represents our history with pride, while also allowing us to modernise our exciting future.”
Prior to 1995, St. Kilda had a couple of different logos featuring a stick figure with a halo over its head. The “Stickman Saint” was revived for a retro guernsey design in 2024.
Adelaide Football Club, meanwhile, joined the AFL in 1991, and have fully embraced their Crows nickname from day one. Their current logo, adopted in 2010, features a navy blue swooping crow’s head above “ADELAIDE” in red with yellow highlights. “CROWS” is spelled out below that in yellow with highlights.
“It’s understood the Crows have completed a significant amount of preparatory work with a view to potentially making some changes to their logo ahead of next year,” the AFL article says.
The Crows’ first crest featured a crow with swooping red, yellow and blue lines behind it inside a white shield with a red outline; “ADELAIDE” and “CROWS” were written out above the crow in yellow on a navy background. In 1996, the writing was changed to emphasize the city name. Then, from 1999-2009, the club ditched the shield and used the crow with the swooping lines behind on its own, with the team name in navy underneath.
The last of the teams readying changes for 2025 is the Gold Coast Suns, who are based in the suburb of Carrara, Queensland, and joined the AFL in 2011. Their current primary logo is a red oval in roughly the shape of an Australian football with a yellow outline and the letters “GC” inside in yellow and a blue shadow. “SUNS” is written out in red underneath, arching to match the curve of the ball.
Gold Coast has used roughly the same primary logo throughout its history. They do have an alternate version of it with sun rays emanating from the center of the football.
“The Suns are expecting to make wholesale changes to both their logo as well as their home and away guernseys for next year, though a final decision on the designs has not yet been made,” the AFL article says.
The article also mentions that the Essendon Bombers are conducting a review into their branding, but “while that process remains ongoing, it’s understood the Bombers will not be making any imminent changes for next season.”
The AFL is reaching the end of its 2024 regular season. The top eight teams will qualify for the four-week Finals Series, which culminates in the Grand Final on September 28 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Gold Coast, St. Kilda and Adelaide Crows currently sit 13th, 14th and 15th respectively in the AFL ladder.
