Over the past 18 months we’ve been on a journey to better demonstrate who we are to the wider community, to try and make more of the unique aspects of Brentford FC. As a result, we’ve seen a gradual change in the way we communicate with fans of our Club and those we hope to convert into fans over time.
As part of this process we have made the decision to evolve our crest, in order to make it more recognisable, iconic, and practical to use. Given that our crest is such a key element to our identity, updating it is not a decision we have taken lightly.
During the past 18 months we engaged with a wide range of fans and stakeholders within the Club about our crest and received a clear mandate to look at change. We then looked to the past for inspiration and modernised a range of historic designs.
The final crest design is loosely based on the crest we used from 1972-75 and the 1960s Brentford Supporters Club badge. We believe it’s simple, the clean bee design will help us become more recognisable as a Club over time and we hope you will all be proud to wear it for many years to come.
“It's always an emotive subject when a club decides to change something as important as its crest but part of our club's philosophy has always been about moving with the times and improving as we go,” says Chief Executive Mark Devlin.
“Myself, the Board, and the senior leadership team at the Club believe that's exactly what the change in the crest does. It's simple, it's iconic, and it immediately tells the world who we are without even the need for words.
“Like everything we do at Brentford, this isn't change for change's sake, there is always a reason behind it and that reason is to give the club a clearer and more recognisable crest that will help us grow off the field. We all recognise the old crest wasn't really fit for purpose in a digital age where impact has to be instant and that's part of the reason we've changed.
“This is not revolution, it's part of the Club's evolution. In the next few years, we will be taking huge strides with the move to a new stadium and the change of crest to a simpler, more striking image is part of that progress.”
Peter Gilham, Griffin Park Stadium Announcer for more than 40 years, adds: “I believe that the new crest shows off to good effect, without the complexity of our current one, both our heritage and tradition. We are known as The Bees and the new badge reflects exactly that. It allows for instant recognition, and is one that I believe supporters both young and old will take to."
Hall of Famer and incoming B Team Head Coach Kevin O’Connor says: "The current crest has been with me throughout my career at the Club so of course I'm a little bit sad to see it go. I understand that we need to adapt with the times and I think the new crest is really strong. It really catches your eye and says 'Brentford' a lot more instantly than our current one.
“I'm sure the players will be proud to wear it and I really think the fans will love it too.”
Find more background information about our shift to a new crest online here. For those wanting further information please email [email protected] and we’ll endeavour to get back to you as quickly as possible.