Aston Villa fans have been reacting to the unveiling of their new club crest.
The circular badge that adorned Aston Villa kits in the 2023/24 seasons is set to be replaced by a new design for the next campaign.
The change represents Villa’s second badge change since the club decided to review its image in 2022, becoming the first club to do so since the Premier League brought in rules that meant fans must be involved in any major changes to either the badge or club colours.
This review was undertaken in a bid to explore how Villa can become more appealing to a global audience and subsequently boost revenue via a previously relatively untapped international market.
With Villa’s Champions League qualification, they have a chance to really capitalise on an increased viewership and more eyes on the club.
The rebranding process has been confusing at times, with the decision to change the badge from having ‘AVFC’ on to ‘Aston Villa’ due to global fans potentially being unsure what the abbreviated version stood for.
Now, the new club crest has been officially unveiled, alongside Villa’s partnership with Adidas, and fans have been voicing their opinions on the new design.
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Aston Villa fans react angrily to new badge
The new emblem is a significant change from the circular badge which fans previously voted for.
However, it bears a striking resemblance to the badge that was in use prior to the circle badge being brought in.
Former Villans striker Stan Collymore posted the new badge on ‘X’ on Sunday, before opening the floodgates for fans’ views on the updated crest, as he asked: “Villans, your erudite thoughts on the new crest please…”
The Villa faithful duly obliged, flooding Collymore with responses, but it appears that whilst some were in favour the overwhelming majority are unhappy with the change.
One Villa fan expressed his dissatisfaction, posting: “It’s as if Chris Heck’s designed it himself in PowerPoint… Disappointing. The other lion they’ve copyrighted would’ve been a much better improvement.”
Another added: “After 2 years of fan consultations and we end up with the same badge with just the tweak of avfc turning into Aston Villa. Money & time well spent then.”
One fan does not believe the Premier League rules were followed properly, saying: “Isn’t that pretty much what we voted to change last year? CH playing fast and loose with FA Heritage rules here. I’ve yet to see any evidence that this was justified. Whether he likes the round badge or not, it’s what we voted for last year.
Another echoed this sentiment, responding: “Hate it, the fans had their say last season and voted for the return of the round badge. Why ignore that and go back to the shield that we don’t want?”
Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect a fanbase to unanimously agree on a badge, but from the response to Collymore’s post it would appear Villa may have got this one wrong.
