AC Horsens, officially Alliance Club Horsens, is a Danish football club based in Horsens, founded in 1994. The club’s visual identity has centered on a yellow circular badge with black elements, most notably the three interlocking rings that served as the club’s symbol for 27 years.
Design and History
The club’s original logo featured three interlocking black rings at the center, placed above the text “AC HORSENS,” all enclosed within a black-bordered yellow circle. The three rings represented the three original clubs that came together to form AC Horsens: Horsens fS, Stensballe IK, and FC Horsens, symbolizing cooperation and shared sporting ambition.[1]
In the spring of 2006, the club introduced a new logo design.[2] A further minor modernization followed in 2017, when the yellow circle received a broader black border and the three black rings were made wider.[2]
In 2021, AC Horsens announced that the three rings, which had been the club’s symbol for 27 years, would be retired. The club presented a new logo to be used going forward.[3] The announcement also indicated that the club’s mascot would be replaced alongside the logo change.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The three interlocking rings in the club’s long-standing logo represented the three original clubs that merged to form AC Horsens: Horsens fS, Stensballe IK, and FC Horsens. This design element symbolized the unity and shared heritage of the founding clubs.[1] The yellow and black color scheme has been consistently associated with the club’s identity throughout its history.[4]
In 2019, the club launched a merchandise line using the abbreviation “HRSNS” with the year 1994, a design the club’s director stated was inspired by a similar campaign run by Brøndby IF. The design drew criticism from a local rap collective that had used the same abbreviation as a trademark since 2014.[5]
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