The Coburg Football Club, known as the Coburg Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg that competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The club’s visual identity has shifted several times over its history, reflecting changes in nickname, affiliation and competition status.
Design and History
Coburg competed as the Lions from 1925 until 2001, with a logo presented in a shield format used during that period. When the club entered an alignment with the AFL’s Richmond Football Club in 2001, it changed both its nickname and its logo, adopting the Tigers identity. That logo remained in use until the affiliation with Richmond ended after the 2013 season, when Coburg returned to operating as a stand-alone club in the VFL from 2014 and reverted to the Lions nickname.[1]
The club’s own history page confirms the nickname changes: from 2001 until 2013, during the Richmond alignment, the club changed its nickname from the Lions to the Tigers, and after the affiliation ended, it returned to the Lions name from 2014.[2]
A current logo was introduced in 2025, described as a near-replica of the original patch from 1925, with the “Coburg Lions” name emblazoned on the top and bottom of the crest and the old VFA logo removed from the design.[1] The 2025 introduction aligns with the club’s centenary year, as Coburg was admitted into the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1925.[2]
Earlier in the club’s history, in 1999, the club was renamed Coburg-Fitzroy Lions and wore the Fitzroy Lions guernsey on various occasions, a relationship that lasted only two full seasons before the Richmond alignment began in 2001.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The club’s colours are navy blue and red, which are consistently referenced across official club communications, including descriptions of players appearing “in the famous red and blue.”[3] The 2025 centenary logo draws directly on the original 1925 patch, connecting the current identity to the club’s founding era in the VFA.[1]
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