The Football Union of Russia, known in Russian as Российский футбольный союз (РФС), is the governing body for football in the Russian Federation. Its visual identity centers on a heraldic emblem built around the Russian state coat of arms, a design choice that required special presidential approval because public organizations are generally barred from using the national emblem in their logos.
Design and History
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian football authorities developed an emblem featuring a double-headed eagle based on the 1917 Provisional Government version, with a football added beneath the eagle. This early eagle was distinguished by pointed beaks and smooth feathers, lacking the crowns, orders and other heraldic accessories of the imperial coat of arms.[1]
In August 2010, the union prepared to change its logo. The new mark was similar to the old one but smaller, rendered in brighter colors: the football was colored in the white, blue and red of the Russian flag, and the eagle holding it appeared in gold.[2]
That same month, President Dmitry Medvedev signed Decree No. 1068, permitting the Russian Football Union to use the State Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation as the heraldic basis of its emblem, subject to coordination with the Heraldic Council under the President. The decree was necessary because federal law prohibited public organizations, a category that includes the union, from using the national coat of arms in a logo.[3][4]
The redesigned emblem, introduced around late 2010, retained the golden double-headed eagle as its dominant element but brought the bird’s appearance closer to that of the eagle on the state coat of arms. The football below the eagle was colored white, blue and red from top to bottom, matching the Russian flag, and was encircled by the Cyrillic text «Российский Футбольный Союз».[5]
According to Pyotr Golunov, then marketing director of the union, the previous eagle had only vaguely resembled the official double-headed eagle. The new version used the genuine state heraldic symbol following Medvedev’s decree. Golunov also noted that the new logo featured a real football, whereas the earlier mark showed an image that looked more like a “life preserver.” He added that union president Sergey Fursenko personally participated in developing and refining the new emblem’s design.[6]
The union filed a trademark application for the mark on September 13, 2010, and it was registered on January 18, 2012, under number 451453. The registration lists the image of an element of the State Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation as an unprotected element of the trademark.[7]
This 2010 emblem remained in use through 2023, according to the file description of the logo on the Russian Wikipedia.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The emblem’s core symbolism is explicitly tied to Russian statehood. The double-headed eagle is the official Russian heraldic symbol, and its inclusion on the logo was intended to emphasize the state importance of football and the government’s interest in developing the sport. The football’s white, blue and red coloring mirrors the Russian flag, and the union’s marketing director stated that the national team’s kit was redesigned to match these flag colors after the logo change.[6]
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