Royal Standard de Liège, commonly known as Standard Liège, is a Belgian football club founded in 1898 by students of the Collège Saint-Servais in Liège. The club has played in red and white since its creation, colors that remain central to its visual identity today. The club has won 10 Belgian championship titles and 8 Belgian Cups since 1954.[1]
Design and History
The current Standard Liège crest, in use since 2013, is built around a shield divided vertically into red and white halves. The interlocked letters “SL” sit on the white side of the shield, with a crown above and a ribbon below bearing the founding year “1898.”[2] The 2013 update added a five-pointed star above the crown, representing the club’s ten Belgian championship titles, and introduced the “1898” date ribbon beneath the shield.[3]
The club’s visual identity has been notably consistent and conservative over the decades. The first documented crest, introduced in 1923, featured a narrow shield divided vertically with red on the left and a wider white section on the right, containing the black interlocked “SL” initials in an elegant script style. In 1972, the crest was redesigned with black replaced by a light gold tone, and a gold crown was added above the shield along with a white and gold wreath below. The shield’s lines and contours were redrawn again in 1980, with bolder framing and a more schematic, lighter crown.[4]
In 2023, for the club’s 125th anniversary, Standard Liège introduced a temporary crest worn only for the 2023-24 season. The anniversary version was a slight update of the regular 2013 crest: the banner beneath the shield, which already contained “1898,” was extended to include the year 2023 and the Roman numerals “CXXV” (125). The gold shade was lightened slightly, and the proportions of the shield and certain elements were adjusted. The crown, red and white shield, and “SL” initials were maintained.[2] Belgian media reported that this anniversary crest blended historical elements from different crests in the club’s history.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The crown, red and white shield, and “SL” initials have been essential elements of the Standard Liège crest for many decades.[2] The five-pointed star added in 2013 represents the club’s ten Belgian championship titles, a common convention in European football where one star denotes ten league titles.[3] The club’s official history confirms that red and white were chosen as the club colors at its founding and remain the colors worn today.[1]
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