Torns IF (Torns Idrottsförening) is a Swedish football club based in Stångby, just north of Lund, formed in 1965 [1]. The club’s current badge is a yellow-and-blue shield with towers, a design that has remained unchanged since it was modernized and digitalized in 2008 [1]. The club’s match shirts, notably, are orange, a contrast that has long puzzled supporters and is explained by a documented history that reaches back to the club’s founding.
Meaning and Symbolism
The shield and towers: The badge was created from a medal shield the club already owned. The towers were originally intended to number seven, symbolizing the seven church towers of the former Torns municipality, but only five fit because the design became too wide at the top [1].
The yellow “T”: The yellow portion of the badge forms a “T”, and the shield with towers reflects the club name, “Torn” meaning tower in Swedish. The club’s own account confirms this was the underlying idea of those who created the badge [1].
Yellow and blue: The badge’s colors trace directly to the club’s original match kits. When the club was founded, local merchant Erik Scharffenberg, a strong supporter, insisted the kits be yellow and blue and offered to pay for them, so the first teams played in those colors [1].
Design and History
The badge’s resemblance to Malmö FF’s crest is not coincidental, and the club has acknowledged it openly. In the years after the 1971 municipal reform folded Torns municipality into Lund, Malmö FF’s Eric “Hövdingen” Persson telephoned Torns’ then-chairman Bengt Persson and urged the club to change its badge. Bengt Persson, a Malmö native, was firm that the towers on the Torns badge were there to stay. The matter resurfaced in the early 1980s when Persson pursued legal action against clubs he felt had infringed on Malmö FF’s design, and Malmö FF’s 1982 yearbook ultimately referenced Torns IF as “first in the line of plagiarists” [1].
In 2008, when the club launched a new website, the original emblem was modernized and digitalized, and for the first season in a long time the badge was again printed in color on match shirts. The badge in its current form has been unchanged since then [1].
The badge gained wider attention in late 2021 when it was voted the Nordic region’s most popular club badge in a Twitter tournament featuring over 500 club marks [1].
One of the most distinctive facts about Torns IF is that the badge and the match shirts tell different stories. The yellow-and-blue badge preserves the colors of the club’s original kits, while the orange shirts were adopted later. When the club prepared to move up to the national leagues, the Swedish Football Association’s rules prevented new clubs from playing in kits too similar to the national team’s. The club then chose orange, a color that connected to Stångby IF, the village’s earlier club, which had used orange in the 1930s and 1940s before folding [1].
As of the 2025 season, the club’s men’s team plays in Division 2, having been relegated from Ettan Södra at the end of the 2024 season after seven seasons in that league [2].
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Torns IF logo represent? The badge is a shield with towers, where the yellow forms a “T”. The towers were intended to symbolize the seven church towers of the former Torns municipality, though only five fit in the final design. The shield and towers together reflect the club name [1].
Why is the Torns IF badge yellow and blue while the shirts are orange? The badge is yellow and blue because the club’s original match kits were yellow and blue, sponsored by local merchant Erik Scharffenberg at the club’s founding. The orange shirts came later, adopted when Swedish Football Association rules prevented new clubs from wearing kits too similar to the national team’s; orange was chosen to honor Stångby IF’s historical club color [1].
When was the Torns IF logo redesigned? The original emblem was modernized and digitalized in 2008, and the badge in its current form has been unchanged since then [1].
When was Torns IF founded? The club was formed in 1965 in Stångby, in the former Torns municipality that is now part of Lund municipality [1].
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