Star (sport badge)

Generally inspired by the star symbol in heraldry, since the late 1950s, when it was introduced for the first time in association football, various national governing bodies at club level and some confederations have also regulated the practice.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), at an international level, was the first federation to regulate the addition of stars to crests in recognition of a significant number of titles in a specific competition, such as league tournaments, confederations' continental championships, club world titles and the FIFA World Cup.

[1] Due to the positive reception in the public opinion, it was subsequently introduced in other disciplines, mostly in team sports, but also in e-sports.

In all continents and continental competitions, a star is awarded to the champion, and in some countries and domestic competitions, with the number of championships in the league, according to the rules of the domestic league, the champion teams can add a star to the logo, but in the Asian continent and competitions Some countries do not follow this rule and this rule is not seen in the rules of the country leagues of this continent The first team in sports history to adopt a star was Juventus,[2] who added one golden star with five points in the team's shirt, after Italian Football Federation (FIGC) approval, in 1958 to represent their tenth Italian Football Championship and Serie A title, at the time, the new national record.

[1] This was an extension of the existing convention by which the reigning champions are entitled to display the scudetto on their shirts for the following season.

In 2004, the DFL, which governs the Bundesliga (the top two divisions), introduced Verdiente Meistervereine (roughly "distinguished champion clubs").

Dynamo Berlin (playing in the fourth level) unilaterally began wearing three unapproved stars for its East German titles.

[9] In November 2005, the DFB, which governs non-Bundesliga football, allowed former champions playing outside the Bundesliga to display a single star inscribed with the number of titles.

[11] In 2020 the system was changed again with the defending champion receiving a silver star and wearing a redesigned MLS scudetto on their sleeve for the following season.

In Australia, they also use a system based around different coloured stars for different trophy wins: Australian winners of the AFC Champions League will wear a gold star inscribed with the number of wins, while A-League and W-League victory is recognised with a silver star similarly embossed; reigning league or FFA Cup champions will also wear a gold competition emblem in the season following the championship.

[12]Occasionally, stars are added to badges of successor or phoenix clubs for the achievements of defunct predecessors.

[14] As well as predecessor clubs, victories in the national leagues of defunct countries have also been represented by stars.

FC Dynamo Kyiv have two stars, commemorating championships won in the Soviet and Ukrainian football league systems.

[17] Uruguay display four stars, including their triumphs in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, which are regarded as FIFA amateur world championships by the governing body.

Manchester United sported a star in their UEFA Champions League matches on their special European home kit between 1997 and 1999.

[21] Liverpool likewise wore four stars in 2001–02, their first campaign in the competition since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

Occasionally, stars are temporarily added for one season, usually to commemorative kits to celebrate the anniversary of a particular event in the club's history.

[24] This is not a practice limited to clubs, as in 2004, Denmark wore a star on their shirts specially for Euro 2004, to commemorate their victory in the competition in 1992.

In women's football, the emerging ad hoc standard is to wear stars on the sleeve instead of above the badge.

The practice of using stars to signify major titles has spread to other football codes, and to unrelated sports.

[14] The four nations are regularly used in Montreal imagery, as the city flag and coat of arms both reference them.

[citation needed] Following the crash of LaMia Flight 2933, Brazilian club Chapecoense incorporated a star into its badge as a tribute to those who perished in the incident.

[61] Yeovil Town added three stars above its crest for 2017–18, for every five seasons they have remained in the English Football League.

[80] Forest Green Rovers added three stars to the back of the neck area for 2018–19, to denote progression in the EFL.