January 28, 2022 7.00 am This story is over 26 months old

Fan vote leads to Grimsby Town changing logo after all – despite initial uproar

There was backlash when it was first unveiled
Grimsby Town has updated its crest after 50 years, with the help of Apple designer and Mariners fan Rich Lyons. | Photo: Grimsby Town FC
By Local Democracy Reporter

Grimsby Town will officially change the club crest for the first time in 50 years, after fans voted to approve the alterations to the original badge – despite initial anger.

Grimsby Town announced the reimagined badge with subtle changes on January 1, to mark the beginning of 2022 and to ignite hopes of the football club entering a new era, following their relegation from the English Football League last season.

Poignantly named “New Year, New Era, Brand New”, the logo, created by Apple designer and Mariners fan Rich Lyons, was redefined with a flag atop the trawler with the club’s founding year of 1878 on it, as well as having an altered font and thicker outlines.

The idea was to create a modern-looking crest that will serve as a staple of the club for the coming decades, but not all fans were on board with it.

https://twitter.com/officialgtfc/status/1477251160939638785?s=20

The board were criticised by supporters for a lack of communication and dialogue about the plans, something which they promptly apologised for and then sought to make amends.

Fans were given the chance to vote on whether the changes would go ahead, or if the club reverted back to its old badge.

The results were announced on Tuesday, January 25, and with 62.05% of the votes, the new crest design came out on top.

A spokesperson for Grimsby Town said in a statement: “The implementation of our new crest, in line with our first ever GTFC brand guidelines, will be recognisable over the coming months as we ‘drip feed’ our rebranding efforts.

“As previously stated, examples of the former crest and brand will be visible across the club for some time whilst we continue to make these changes. Our current kit and existing merchandise will remain unchanged until next season.

“We would like to thank all supporters who took the time to cast their vote, Sandii Raithby, secretary of the Mariners Trust and our staff members for assisting with the verification of our voting process.”