Good scarf wording fits in a few words, reads from the far end of the ground and tells everyone straight away who you are. Aim for about 15 characters on classic jacquard and 25 on HD jacquard, in capitals, with strong contrast between the wording and the background. Below are 50 football scarf slogan ideas sorted by theme, to adapt with your club, town or group name, followed by the rules that make them look good once knitted.
Replace the square brackets with your own details. All these examples are generic: on your scarf, only use names and marks you have the right to use.
Club identity
The classic: name, town, year founded. Simple and effective.
- [CLUB NAME]
- [TOWN] TILL I DIE
- PROUD TO BE [TOWN]
- EST. [YEAR]
- [CLUB] [YEAR]
- COME ON [CLUB]
- [NICKNAME] ARMY
- [TOWN] TOWN
- ONE CLUB ONE TOWN
- HOME OF [NICKNAME]
These work especially well on classic jacquard for a non-league or grassroots side: see our designs for football club scarves and rugby scarves.
Generic terrace mottos
Something with a bit of spirit, without borrowing another club’s chant.
- ALWAYS LOYAL
- HOME AND AWAY
- FAITHFUL AS EVER
- STAND UP TOGETHER
- NEVER SAY DIE
- PRIDE OF [COUNTY]
- ONE TEAM ONE DREAM
- EVERY WEEK
- RAIN OR SHINE
- SUNDAY LEAGUE LEGENDS
- 90 MINUTES OF PASSION
- 80 MINUTES OF GRAFT
The last three go over 15 characters, so keep them for HD jacquard or HD woven. For an organised group, take a look at our supporters club scarves for more ideas.
Dates, seasons, cup runs and promotions
A date turns a scarf into a keepsake that stays in the drawer long after the season ends.
- SEASON [YYYY/YY]
- [XX] YEARS STRONG
- CENTENARY [YEAR]
- PROMOTED [YEAR]
- CHAMPIONS [YEAR]
- CUP FINAL [YEAR]
- THE CUP RUN [YEAR]
- THANK YOU [NAME]
Tip: on HD woven or satin, put the club name on the front and the date or occasion on the back.
School, university and leavers
For a school, a sixth form, a university society or a college, a scarf is a real badge of belonging. See also our school and university scarves.
- LEAVERS [YEAR]
- CLASS OF [YEAR]
- [SCHOOL] [YEAR]
- PROUD OF [SCHOOL]
- [SCHOOL] ALUMNI
- [SOCIETY] SOC
- GRADUATES [YEAR]
- TEAM [HOUSE]
Work and corporate
Away days, five-a-side tournaments, client gifts: understated wording that puts the brand or team first.
- [BRAND]
- TEAM [BRAND]
- STRONGER TOGETHER
- [BRAND] [YEAR]
- [BRAND] 5-A-SIDE
- TEAM [DEPARTMENT]
Events and weddings
For a party, a festival or a wedding in club colours. Our guide to personalised wedding scarves has more ideas.
- [NAME] & [NAME]
- I DO [DD.MM.YYYY]
- JUST MARRIED [YEAR]
- TEAM BRIDE
- [EVENT] [YEAR]
- I WAS THERE [YEAR]
The rules for readable scarf wording
1. Match the length to the technique
- Classic jacquard: around 15 characters, spaces included.
- HD jacquard: around 25 characters, at the same letter height but with finer stitches.
- HD woven and printed satin: finer lettering is possible, but a few words still read better at a distance.
If your phrase is too long, cut it: “[TOWN]” often works better than “[TOWN] Athletic Football Club”. Our comparison of jacquard vs woven scarves helps you pick the technique that suits your wording.
2. Use capitals
Capital letters have regular shapes that knit cleanly. Lower-case letters with descenders (g, p, y) lose detail in a knit. Avoid script or very thin fonts too.
3. Get the contrast right
The wording must stand out clearly from the background: white on navy, yellow on black, white on red, gold on claret. Avoid pairs that are too close, such as yellow on white or navy on black. There are 16 yarn colours, matched to your Pantone references at proof stage.
4. Think about both sides
On jacquard, the back is a negative of the front: same wording, colours reversed. Check that the reversed version is still readable. On HD woven and satin, use both sides for two different messages, as on our double-sided scarves.
5. Watch the punctuation
Apostrophes, ampersands and exclamation marks all take up stitches. On a 15-character line, they count. A closing “!” can go if space is tight.
6. Check spelling and rights
Proofread letter by letter, especially names and dates. And only use names, slogans and marks that belong to you or that you have permission to use.
Test your wording before you order
The safest way is to see the wording in place. In the scarf configurator, type your ideas, change the wording and background colours, and check the stitch-by-stitch preview on jacquard. When you are happy, send it as a quote request: a designer checks legibility and sends you a free design proof within 24 working hours, with unlimited changes before production.
Read next
Club scarf budget
A club scarf budget comes down to two things: the technique and the quantity. Prices are per scarf, ex VAT and excluding delivery, and they drop at 100, 250, 500 and 1,000 pieces. Add any extras, check the next tier up, and plan resale before you order.
Design a football scarf
To design a football scarf, pick a technique, set your colours, wording and crest in the configurator, choose a quantity (50 minimum) and approve the free design proof. Production then takes 4–6 weeks.
Washing your scarf
Wash your football scarf at 30°C on a delicate cycle, or by hand, then dry it flat and keep it out of the tumble dryer. The details depend on whether it is knitted acrylic (jacquard) or woven polyester (woven or satin).