The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) is kicking off 2023 on the right foot with the unveiling of a new crest for Italy’s national football teams.
The new crest was launched on Monday, January 2. It features the Italian flag inside a blue shield with a white border, with “ITALIA” in bold white text at the top of the shield and “FIGC” in gold underneath. Overall, the shield and text are simplified compared to the previous national team crest, and emphasizes white over gold.
“We are ready for the future,” said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina on the federation’s website. “Today, we present the new image of the Italian National Teams; with this new badge and new sound identity, the latter of which has been created for the first time in history, we are entering a new realm. However, we still have that same desire to generate extraordinary emotions in all our fans. It is these emotions that have helped create the new badge that will appear on our shirts, renewing a glorious tradition in the process, and which provided the inspiration for the brand-new sound logo and ‘Azzurri’ track.”
The new crest was designed by Independent Ideas, the creative agency of Publicis Groupe, which has overseen a rebranding process for the entire FIGC. “It celebrates a symbol of the country and reflects the feelings and passion of all Italian fans,” according to the FIGC. The unveiling announcement mentions the emotions that supporters and players feel: confidence, desire, awe and joy. “It is from these feelings, and the feelings that every fan feels when the Italy shirt is being worn out on the pitch, that the new badge of the Italian National Football Teams has been conceived.”
The four stars above the shield represent Italy’s four men’s World Cup titles (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006). The FIGC also released a full-color version of the crest for use on a white background, as well as gold and white one-color versions.
The crest follows in the footsteps of a new institutional logo for the FIGC that was unveiled in October 2022. New kits for the Italian national teams are coming “in the next few days,” as the FIGC signed a new deal with Adidas that took effect on January 1, 2023. They had been outfitted by Puma since 2003.
Along with the new crest, the FIGC also unveiled a new music system “that will feature on every touchpoint, whether physical or digital.”
The sound identity was created by Inarea Identity Design. It is built around a track titled “Azzurri” composed by Enrico Giaretta and Maurizio D’Aniello. It can be played as a whole or even condensed down to a three-second clip.
“The concept is that of ‘The sound of a nation beating as one,’ which aims to transmit, in two simple notes, all the values that Italian football has sought to convey for 125 years,” the FIGC said. “The two notes, with their strongly emotional character, are in keeping with the FIGC’s DNA. And this emotional character is only enhanced by the voice of the soprano Susanna Rigacci, already known for her historic collaborations with the late Maestro Ennio Morricone.”
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