It all started with a small advertisement in a local newspaper. A few days later, on 15 November 1893, FC Basel was founded, the club the whole of Switzerland now knows as FCB or "RotBlau". This year the team from the banks of the Rhine turns 133. In that time it has collected 21 league titles and caused trouble for several of Europe's biggest clubs. Its shirt, half red and half blue, is one of the most distinctive on the continent.

An advert in the newspaper

On 12 November 1893 Roland Geldner placed a notice in the Basler National newspaper, asking anyone who wanted to play football to gather. The meeting was set for the following Wednesday at 8:15 in the evening, at the Schuhmachern-Zunft restaurant. Eleven men turned up, most of them from the academic world, and Geldner became the first president. The first official match took place on 10 December against a team from a school gymnastics club, and Basel won 2-0.

Red for love, blue for loyalty

The club's colours were red and blue from the very first day. The most common explanation is that some of the founding members belonged to the Basler Ruder-Club, a rowing club with the same colours. That is also where the nickname "RotBlau", meaning "RedBlue", comes from. Fans also call the team "Bebbi", which in the local dialect means "citizen of Basel". The shirt even carries a Swiss German phrase, "Rot isch unseri Liebi…", which roughly says that red is their love, blue their eternal loyalty and Basel their city.

A badge in the middle of the chest

The crest is a shield with a gold outline, red on the left and blue on the right, with the gold letters FCB in the centre. One special feature: Basel do not wear it on the left, like most teams, but in the middle of the shirt. Nike and adidas have both made the shirt, adidas from 2012 to 2017. Since 2025 the manufacturer has been Macron, as on the Macron goalkeeper shirt we have in our shop, while the main sponsor is Novartis.

Benthaus, Odermatt and Hügi

The club's first great era came with coach Helmut Benthaus, who stayed on the bench from 1965 to 1982 and brought several league titles. The leader on the pitch was Karl Odermatt, with 411 appearances in all competitions between 1963 and 1976. The list of greats also includes Josef Hügi, the club's all-time top scorer in the league. Those years also produced one of the strangest cup finals ever. In 1967 the Lausanne players sat down on the pitch after Basel scored, the referee abandoned the match and the trophy was awarded to Basel with a 3-0 win on paper.

From the Landhof to the "Joggeli"

The club's first home was the Landhof, which its owner made available free of charge in the early years. On 15 March 2001 St. Jakob-Park opened on the site of the old St. Jakob Stadium, with a capacity of over 37,000. Locals affectionately call it the "Joggeli". It hosted six Euro 2008 matches and the 2016 Europa League final.

European nights

In the Champions League, on 7 December 2011, they beat Manchester United 2-1 and knocked them out of the competition, and a few months later they beat Bayern 1-0 in the first leg of the last 16. In 2013 they reached the Europa League semi-finals after eliminating Tottenham on penalties, and the following season they beat Chelsea 2-1 in London.

The comeback double

After a period without titles, the 2024-25 season brought a return to the top. With Fabio Celestini as coach and Xherdan Shaqiri, who came back to the club in the summer of 2024, Basel won their 21st league title, the first since 2017. Shortly afterwards they also lifted their 14th Swiss Cup, beating Biel 4-1 in the final, for the seventh double in the club's history.

From a newspaper advert to the packed stands of St. Jakob-Park, Basel have stayed loyal to their two colours. Happy birthday to "RotBlau", and for chilly November evenings there is always the Macron sweatshirt!

See FC Basel shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: St. Jakob-Park – Luca-bs, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.