Genoa was born on 7 September 1893 in the city of Genoa, founded not by Italians but by local Britons. On 7 September 2027 the Griffin turns 134. It is the oldest football club in Italy still playing today, and its shirt hides a British story.

At the British consulate

The founding act was signed by nine people in a room of the British consulate, at Via Palestro 10. Consul Charles Alfred Payton became honorary president and Charles de Grave Sells president.

The name was Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club, because at first the club was about cricket and athletics. Some historians believe the group already existed the year before, but the official birthday is 7 September.

The Englishman who opened the door to Italians

In the early years Italians could not become members. That changed in 1897 with Englishman James Richardson Spensley, who put football at the centre and opened the team to locals.

In 1898 Genoa won the first Italian championship in Turin, a tournament that lasted just one day. In the final they beat Internazionale Torino 3-1 after extra time, and on 2 January 1899 the name became Genoa Cricket and Football Club, as it remains today.

From white to red and blue

The first shirt was white, like cricket whites. White and blue stripes came in 1899, and in 1901 the team adopted the shirt split down the middle into red and blue.

Italian Wikipedia says the shades, a deep red and a dark blue, were chosen to recall the British flag. Sources do disagree, however, on whether the change happened in 1900 or 1901.

Those colours gave rise to the nickname "rossoblù", meaning "red and blue". On the badge stands the griffin, the mythical creature with a lion's body and an eagle's head, which also appears on Genoa's coat of arms, together with the cross of Saint George.

Nine titles and the first "Mister"

Genoa dominated the early years of Italian football and collected nine league titles, the last in the 1923-24 season. Much of that success was owed to another Englishman, William Garbutt.

Garbutt was the first professional coach in Italy and his players called him "Mister". Ever since, Italians have called every coach that, a word still heard at every ground in the country.

The team has played since 1911 at the Luigi Ferraris, in the Marassi district, which was rebuilt for the 1990 World Cup and is shared with Sampdoria.

The night at Anfield and the legends

One of the proudest moments came in the 1991-92 UEFA Cup. Genoa knocked out Liverpool and became the first Italian team to win at Anfield, before falling in the semi-finals to eventual winners Ajax.

In that era the crowd adored Czech striker Tomáš Skuhravý and Uruguayan Carlos Aguilera. Further back in time, defender Renzo De Vecchi and goalscorer Felice Levratto wrote their own chapters in red and blue.

In the 2025-26 season, with Daniele De Rossi taking over during the campaign, the team secured its place in Serie A.

Celebrate with us

From a room at the British consulate to the packed stands of Marassi, Genoa carries the whole history of Italian football on its shoulders. Happy 134th birthday to the Griffin, Forza Genoa!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Stadio Luigi Ferraris seen from the Righi hill – Superchilum, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0.