On 17 June 1902 a group of friends met at a café in Norwich and decided to start a football club. Norwich City turns 125 on 17 June 2027. And for all those years it has owed its colours to a small yellow bird.

A meeting at the Criterion Café

The meeting at the Criterion Café was called by Robert Webster and Joseph Nutchey. Webster became the first chairman and the first ground was on Newmarket Road.

The first competitive match, on 6 September 1902 against Harwich & Parkeston, ended 1-1. Soon afterwards the FA ruled that the club was effectively run as a professional outfit and ousted it from amateur football.

So in 1905 Norwich joined the Southern League as a professional club.

From blue to yellow

The first shirts were halved pale blue and white. According to one supporter's account, the first kits were brought over from Blackburn Rovers.

Newspapers called the team the "Citizens", but by around 1905 "Canaries" had taken hold. Canary breeding was a popular local pastime.

In 1907 a letter to the Eastern Daily Press suggested "canary jerseys" and the directors agreed. Since the 1907-08 season Norwich has worn yellow and green, and an embroidered canary on the chest was a rare touch for the era.

Canary, castle and lion

The first proper canary badge arrived in 1922. In 1972 the lion and castle from the city's coat of arms were added, and in 2002 a centenary badge with two canaries marked 100 years.

Green shorts were tried in 1965 after letters from fans and became standard in 1971. In 2015-16 Errea made a halved shirt for Carrow Road's 80th anniversary, inspired by a 1927 strip.

For the 120th anniversary came a new crest: a canary on a ball, with a refreshed version of the city arms.

From The Nest to Carrow Road

In 1908 the club moved to The Nest, an old chalk pit converted into a ground. When the crowds no longer fitted, it was time for Carrow Road.

On 31 August 1935 the new ground opened with a 4-3 win over West Ham. Its stands still ring to "On the Ball, City", the old song that became the club's anthem.

Manchester, Wembley and Munich

In 1959, as a Third Division side, Norwich reached the FA Cup semi-finals, beating Manchester United 3-0 on the way. Terry Bly scored seven goals in that run.

The first trophy came in 1962, the League Cup against Rochdale, and a second followed in 1985 with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at Wembley. That same season, though, the club was relegated, something no English club with a major trophy had suffered before.

In 1993 Norwich finished third in the first Premier League season and then beat Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Olympiastadion, with Jeremy Goss the hero. Club legends include Ron Ashman with 592 appearances, Johnny Gavin with 122 goals, Chris Sutton and Finnish striker Teemu Pukki.

From the mid-1990s the majority shareholder was the well-known TV cook Delia Smith with her husband, and in 2024 they became honorary life presidents.

Celebrate with us

From a café in 1902 and those blue halves to the yellow of Carrow Road, Norwich has one of the most distinctive identities in England. Happy 125th birthday, Canaries!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Carrow Road, home of Norwich City – Simon Burchell, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.