The West Virginia Eastern Panhandle’s premier soccer club today unveiled a new crest, word mark and brand identify that will go into effect as the club’s primary logo ahead of the 2022/ 2023 soccer year.
The club’s new logo and identity are the result of the passionate membership to build a premier soccer club in the West Virginia Eastern Panhandle and began by hearing directly from club membership. The club identified an independent third party to conduct a focus group consisting of West Virginians, including board members, coaches, parents, players and community leaders about what soccer should represent in West Virginia. This feedback helped shape the evolution of the club resulting in the club’s modernized identity that was unveiled today.
“I’m excited to help move the club forward during this next chapter,” stated Julia Tracy, Advisory Board Member and Head Coach. “This is one of many changes that we are excited to announce as we continue to evolve our club and grow soccer in West Virginia, specifically in the Eastern Panhandle.”
Nicknamed “The Mountain State”, the peak of the crest is symbolism for the Appalachian Mountains that run throughout West Virginia. The tools in the center of the logo are iconic to mountaineering and represent the positive journey ahead for each player within the club. The tools were handcrafted providing a unique, contemporary and simplistic design.
The star icon, gold, white and black colors are authentic to the West Virginia State Seal. The star icon has been strategically placed at the base of the logo and is also symbolism for the Latin phrase on the base of the West Virginia State Seal “Mountaineers are always free” as the club navigates the growth and development of Soccer in West Virginia.
The words “West Virginia” represent the state the club is proud to represent on a national stage in the United States. The “soccer” descriptor is an Americanized mark that honors the history of the sport and embraces the universal standard of “FC” for “Football Club” that is internationally recognized as the world’s game.
The wordmarks “West Virginia Soccer” and “WV Soccer” are the coined phrases the club will use in the community to refer to its mission, membership, programs and community engagement.
The hexagon shape pays tribute to the origin of the sport as it became heavily Americanized in the 1970 World Cup with the introduction of the Adidas Telstar soccer ball with its iconic black and white design. This new design featured twenty hexagon and twelve pentagon leather patches. Each cluster of five hexagons were connected in a circular pattern which naturally created a pentagon in the middle of the hexagon groupings. This was believed to create the most spherical shape to enhance the performance of the game.
This simple and sleek design seeks to serve as a lifestyle brand in the West Virginia community with hopes of inspiring and connecting West Virginians throughout the state.
