Our ‘Ever Wonder’ series will run throughout the 2022-23 Premier League season and focuses on key stories behind the history, tradition and culture of all 20 Premier League clubs.
[ MORE: Check out our ‘Ever Wonder’ series in full ]
Have you ever sat there and wondered why certain chants became iconic at a club? Why a team has a certain nickname? Why they play in those colors? How they were founded? Yep, us too.
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This season we will be digging deep to tell the stories of the rich history, tradition and culture from around the Premier League and give you the answers to things you want to know more about.
Ever Wonder why, and how, Brighton and Hove Albion got their name?
We usually just refer to them as Brighton but their full name is Brighton and Hove Albion. Why?
Formed in 1901 as ‘Brighton and Hove United’ the club was a semi-professional team which was based at the Seven Stars pub in Ship Street.
The team changed its name to Brighton and Hove Albion shortly after was formed (and before they had played a game!) as there were objections from another local side, Hove FC.
The newly formed Brighton and Hove Albion replaced Brighton and Hove Rangers in the Southern League and the rest, as they say, is history.
Why Hove?
Hove is a town which is right next to Brighton. Together they make up the City of Brighton and Hove.
Brighton is much bigger than Hove but the team has played in both towns over the last century and represents both settlements.
Okay, so that part of their name is simple.
Why Albion?
As for Albion, this part is bonkers! You will notice a few British teams have this in their name instead of United or City or Rovers (West Bromwich Albion, Burton Albion and Stirling Albion) and there is a curious reason for this.
Firstly, the term Albion actually means the island of Britain. It was used by the Celts, ancient Romans and Greek geographers dating way back to the 4th century and Albion was the earliest name given to the island of Great Britain.
Albion literally meant ‘white land’ and that was in reference to the white cliffs which pepper the South Coast of England. And there are, of course, huge white cliffs close to Brighton and Hove.
Local connection to Albion
There are also suggestions that due to many businesses in Brighton using the Albion name way before the team was formed, the founders decided to promote these local businesses by adding Albion to the team name. Smart.
However, according to the official club records, no real reason has ever been given as to why Albion was selected, although at the time of Brighton’s formation West Bromwich Albion had recently won multiple FA Cup titles and were one of the founding members of the Football League. Still, there is no known connection between West Brom and Brighton.
So, there you have it. The team is basically called Brighton and Hove Britain as a nod to the Island of Great Britain and its historic name.
Perhaps that Seagull on their badge should be draped in a union jack flag. Just a thought…
