Like every club in football, Leicester City are no strangers to having a nickname associated to them.
Some clubs have nicknames that focus on the second part of their name, i.e. Town, City, Rovers.
In Leicester’s case, however, they have a nickname specifically related to them.
The club have become synonymous worldwide ever since the Premier League triumph in 2016 and the iconic fox on the badge plays a huge part in their history.
But how did Leicester earn their nickname of the Foxes?
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Why are Leicester City called the Foxes?
When Leicester were first founded in 1884, they originally went by the name of Leicester Fosse.
At that point, they had the nickname of the Fossils. Their relocation from Victoria Park to Filbert Street then saw their name change to the Filberts for that brief period.
But, after the financial struggles that followed after World War One, Leicester Fosse was renamed to become Leicester City.
After the name change the local news outlet, the Leicester Mercury, called for a new nickname.
Initial ideas included The Royal Knuts’ and ‘The Hunters’ but when the club badge changed from the city’s coat of arms to a fox in 1948, therefore giving the club an easy identity.
What is the association between Leicester and Foxes?
The county of Leicestershire has long been associated with foxes due to being dubbed as the ‘birthplace of fox hunting.’
Several areas around Leicester, including one less than 10 miles from where the King Power Stadium is located, where prime locations for fox hunting, as well as kennels to home the animals.
It isn’t just the football club that uses the fox, with the county’s cricket side Leicestershire also nicknamed the Foxes and using a running fox for their badge.