It isn’t necessarily the case that every football club has a motto. For some, it can seem like a somewhat antiquated and rather anachronistic decision to have a motto, whilst for others it can be used as a good opportunity to explain what the club is all about.
In the case of Everton, the Merseyside club appears to have leaned into the old-fashioned nature of having a motto, choosing to maintain the Latin that it is written in rather than upgrading it to the more modern English equivalent. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum certainly sounds better than Nothing but the best is good enough.
A Historical Club
Whilst Everton might well have become a figure of fun in some quarters, having to suffer under the shadow of its more successful city neighbours in Liverpool, the Blues have a long and illustrious history. They were the first major club to play matches in the city, actually calling Anfield their home prior to a move to Goodison Park in 1892. They are a club that has become well known for its involvement in countless ‘firsts’ when it comes to football, being the first club to have players with numbers on their backs, for example, as well as the first to do a tour overseas.
In fact, there is a long list of ‘firsts’ that Everton can take credit for, including being the first to install undersoil heating and the first to have a match day programme for its home fixtures. Whether it be the old-fashioned firsts, such as the first to install dugouts, or the more modern, like being the first club to have its own podcasts, there are numerous different claims to fame that Everton did before any other side. Although the same can’t be said of having a motto, with numerous other sides doing the same thing, Everton supporters are proud of their history.
The Introduction of the Motto
The exact moment that Everton decided to introduce their motto isn’t known, but a brief period of success in the 1930s is likely to have led to its usage. Just as their neighbours, Liverpool, have a sign saying ‘This Is Anfield’ above the tunnel onto the pitch in order to ‘remind the players who they’re playing for, and the opposition who they’re playing against’, so too was Everton’s motto brought in in order to let the players know the standards that are expected of them. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum translates to ‘nothing but the best is good enough’, which is how those in charge of the Blues felt at the time.
Such is the extent to which Everton are associated with the phrase, the club decided to have it added to the kit underneath the club’s crest in 1991. In 2013, a decision was taken to remove the motto from the kit when a new badge was revealed, but it was not one that was popular with the supporters. Instead, Toffees launched a petition and 22,000 people signed it, leading to the club apologising for changing the badge without consulting the supporters. The badge was used for just one season before the motto was brought back a year later, remaining in place ever since.
It Isn’t Exclusively Everton’s Motto
Although the supporters are a proud bunch and love the saying that is associated with the football club, Everton aren’t the only organisation to make use of the Latin phrase. The 967 Squadron of the Air Training Corps also makes a claim to using Nil Satis Nisi Optimum as its motto, with countless schools and academies also doing so. A pupil at Carlton le Willows Academy would have no problem telling you what it means, for example, nor would someone studying at Clifton Hunter High School. Even Loughborough University makes use of it in their promotional material.
Everton are certainly the only football club to have the motto, however. Not that there aren’t other sides playing in the English game with Latin in their motto. Just down the motorway in nearest Manchester, Manchester City’s Latin motto is Superbia in Proelia, which translates to pride in battle. Tottenham Hotspur use Audere Est Facere, which means to dare is to do, whilst Blackburn Rovers’ club motto is Arte Et Labore, or by skill and labour. Still, Nil Satis Nisi Optimum might well be the Latin motto that stands out above virtually all others because of what it means.
Struggling to Live Up to the Expectation
For the majority of Everton’s existence, the Latin motto has appeared to be more ironic than an actual declaration of how the football club has been won. When the 2024-2025 season came to an end, it represented 30 years since Everton had last won a major trophy. The FA Cup in 1995 was the only one that the players would lift in front of supporters for three decades. Not that that has always been the case, though. The Blues won the First Division for the first time at the end of the 1890-1891 campaign, lifting it another eight times over the following 100 years of their existence.
With the likes of five FA Cups and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup to their name, Everton enjoyed their fair share of success heading into the 1990s and the launch of the Premier League. They have also managed to avoid being relegated out of the top-flight during its existence, in spite of the fact that they came close to dropping down on several occasions. The adjustment of expectations from Everton fans means that what might once have been thought of as failure in only just avoiding relegation became a success for the club, who will be hoping that the motto starts to mean something again in the future.