In the new mark for the Romanian Football Cup, the space between two contesting eagles forms the trophy’s handles — and, look again, a heart
Bucharest, May 2016
Brandient rebranded the Romanian Football Cup for the Football Federation’s new leadership, unveiling it at the 78th edition’s final. The Cup’s value is its reach: a grass-roots competition that lets small communities feel part of something national — football as a catalyst of joy, and a genuine vector of nation-branding.
Beyond the visual reinterpretation of the brand’s tangible symbol — the historical cup — we sought to maintain an aspirational stature of representation.
—Adrian Stănculeț, Design Director Brandient
The mark builds on exactly that. Two eagles lock in a competitive stance over the centrally placed trophy, carrying the national colours — red, yellow and blue — for agility, stature and intelligence; and the negative space their wings trace doubles as the cup’s handles and, look again, as a heart — “the heart of Romanian football,” the brand’s new promise.
We are fully dedicated to each and every project that restores the national self-confidence and our image in front of others. We consider the Romanian Cup an important vector of nation branding, and the skillful design of its revitalization would trigger higher performance within the sports community and the nation at large.
—Aneta Bogdan, Managing Partner Brandient
Brandient is the award-winning brand strategy and design company, with offices in Bucharest and Singapore. Find out more about us and about our work.
About Brandient
Brandient is an independent brand strategy and design consultancy founded in Bucharest in 2002 by Aneta Bogdan, Cristian Kit Paul and Mihai Bogdan — never part of a global network, working directly for the owners, CEOs and boards of its clients, with an all-senior team and category exclusivity. In over two decades the firm has created or rebuilt more than 300 brands, 279 of them published as case studies at brandient.com/work — from Romania’s national leaders to brands carried worldwide. The firm has been active in Southeast Asia for more than a decade. The work has earned 84 international awards and distinctions — most recently a Red Dot (2025) and two Graphis Golds (2026) — 64 documented mentions in international design books and publications, and, in 2015, a place among the inaugural inductees of the REBRAND Hall of Fame, alongside Interbrand and MetaDesign.
About the Romanian Football Federation
The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) is the national governing body for football, with roots dating to 1909 — a FIFA member since 1923 and a UEFA member since 1955 — running the national teams and competitions from Bucharest. Brandient rejuvenated the federation’s brand in 2018–2019, after rebuilding the National Team and Romanian Football Cup identities in 2015: the FRF case, the National Team case, the Football Cup case.