Genoa Cricket and Football Club (abbreviated Genoa) is a professional football team in Italy, based in the city of Genoa. The cricket and athletics section of the team was established in 1893 (when the team was founded) by James Spencely. The team is known by its nickname "griffins", which comes from the animal on their coat of arms. Genoa is the oldest football club in the country.

Although founded in 1893, its football section has existed since 1897. In 1898, the Italian Football Federation was founded and the first official Italian Football Championship was held, in which Genoa managed to become the first official champion. The following year they have won the title again. In 1900, once again, for the third time in a row.

Genoa is the first team from Italy to play an official match with a team from another country. It was against the local team in Nice, France.

The most devastating period of time for the club is during World War I, when the club's founder and several key players were killed. After World War II ended, they were not among the leading teams and fell down to the middle of the table. In the 1959/60 season were relegated to a lower division, but the following year were again promoted to Serie A. They even played in Serie C1, due to a match-fixing investigation. After that, however, won several consecutive promotions and in 2007 returned to Serie A.

The team has played in several European tournaments. Their greatest success is in the 1991/92 season, when they have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.