“Hull City is irrelevant” cites the chairman as the reason for the change.
Newly promotes Premier League side Hull City AFC are set to change their club name.
From now on the club will be known as the Hull City Tigers, changing away from a name which has been with the team since its foundation 109 years ago in 1904.
“Hull City is irrelevant,” said club chairman Assem Allam in an interview with the Hull Daily Mail, “My dislike for the word ‘City’ is because it is common.
“City is also associated with Leicester, Bristol, Manchester and many other clubs. In the commercial world, the shorter the name, the better. The more it can spread quickly. It is about identity. City is a lousy identity. Hull City Association Football Club is so long.”
This statement has gone down, as might be expected, incredibly badly with Hull City fans. One need only look back to this time last year and the rebranding of Cardiff City FC by their new Chinese owner Vincent Tan.
Upon taking over at the club, Tan announced that the club would be moving away from their traditional blue garb, as well as their bluebird crest, and instead play in red. Their new crest features a red dragon on it, both to reflect the national flag of Wales and also to appeal to the lucrative Asian market – red is associated with luck and prosperity within China.
Egyptian businessman Allam took control at Hull City in late 2010 during the club’s last spell in the Premier League. The club were subsequently relegated at the end of that season.
The timing of the name change would seemingly be due to the additional attention and international exposure set for Hull City following their promotion to the Premier League. With the opening weekend of the season imminent, Allam would perhaps have been hoping for the good will of the fans to soften the blow of the change, but that looks unlikely.
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