Hull City to be renamed as Hull City Tigers
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Hull City owner Assem Allam has announced his decision to change the club's name to Hull City Tigers from the start of the new season.
The move will do away with the Association Football Club (AFC) moniker which has been part of the Yorkshire club's name since their formation in 1904.
"Hull City is irrelevant," Allam told 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.
"I don't like being like everyone else. I want the club to be special. It is about identity. City is a lousy identity. Hull City Association Football Club is so long."
The club will ultimately be known as Hull City Tigers locally, and Hull Tigers internationally.
Allam added: "In the commercial world, the shorter the name, the better. The more it can spread quickly.
"I have always used short names in business. It gives you power in the science in marketing. The shorter, the more powerful the message. In Tigers, we have a really strong brand."
The club's supporters credit Allam with saving the club from possible financial disaster in 2010, but that goodwill is now in danger of evaporating.
Bernard Noble, a spokesman for the Hull City Official Supporters' Club, said: "I'm disappointed with the name change because I'm by heart and by longevity a traditionalist.
"I've been supporting the club for 60 years and my dad would be disappointed by this, no doubt. The older generation will say, oh that's tradition going out the window like many things do.
"I think a majority of the fans are a bit shocked by it. I think most of them will be disappointed because of tradition, I certainly am."
References to AFC will be gradually phased out, with the term remaining on the club's badge this season before being removed from the 2014/15 campaign.
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| Hull City owner Assem Allam celebrates following his team's promotion to the Premier League Photo: Getty Images |
The move will do away with the Association Football Club (AFC) moniker which has been part of the Yorkshire club's name since their formation in 1904.
"Hull City is irrelevant," Allam told 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.
"I don't like being like everyone else. I want the club to be special. It is about identity. City is a lousy identity. Hull City Association Football Club is so long."
The club will ultimately be known as Hull City Tigers locally, and Hull Tigers internationally.
Allam added: "In the commercial world, the shorter the name, the better. The more it can spread quickly.
"I have always used short names in business. It gives you power in the science in marketing. The shorter, the more powerful the message. In Tigers, we have a really strong brand."
The club's supporters credit Allam with saving the club from possible financial disaster in 2010, but that goodwill is now in danger of evaporating.
Bernard Noble, a spokesman for the Hull City Official Supporters' Club, said: "I'm disappointed with the name change because I'm by heart and by longevity a traditionalist.
"I've been supporting the club for 60 years and my dad would be disappointed by this, no doubt. The older generation will say, oh that's tradition going out the window like many things do.
"I think a majority of the fans are a bit shocked by it. I think most of them will be disappointed because of tradition, I certainly am."
References to AFC will be gradually phased out, with the term remaining on the club's badge this season before being removed from the 2014/15 campaign.
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