Hull City is to be rebranded as Hull City Tigers. 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.
Revealing the move, Egyptian-born businessman and owner Assem Allam said: ‘Hull City is irrelevant. My dislike for the word ‘City’ is because it is common. [In the sense of ‘commonly used’]. City is also associated with Leicester, Bristol, Manchester and many other clubs.’
Hull City is to be rebranded as Hull City Tigers. 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.
Revealing the move, Egyptian-born businessman and owner Assem Allam said: ‘Hull City is irrelevant. My dislike for the word ‘City’ is because it is common. [In the sense of ‘commonly used’]. 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.’
Any references to AFC on club branding are to be phased out, although AFC will remain on the shirt crest during their first season back in the Barclays Premier League, before being removed from the 2014/15 campaign.
Allam wants to market the club as Hull City Tigers locally and Hull Tigers to national and international audiences. ‘In the commercial world, the shorter the name, the better. The more it can spread quickly,’ said Allam, who took over the Tigers in 2010 following their relegation from the top flight and whose investment is credited with saving the club from a significant financial crisis.
‘I have always used short names in business. It gives you power in the science in marketing. The shorter, the more powerful the message,” he said. ‘In Tigers, we have a really strong brand.’
To me it sounds a little bit like a rugby club, but it could start a trend.