The owners of Hull City have decided that they will change the club’s name from Hull City AFC to Hull City Tigers.
In an interview with the Hull Daily Mail, club owner Assem Allam revealed:
“Hull City is irrelevant. 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.”
Plenty of other clubs in England and Wales have Association Football Club (AFC) in their name. Swansea City AFC is just one of many examples, but Hull City owner Allam has decided to ditch the history and tradition. The Yorkshire club has been known as Hull City AFC since the year it was established in 1904.
Hull City, who are managed by Steve Bruce, have gone back to their yellow and black stripes in their home kit for this upcoming season.
What’s next? Will other clubs change their names to Derby Rams, Cardiff Dragons, Norwich Canaries and so forth? In my opinion, it cheapens the brand.
What’s your opinion about the decision by Hull City? Are you a traditionalist who prefers that clubs stick with their history, or do you see the Tigers name as a smart marketing move by the club to make the team name easier to remember and more appealing? Share your views in the comments section below.
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Randy Hawkins
August 18, 2013 at 11:47 am
Their uniforms and crest look a lot like The Strongest in Bolivia:
http://www.futbol24.com/team/Bolivia/The-Strongest/
Rex
August 9, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Forget the name, that’s the ugliest damn tiger I’ve ever seen….
March
August 9, 2013 at 6:52 pm
It may take 5 to 10 or even more years to revert back to the way it was, but I think rebranding moves such as this one of Hull City’s and also Cardiff City’s are only temporary. These owners will not last forever and I believe that in the future an owner will come along with greater appreciation for club traditions and return them to what the supporters want them to be. For now the fans just have to ride it out, like it or not.
gbewing
August 9, 2013 at 6:22 pm
The Housemartians won’t be happy
“And when you see a cane I see a crook
And when you see a crowd I see a flock
It’s sheep we’re up against
It’s sheep we’re up against
James
August 9, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Amber and black, not yellow
Seeing Hull City Tigers or Hull Tigers in the table will bring a tear to my eye, but I’d rather watch Hull City Tigers in the Prem this year than Hull City AFC in the Championship
Smokey Bacon
August 9, 2013 at 3:42 pm
It’s an insult to real tigers everywhere. A slippery slope to adopting silly American style team names. It will be the Arsenal machine gunners versus the west ham flamethrowers.
Still, if Stoke can call themselves a football club then I suppose hull can call themselves whatever they want 🙂
Guy
August 9, 2013 at 4:16 pm
Oh, I almost fell off my chair. Isn’t Millwall already in the relegation zone? 🙂
Smokey Bacon
August 9, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Fair point. The Lions are also an insult to real Lions this season.
Lomas Out.
DCUDIPLOMAT
August 9, 2013 at 3:20 pm
I like it, I like that the owners is showing how to be progressive and different, People are mad because it sounds American but it would be for better, England needs to get their head out their behind if you ask me.
Davis
August 9, 2013 at 12:08 pm
So are they just dropping the “AFC” and adding “Tigers” at the end? The owners comments made it sound more like he wanted to drop “City” and “AFC,” so just “Hull Tigers.” Or are they just going to go by “The Tigers” and lose any ties to the place where they play or the people there?
Christopher Harris
August 9, 2013 at 12:11 pm
They want it to be Hull City Tigers in the UK, and Hull Tigers overseas.
IanCransonsKnees
August 9, 2013 at 11:57 am
Hull City fans will not be following a club anymore, it’ll be a ‘franchise’.
Pathetic decision though it will not be the last time it happens I’m sure.
jamieru
August 9, 2013 at 11:20 am
Spot on here. Ditches history, and just sounds needlessly arrogant and extremely short-sighted.
How about this (if you want your club to stand out): pay for marquee players and a superb youth system so that you can win trophies, and pay a supplier to make kits individual to your side, not templates. That would go a long way, but is way cheaper than adding a team name and a stock looking clip art tiger to your badge.
jamieru
August 9, 2013 at 11:21 am
Opps, meant ‘way more expansive to do…’ in the last sentence, not cheaper.
Guy
August 9, 2013 at 10:36 am
I still haven’t gotten over the Bluebirds being dressed in red.
Obviously, when it comes to owners and their whims, there is nothing sacred…and that’s too bad.
curtneedsaride
August 9, 2013 at 10:10 am
I think foreign ownership and multi-national players on clubs has been good for English football. But taking all the tradition and respect away from the club not only cheapens it, but it is taking the English out of English football. Before we know it, we’ll just be watching international football teams owned by international billionaires who want to move their international branded clubs elsewhere in the world but still be in the Premiere League… which is what it will probably be called instead of EPL. It’s a slippery slope we’re heading down. I hope we stop soon.
I like tradition to some extent.
rory
August 9, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Agree- there’s something to be said for tradition. Even in the US Pittsburgh will probably never change their outdated Steeler nickname or logo
Dean Stell
August 9, 2013 at 10:06 am
I guess it is their right as owner to change the name and colors, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t stupid.
In American we just call them “Hull City” or “Hull” and everyone knows what you’re talking about. Now they are “The Tigers” and suddenly nobody knows who you are talking about because it isn’t like they’re going to do any global marketing of their new brand or get ESPN to list them as “Tigers” in the Table on the website.
But, this stuff isn’t unique to football clubs. Look at all the companies that have classic slogans and jingles that they dump just because they want a fresh marketing direction (or because some marketing agency has been buying lots of fancy dinners for someone)
Cantona
August 9, 2013 at 9:40 am
This shows exactly what is wrong with foreign ownership
Cantona—
Evan
August 9, 2013 at 2:21 pm
You sound a bit xenophobic with that comment.
Assem Allam has lived in Hull for around 7 years. It’s less about “foreign ownership” and more about stupidity.
March
August 9, 2013 at 5:07 pm
between this and the Cardiff City owners, there is a recent trend in foreign owners rebranding long existing club identities/tradition
Christopher Harris
August 9, 2013 at 5:14 pm
As well as Everton changing their club crest. It’s new ideas coming into a traditional country.