Exclusive: Hull City MD Argues the Club is a Brand Despite Fan Protest Over Name Change
November 4, 2013
The Managing Director of Hull City Tigers, Nick Thompson has said that fans protesting that the club is not a brand are wrong.
Hull’s owner Assem Allam controversially re-branded the Premier League club from Hull City Association Football Club earlier in the year because he felt the name was “irrelevant.”
Some fans have taken to protesting the decision, with banners reading: “Hull City AFC, A Club Not A Brand.”
Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Thompson said: “Supporters saying ‘we are a football club not a brand,’ well I’m sorry but yes we are a brand.
“The minute we make decisions and have opinions on it we become a brand.
“However, it is important we recognise the history, traditions and legacy of the club because there will be a club long after the current players, manager and owners are gone.”
Thompson argued that “everything is a brand” and continued: “One of the ironies is that the fans who are campaigning to retain the letters AFC in the official business name, actually don’t use it to describe themselves.
“It is about keeping the key elements that are important to the identity and the essence of the brand. Two brackets an AFC and the word Limited are not essential.”
You can read the full Featured Profile interview with Nick Thompson here.