By Ben Nicholson
September 18 – The official naming of LAFC has been formally decreed. They are to be called, LAFC – Los Angeles Football Club.
After Chivas USA made their exit from the MLS and, one year ago, a new Los Angeles franchise was awarded to the well-populated ownership group headed by Tom Penn, Henry Nguyen and Peter Guber, and supplemented by Vincent Tan, Magic Johnson and Mia Hamm, to name a few.
At that point the club already seemed settled on the name but until now it was not set in stone.
LAFC will have its inaugural season in 2018, when they hope their privately funded 22,000 capacity soccer-specific stadium just south of downtown LA will be ready to lure fans away from LA Galaxy.
Nguyen said about the naming that it “is true to Los Angeles, authentic to world football and speaks to our global ambitions.”
LA Galaxy’s head coach, Bruce Arena, responded to the news in good rivalry form by stating, “I wish them the best of luck, except when they compete against the Galaxy – which is 365 days a year.”
The marketing strategy, supposedly, of LAFC is to grab hold of the millennial market, which would be shrewd if successful due to the growing popularity and participation of sport amongst the younger generation.
Studies reportedly show that ‘millenials’, being those born between the early 1980s and 2000s, are 16% more interested in soccer than any other demographic in the U.S.
To that end, the club has presented its naming ceremony as supporter driven. It tweeted that the “supporters have spoken.”
LAFC’s marketing director, Rich Orosco, is hoping to tell the story differently with LAFC, by being “big into music, art and fashion.”
In lieu of the collaborative philosophy, and design aesthetics, the club has been running an interactive method through Twitter for the selection of club colors. They post options and see which one gets the most re-Tweets.
This has provoked a minor scandal though as some claim that LAFC has already pre-selected the red and black – the club colors of now extinct Chivas USA – that has been used in the initial publicity materials, and that the Twitter campaign is a marketing ploy.
Bethlehem Steel FC
And speaking of marketing ploys, to the East Coast, in Pennsylvania, a Lehigh Valley-based daily newspaper launched a fan vote to decide the name of the USL expansion side that is scheduled to arrive in the area soon.
Four names were floated, but records show that the MLS has applied for trademarks for only two of those: Lehigh Valley Steel FC and Bethlehem Steel FC.
Bethlehem Steel FC is expected to be victorious, as it carries the history of being one of the U.S.’ earliest soccer clubs. It was founded in 1907 but folded in 1930 due to financial troubles propelled by the Great Depression.
The area is keen to revive the former glory, paying heed to the steel corporation that sponsored the club in its early years, by resurrecting the name.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1735322621labto1735322621ofdlr1735322621owedi1735322621sni@n1735322621osloh1735322621cin.n1735322621eb1735322621