By Andrew Warshaw
April 8 – The row over the name, and potentially the ownership, of English Premier League club Hull City has taken a surprise twist after a group of season ticket holders voted in favour of changing the club’s name despite a relentless campaign by grassroots fans who opposed the idea.
Egyptian-born owner Assem Allam, who moved to Hull in 1968 and whose family has pumped more than £70 million into the club, threatened to quit unless his plans are approved.
Assam wants to rename the club, who play in amber and black and have exceeded expectations this season by climbing to a mid-table position after gaining promotion and reaching the semifinals of the FA Cup.
Assam wants the club to be called Hull Tigers, dropping the word ‘City’ after 109 years, in order to make it easier to market Hull around the world and give it wider appeal.
Fans rebelled against the idea and the Football Association’s Membership Committee made a unanimous recommendation to the full FA Council to reject the request for a name change next season when it meets tomorrow.
But Hull City season card holders narrowly voted in favour of Allam’s plan, with 2,565 voting for the change and 2,517 against.
Fans’ group City Till We Die responded by branding the result “largely meaningless” since of the club’s 15,033 season card holders, only 5,874 responded.
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