By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – The acrimonius dispute over the name of English Premier League club Hull City has been further fuelled by a formal application to the Football Association to call the club Hull Tigers from next season.
Hull fans have been protesting all season against plans by Egyptian-born owner Assem Allam, who moved to the region 45 years ago and took over in 2010, to rebrand the club.
Allam first announced in August the company name had changed from Hull City AFC to Hull City Tigers, ending part of a name which has been in effect since their formation in 1904.
He has pumped tens of millions of pounds into the cash-strapped club to save them from going bust in recent years and insists the re-branding to Tigers would make it easier to market around the world and appeal to a wider audience.
Even though the club has long been nicknamed the Tigers because of their black and amber shirts, unhappy Hull supporters vehemently oppose any official name change from Hull City.
Any application to alter a club’s name must be approved by the English FA council though no change could come into effect until the next season. The FA said the council would use “absolute discretion” in deciding whether to approve the plan.
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