Manchester City’s American sister club New York City FC have received differing opinions on their new badge after a fan poll, having unveiled the logo last week.
The Major League Soccer side, who are run by sporting director ex-City midfielder Claudio Reyna and managed by former Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis, launch in a year’s time and asked fans to vote between two badges from renowned designer Rafael Esquer.
The majority of the 100,000 fans opted for the a logo inspired by a token from the iconic New York subway in the four-day poll, which has drawn comparisons to Inter Milan and Glasgow Rangers’ badges.
The second MLS club in New York after Red Bulls are part of the Blues’ owner Sheikh Mansour’s strategy to have a stable of clubs in iconic global cities, which also includes A-League side Melbourne Heart of Australia.
“Given the significance of a Club’s badge and what it means for a team’s identity, it was important for us to have our fans included from the beginning — a commitment that we’ve made from the start,” Claudio Reyna told the official New York City FC website.
“Thanks to the voice of our fans, we feel that we have a design that truly represents our Club and our City.”
The winning badge has received a mixed reception on Twitter in the last few days:
It’s official. As voted on by the fans, the New York City FC badge. #5boros1city pic.twitter.com/DlhJjMN8e4
— New York City FC (@NYCFC) March 21, 2014
Football pundit Tancredi Palmeri suggested that Italian side Internazionale should consider legal action over the similarities between their badge and the American side’s design:
New York City FC unveiled their club badge. Inter should sue them pic.twitter.com/euhSYv3FIq
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) March 21, 2014
With the new MLS season just underway and running through the summer into November, others were more positive:
Gotta say, right decision with their new badge. Brilliant! RT @NYCFC Official New York City FC badge. #5boros1city pic.twitter.com/cz2G4nqQlK
— Cristian Nyari (@Cnyari) March 21, 2014
Image courtesy of Major League Soccer via YouTube, with thanks.
