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Jacksonville NASL team unveils Armada FC as club name

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By FRANCO PANIZO

The expansion NASL team in Jacksonville has a name.

The club announced on Tuesday that its name will be Jacksonville Armada FC and unveiled its logo. The name pays tribute to the city’s rich Spanish heritage and strong military connection, and was chosen following a fan competition and survey that invited soccer fans in the region to offer suggestions.

The colors on the logo for Jacksonville Armada FC, which will begin play in NASL in 2015, are two different shades of blue, white, gray and yellow.

“From day one, we committed to make this club the fans’ team, the community’s team, Jacksonville’s team,” said Armada FC owner Mark Frisch. “We are honored and proud to reflect the suggestions of our fans in our team name and logo while aligning with the history and tradition of this region.”

“Naming our team Jacksonville Armada FC perfectly reflects our hard-working, passionate, determined and progressive community here on the First Coast,” added team president Steve Livingstone. “We are greatly looking forward to kicking off play and fully engaging and growing with everyone in the First Coast community.”

Jacksonville will become the third NASL club in the Sunshine State when it begins play, joining the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies, and is one of three expansion sides expected to enter the league in 2015. Oklahoma City and Virginia Cavalry FC are the other clubs set to debut next year.

Armada FC are also the fifth professional club established in Florida, with MLS-bound Orlando City and David Beckham’s unnamed expansion MLS side in Miami being the others.

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What do you think of the name Jacksonville Armada FC? Prefer the club to be named something else? Do you like the colors and logo?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. We love the name and colors,we love soccer. After watching the pro game last year when Scotland played the American team we were hooked. When can I buy my season tickets ? I need ten for whole family.

    Reply
      • Uhm… you want New England to rename themselves from being named after the American Revolution to being named after the guys we fought in the American Revolution? Sure, then why not change the Patriots to the Torries and the Celtics to the Potato Famines.

  2. very nice…respectful, legitimate and appropriate.

    Its like being in bizzaro-MLS world and all the names don’t suck or are not offensive.

    Reply
    • I have noticed that. No using local teams to advertise something else a la NYCFC, RedBulls, ChivasUSA. No hideous logos like The Crew or NE Revolution. Much more respect for fan intelligence along those lines.

      Reply
  3. Should’ve been the Tea Men, with a tall ship on the crest. Reflects the town’s soccer history. Besides, Jacksonville’s English and French heritage is at least as pronounced as the Spanish.

    Reply
      • That whole area has a big spanish heritage drew. I grew up in the area and the little town I grew up in is known for having 8 flags flown over it at some point in its history. I actually went to Team Men games as a kid. That would have been cool if they had used that name but at the same time the Team Men was more of a Boston thing anyways.

  4. paying homage to Jacksonville’s Spanish heritage should legitimize the club with football snobs, along with the FC, but this guy is not a fan

    Reply
  5. Not bad. Good for them.

    But it’s sort of odd that all the press release boilerplate doesn’t once reference the common thread in all the armada, coast, and military imagery: the city’s setting on the (St. John’s) river. Not a dealbreaker, of course, and probably just a copyediting error, but when the very logo itself centers on an anchor, you’d think they’d include at least one phrase about the seagoing heritage of the whole spiel they’re trying to sell.

    But still, good for them. The intra-Florida derby should be a blast in a few years.

    Reply
    • No issue….its clear to everyone in Jax (where I live). The Navy here (and of course the St John which cuts through the downtown (you can take boats to the NFL stadium) is such a huge part of the city. The Jags even changed their logo using the badge which is the shield with the new styled Jag and “Jags” in short form across the top….some thought it was to appeal some to the soccer fan base in London where they play a game for the next few years since it would be like a club shield, but it was specifically done to connect better with the military community looking like a squadron or unit patch. They might not have made it so clear to folks not familiar with Jax but for the local community the connection is clear (They even had some Navy guys in uniform at the event down town presenting the name. It also is a loose tie to FL being a Spanish colony with various forts and settlements around Jax and St Augustine…..although they are likely going more “Navy” and less on the “Spanish” so our colors can be different from the Strikers and not use colors from the Spanish flag and since we don’t have a large Hispanic population compared to other cities in FL…and since people here might be much more familiar with the massive Navy base and less with their 7th grade history class 😉

      Reply

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