Press release issued by CTWD, 04.10.2013

Supporters of Hull City AFC have formed a new community group and are campaigning to protect the club’s historic identity.

On 12 September 2013, in an interview with The Guardian, Hull City AFC owner Dr Assem Allam said, “By next year I will change the name to Hull Tigers”. In a Hull Daily Mail interview on 9 August 2013, he stated, “Hull City is irrelevant. My dislike to the word City is because it is common… City is a lousy identity.”

City Till We Die is a community group formed by the coming together of a broad range of Hull City supporter groups. We believe that changing the club’s name will break with 109 years of history and tradition, and are calling for proper consultation with supporters on any change to the club’s identity.

Formed on Tuesday 24 September, City Till We Die have already had a great deal of success in uniting Hull City supporters opposed to the name change.

On 28 September, in advance of Hull City’s home game against West Ham, City Till We Die volunteers handed out 2,800 free No To Hull Tigers badges to fellow supporters, along with 9,000 leaflets explaining the aims of the campaign. Further badges have been posted to City fans around the world.

On 5 October, before Hull City’s home game against Aston Villa, we will be carrying out the second action in our campaign. Another 3000 badges will be handed out, along with a new leaflet with the number “1904” on the reverse – the year that Hull City AFC was formed. At 19:04 minutes into the game, City supporters will be holding up the leaflet and singing “City till I die” to acknowledge the club name’s long history in the community, and to support our team.

Further actions are planned, including the production of free postcards for supporters to sign and send to the FA and Premier League, outlining our opposition to the name change and urging them to consider our views.

An online petition against the name change (www.citytillwedie.com/petition) currently has 3,802 signatories. The campaign also has a thriving social media following on Twitter (@NoToHullTigers) and Facebook (facebook.com/NoToHullTigers).

Our group recognises the tremendous contribution Dr Allam has made to both Hull City AFC and the local community and we strongly support his continued ownership of our football club.

If you would like to know more about the City Till We Die community group’s No To Hull Tigers campaign, email notohulltigers@citytillwedie.com, or visit our website: www.citytillwedie.com.