Hull owner puts Premier League club up for sale
LONDON (Reuters) - Hull City owner Assem Allam has put the Premier League club up for sale while he continues his fight to change the team's name.
The British businessman told a news conference on Thursday that he had put Hull on the market in April, following the Football Association's decision to reject his bid to change the club's name to Hull Tigers.
The 75-year-old, whose attempt to change the club's identity has been resisted by supporters in a bitter fight, also revealed he was appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the FA's ruling.
He said he would remain committed to Hull until either the club was sold or he succeeded in turning them into the Hull Tigers - "whichever comes first".
"Lately there have been a lot of rumours and that is not a good thing, so I decided it was better to have a face-to-face conference and clear the air," Allam said.
"We stated earlier this year that the club would be for sale should our attempt to globally promote Hull Tigers as a brand name and as a playing name be blocked.
"As a consequence of the FA decision on 9 April, I announced on 10 April, within 22 hours, that Hull City is for sale.
"We have also begun the appeal against the FA's decision via arbitration and we are hopeful of a positive outcome or that the FA reconsiders their decision.
"Until the conclusion of the appeal or the sale, whichever comes first, we will remain fully committed to the club, evidenced by the latest remarkable additions to our already very good team."
Egypt-born Allam, who took control of Hull in December 2010 when the club was in the English Championship (second tier), has invested heavily and overseen its return to the Premier League.
But his controversial mission to change the team's name has created a rift with fans of the 110-year-old club.
Allam argues that to compete for marketing and sponsorship cash on a national and international level, a club in the Premier League needs an identity with a global reach - and "Hull Tigers" is more effective than Hull City.
He once labelled the City name "common" but fans have accused him of ignoring a century of tradition. A campaign group, "City Till We Die", was created to oppose the move.
The club are seeking to build on this year's FA Cup final appearance under manager Steve Bruce, whose close season spending includes a club record 10 million pounds ($16.22 million) on Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez from Palermo.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the most recent financial accounts showed that by July 31 last year Allam had loaned 72 million pounds to fund Hull's rise from near administration to Premier League promotion in 2013 and the FA Cup run.
(Writing by Stephen Wood, editing by Neville Dalton)
