It was possibly the worst kept secret in football, but the City Football Group (CFG) has officially announced Melbourne Heart’s name change to Melbourne City, while also revealing the new kit colours.
Following the CFG’s takeover earlier this year, the change of name and colours had been strongly rumoured from the start, and has at last put all the uncertainty to bed.
The CEO of the CFG Ferran Soriano stated in a press release that the consortium had met with a host of different people connected to the club to make the decision.
“Following a lengthy consultation with the Club’s members, partners, the FFA and a range of other stakeholders, we believe the changes announced today will strengthen the Club’s ties with the community to which it belongs while expanding its ability to grow commercially and harness the many benefits of belonging to the City family,” Soriano said.
As part of the rebranding, the club has also unveiled a new badge, which ties in with sister club New York City FC.
This particular badge does incorporate elements of Melbourne’s coat of arms, while the red and white cross helps to preserve the history of Melbourne Heart.
In addition, Melbourne City have unveiled a white home strip with navy and sky blue trims, which maintains the sky blue of City, while also appeasing the likes of Sydney FC who had blocked a move for City to wear a full sky blue kit.
Just as with the club badge, the away kit will also retain the red and white stripes in order to preserve the connection to Heart.