The term phoenix club is one used in professional team sports to refer to a new parent company that is set up to replace the parent company of a club that has failed in business terms but not in sporting terms, ideally while maintaining the continuity of the sporting activity.[1] In some cases, the phoenix club is created by the supporters of the club which has ended (or appears to be on the point of ending). A phoenix club will often have the same or similar name, logo and playing uniform to the original club. The term is particularly prevalent in the United Kingdom in relation to association football, though it is also used in other countries.
The term is also occasionally used to refer to a club formed by disgruntled supporters of a major team when a change of ownership or policy causes them to lose faith in the management of their favoured side (as happened in 2005 when FC United of Manchester was formed by fans of Manchester United as a protest at the sale of the latter to Malcolm Glazer).[2] although their status as such may disputed if the original club is still in existence at the time.
The term is taken from the mythical phoenix bird, which is said to resurrect itself from its own ashes. In the Australia-New Zealand A-League the demise of the sole New Zealand team, New Zealand Knights FC, resulted in the newly created club actually calling itself the Phoenix, albeit that the club moved a different city, Wellington.
In some cases, phoenix clubs will retain the name of the club which they replaced, implying a continuation from the former team. In other cases, name changes occur, perhaps due to proprietorial ownership existing on the old club's name.
The definition of a phoenix club does not include teams which have been re-founded as the original club, it has to be a legally separate entity for the club to be considered a phoenix club.
It does not also include teams that relocated and/or been renamed as a going concern, although many of the former may have their founding date as the day they have moved and still have strong links to their past, however they are considered to be the same club and therefore cannot be a phoenix (unless their previous entity officially folded and was liquidated).
(For a list of relocated teams, see Relocation of professional sports teams)
However, the term phoenix club is one that could de disputed depending on what criteria are used, as there is no single universally accepted definition. Furthermore there may be changes in what each country's football governing body and legal system defines as a phoenix club and not a resurrected club. For example: The Scottish Football Association has a different interpretation from the (English) Football Association with regard to phoenix clubs. Therefore Rangers FC is not regarded in Scotland as a phoenix club (despite a new company having bought the assets of the The Rangers Football Club plc in 2012 after a failure to agree a CVA with its creditors and consequent liquidation); whereas in England, Darlington 1883 is regarded as a phoenix clubd having gone through similar circumstances.
Association football
Austria
a The original SV Austria Salzburg became FC Red Bull Salzburg after being bought out by the Red Bull company. The new owners completely re-branded the club and renounced any history prior to 2005, becoming a completely separate club.
b ASKÖ Pasching relocated from Pasching to Klagenfurt and became SK Austria Kärnten, effectively a new club.
Belgium
Chile
China
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
| Wǔhàn Guānggǔ F.C. |
Wuhan Zall F.C. |
2009 |
Colombia
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
| Club El Condor |
Bogotá F.C. |
2002 |
Costa Rica
a A.D. Generaleña merged with A.D. Pérez Zeledón to become Municipal Pérez Zeledón, de facto only continuing the Pérez Zeledón heritage.
Croatia
Czech Republic
England / Wales
a The phoenix clubs were formed despite the original club still existing (at the time), often causing controversy and a split in the fan-base, which means their phoenix club status may be disputed
b Wimbledon F.C. became Milton Keynes Dons F.C. in 2004; see Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes.
c South Liverpool F.C. (1890s) became New Brighton A.F.C. in 1921.
Georgia
Germany
a 1. FC Kattowitz was an ethnically German Upper Silesian pre-war men's football club. It was reactivated in 2007 as 1. FC Katowice was re-activated as a Polish Silesian women's football club.
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Iran
Japan
a Hagoromo Club were originally owned by Nippon Light Metal Co. and bore their name.
Latvia
Macedonia
New Zealand
Northern Ireland
Panama
Peru
Poland
a Pogoń Lwów and Śmigły Wilno are ethnically Polish clubs which played in pre-war Polish lands. However, the cities of Lwów (now known in English as Lviv) and Vilnius are part of Ukraine and Lithuania respectively, so the re-founded clubs play in the leagues of those countries.
b 1. FC Kattowitz was an ethnically German Upper Silesian pre-war men's football club. It was reactivated in 2007 as 1. FC Katowice was re-activated as a Polish Silesian women's football club.
Portugal
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
| S.C. Salgueiros |
Sport Clube Salgueiros 08 |
2008 |
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Russia
a Torpedo-ZIL Moscow (1997) became FC Moscow in 2004.
Scotland
a The Clydebank F.C. prior to the current club were themselves a phoenix club; in total there have been 6 clubs in the Clydebank lineage dating back to 1888.
Note: The SFA has a different interpretation from the FA with regard to phoenix clubs. Therefore Rangers FC is not regarded as a phoenix club despite a new company having bought the assets of the The Rangers Football Club plc in 2012 after a failure to agree a CVA with creditors, whereas Darlington 1883 is regarded as a phoenix club in England having gone through similar circumstances.
Serbia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
a Anyang Cheetahs relocated and became FC Seoul in 2004. The phoenix club was created due to the relocation after the reversal of controversial decentralisation policy at the time.
b Bucheon SK relocated and became Jeju United FC in 2006. The phoenix club was created due to the relocation after the reversal of controversial decentralisation policy at the time.
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
a Pogoń Lwów is an ethnically Polish club which played in pre-war Polish lands. However, the city of Lwów is now located in Ukraine and known in English as Lviv, so the re-founded club is part of the Ukrainian football league system.
United States of America
Note: Due to numerous disputes over which U.S. teams should be considered for this category, caution should be taken in determining whether a team is truly a phoenix, as opposed to one that's merely recycling a WUSA, WPS, or NASL name.
Basketball
Poland
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
| Prokom Trefl Sopot |
Trefl Sopot |
2009 |
Slovenia
United Kingdom
Handball
Spain
Ice Hockey
Sweden
Latvia
United Kingdom
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
| MK Kings |
MK Lightning |
2002 |
| Haringey Racers |
London Racers |
2003 |
Motorcycle Speedway
Poland
| Original club |
Phoenix club |
Year established |
|---|
Polonez Poznań
HCP Poznań
Unia Poznań |
PSŻ Poznań |
2004 |
| TŻ Łódź |
Orzeł Łódź |
2005 |
| KM Ostrów Wielkopolski |
ZKŻ Ostrovia Ostrów Wielkoposki |
2009 |
Rugby League
England & Wales
References
- ↑ "Administration: How a 'phoenix' club can play in Scottish football". Stv.tv. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Phoenix football – the clubs that would not die". Supportersnotcustomers.com. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ↑ "Aldershot Town FC enter administration". www.footballeconomy.com. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ Osbourne, Chris (2014-08-13). "MK Dons 3-1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Football. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
It is 11 years since the old Wimbledon was moved 60 miles north to Milton Keynes by music mogul Pete Winkelman, and 10 years since the club was rebranded into MK Dons. But still AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club created by fans, are searching for the win that may provide them with the smallest sensation of revenge.
- ↑ White, Jim (2012-12-02). "MK Dons 2 AFC Wimbledon 1: match report". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
... AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club born from the most bitterly contested geographical switch in English football history ...
- ↑ Doyle, Paul (2012-11-30). "Neal Ardley's phoenix club on the rise for FA Cup duel of raw emotion". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
Wimbledon ... as you may have gathered, is not the same thing as MK Dons. For most people connected with Wimbledon, MK Dons is the club that hijacked their one and absconded to Milton Keynes to raise an illegitimate offshoot ... fans founded a phoenix club, AFC Wimbledon, that rose from the ashes and soared up through the leagues, ascending five tiers in nine seasons to its current perch in League Two.
- ↑ Griffin, Paul (31 August 2013). "THIS AFTERNOON’S MATCH PREVIEW – AFC HORNCHURCH (HOME)". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Halifax on the brink of collapse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ↑ "Leagues agreed for 2008–09 season" BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ↑ "Chester City wound up in High Court". BBC Sport. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Rushden & Diamonds fans plan to set up 'phoenix' club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Phoenix club approved". www.croydon.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Darlington Match Preview". www.farsleyafc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ http://www.turus.net/sport/fussball/news/8120-gedenkspiel-für-marco-eckstein-fc-sachsen-leipzig-vs-bsg-chemie-leipzig.html
- ↑ http://www.sportal.rs/news.php?news=110628
- ↑ Hajduk nastavlja kao OFK Hajduk Kula
- ↑ http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/sport.294.html:449968-Kula-Osnovan-novi-OFK-Hajduk
- ↑ http://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal/vesti.php?yyyy=2013&mm=08&dd=20&nav_id=744740
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pkZDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dK0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1055,2690577&dq=chiefs+return+to+atlanta+soccer&hl=en
- ↑ . 5 November 1987 http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36852037B0A76&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM.
- ↑ http://www.sjearthquakes.com/club/history