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Atletico Ottawa Reveals Club Crest, Colours, and Head Coach
By Canadian Premier League expansion side Atletico Ottawa has revealed its club crest, colours, and its first-ever head coach during a special announcement ceremony that took place in the nation’s capital today.
The bilingual announcement ceremony saw the likes of Canadian Premier League commissioner David Clanachan, Atletico Madrid majority owner Miguel Angel Gil Marin, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa sports entrepreneur Jeff Hunt, and even Ambassador of Spain to Canada Enrique Ruiz take to the stage to unveil the league’s first-ever expansion side just two months ahead of its second season.
As expected, the club colours fall in line with the general branding of Atletico Madrid, who are the La Liga giants backing the Canadian Premier League’s first-ever expansion side. The iconic red, white, and blue will be on display in club imaging and kits alike, with Atletico Ottawa declaring the shades to be Federal Red, Rideau Blue, and Blanc d’Ottawa.
The club crest was also revealed as part of the ceremony. Interested fans can take a look at Atletico Ottawa’s crest below:
The club also announced that 41-year-old former Spanish international Mista, who once played for Atletico Madrid and Toronto FC, will be joining the side as its first-ever head coach. Now 41, his arrival to Atletico Ottawa will mark his first foray as a head coach, having previously held assistant coaching roles at both Valencia and Rayo Vallecano.
The newly-formed club will participate in the 2020 Canadian Premier League season which kicks off in two month’s time, with Ottawa sports entrepreneur Jeff Hunt leading the expansion side as club president. The veteran sports club owner played a key role in Atletico Ottawa being fast-tracked to become the league’s eight club, and will focus on the business side of club operations.
The newly-minted side may only have two months to assemble competitive team, but Jeff Hunt isn’t worried: he’s revealed that the Atletico Madrid scouting department has already begun compiling a list of potential signings, while some former Ottawa Fury players like Maxime Tissot have expressed significant interest staying in the nation’s capital. Clanachan has also confirmed that the league has assisted with curating a list of both Canadian free agents and foreign signings through the league’s partnership with 21st Club.
The club had previously confirmed that it will play out of TD Place, the 24,000-capacity stadium which now-defunct USL side Ottawa Fury previously called home. The stadium is owned by OSEG, which otherwise has nothing to do with the new Canadian Premier League expansion team.
Atletico Ottawa will be the only expansion side of the 2020 season, though it looks like 2021 may see the likes of Saskatoon, Quebec City, Montreal, or even Fraser Valley enter the mix, too. CPL Commissioner David Clanachan has made it no secret that once the league features enough teams, he’s aiming to implement a two-tiered league system that features promotion and relegation. While we’re still years away from such an idea becoming reality, the unveiling of the league’s first-ever expansion side is a historic step towards that direction.
Whatever happens, today is the start of a new era of professional soccer in Ottawa: Atletico Ottawa now has a crest, club colours, and its first-ever head coach. Now the club needs to assemble its 23-man roster and prove that it can compete against the seven founding teams as the Canadian Premier League enters its second-ever season.
See More: Everything We Know About Atletico Ottawa So Far
1 Comment
Only two things matter for this league to be useful: Canadian players AND youth system. the first players they field are just there for a cup of coffee anyways but it’s the work they do at youth level to PRODUCE Canadian players that must be the key goal. Having a rotation of generic faceless Canadian players and 2-3 mercenaries should not be the goal past the first season.