Why does not one single men’s football team use ‘London’ in their name?
London is a huge city with a total of 17 men’s football clubs throughout the divisions with 7 playing at the highest level in the Premier League.
However, there’s an interesting stat – none of these teams carry the name ‘London’ in their titles.
Over 9.65 million are reported to live in capital and many of them happen to be avid football fans.
Football Post reported The reason why London doesn’t have just one team, simply put, its sheer size. Because of the cities overwhelming size, they deemed it wouldn’t boast of just one single club.
While many European cities boast football clubs proudly wearing their names, London stood apart.
The likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Real and Atletico Madrid, and even Ajax in Amsterdam have their city’s name embedded in their identities.
Even in Scotland, Celtic and Rangers carry the name ‘Glasgow.’ However, London remained an anomaly, resisting the temptation to christen a team with a universal name like London FC or London United.
Football witnessed a huge surge in popularity during the early 20th century. As the sport evolved, numerous teams emerged, primarily from the London area.
The origins of football in private schools saw the likes of amateur sides such as the Old Etonions dominating early tournaments.
However, the game grew over time and started to feature more teams from the North of England.
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Unlike other European cities, where a singular club often stood as a symbol of pride, London’s footballing culture developed organically through various distinct entities.
Could you imagine if Arsenal or Chelsea were originally called London FC or London City? It just doesn’t sit right…
One thing we would love to see in the Premier League someday would be a North vs. South exhibition match. The best players from the best Northern teams versus the best players from Southern teams, who would your money be on?