Cardiff City fans have reacted angrily at proposals to change the team’s strip from blue to red and to change the club badge.
The club’s Malaysian owners have said they will invest £100m in the club on condition that the home kit will become red and the badge includes a dragon instead of a bluebird.
Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust chair Tim Hartley, vice-chair Tracey Marsh and board member Keith Morgan attended a meeting last night with other fans’ representatives.
At that meeting Alan Whiteley, chief executive of Cardiff City, explained proposals by Malaysian owner Vincent Tan to invest around £100m in the club.
The investment will improve the stadium, will build new training facilities and offer Malky Mackay money to strengthen the team. The plans would see the stadium expanded to 35,000 seats by 2014.
However, Mr Whiteley said that the investment comes as part of a package with conditions:
- From next season Cardiff City will play in red shirts, black shorts and red socks with a blue away kit.
- The Bluebirds badge will be changed to that of a dragon.
- But the name will remain as Cardiff City Football Club.
Vincent Tan and the Malaysian investors want the colour and badge changed to represent the fusion of the two cultures of Wales and Malaysia. This, Mr Whiteley, said would lead to new commercial and retail opportunities in Asia.
Tim Hartley said: “While we would obviously welcome the investment, I am personally disappointed with some of these changes.
“In our role as a Trust we will now canvass opinion among our members.
“Personally, I think the conditions proposed would mean that we would lose something of our soul as City fans.
“For generations people have been brought up as Bluebirds and to be told next season that we are Dragons wearing red shirts is perhaps a step too far.
“We are grateful to the Malaysians for their continued investment in Cardiff City. But, personally, I would urge them to think again and respect some of the central traditions of what Cardiff City has been and is.”
Vice chair Tracey Marsh said: “Although I’ve not been a City fan as long as many, there is a principle at stake and I feel that as fans if we agree to the conditions that we will be selling out.
“One of our favourite fans songs talks about ‘not taking my Cardiff away’. It seems that is exactly what is proposed as one City fan has said. I also worry what agreeing to this will mean in the future.”
In a statement, Cardiff City FC said: “We would like to assure supporters that any decisions will include the long term interests of our supporters, our community and the survival and development of Cardiff City Football Club in a highly competitive and modern sporting industry.
“As a club we also appreciate the importance of our history, along with our position within the community. We fully recognise the legitimate interests of the fans, supporters and media in the affairs of the club and their right to information in respect of the same.”
WE ARE BLUEBIRDS…. Were in that name is the word RED DRAGON …. Yes we want investment But NOT on the grounds of a sell out to our name and identity … The Red strip is for the National Side …We as a nation are proud to be Welsh BUT we are Cardiff City fc NOT The National Squad of Wales … We as Cardiff City Supporters should not be held to ransom by the Malasians…If it is their intention to turn the fans against them then this is a sure fired way of doing it… Investers come and go BUT we are Bluebirds and Bluebirds wear Bluebird badges with a Blue and White kit not Red kit with Dragon Badges….
i personally think that this is a good investement, but i think some changes are going too far for example: Changing the badge, changing the home kit is not appropriate because we have had the kit for over 100 years and is traditional to city…if the away kit was red then that would be ok.
So now we have the Malasian's trying to do what Sam Hammam failed to do a few years ago. Well I would love to tell them to their faces that Cardiff City are blue and that I would rather be a bluebird in league two than sell out to become any other colour for the £100m or whatever their trying to blackmail us with.
Play about with the away kit as much as you like but we are blue first and formost and we always will be.
If they wanted red dragons why didn't they invest in Wrexham to start with, who I'm sure would have something to say about their identity being stolen.
If this is the price of premiership football, I don't want it. As far as i'm concerned, this goes through, then CCFC are dead. Devastated
those football supporters who have died in their time of supporting the BLUEBIRDS would turn in their graves if they could see what the proposals are directors of ALL BUSINESS'S don't give a shit about any people other than themselves
I hope the owner ditches Cardiff, shows how childlike football fans are. Someone tell him to invest in the Blues instead.