MLS Expansion Club NYC FC Unveils First Jersey With Etihad Airways As Sponsor

MLS expansion club NYC FC on Thursday unveiled its first home jersey at an event held in N.Y. and also announced a five-year partnership with Etihad Airways to become the club’s principal partner and have the company’s branding on all of the team’s playing jerseys. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Etihad Airways also will have a presence on game days at the club’s present home of Yankee Stadium, as well as across the team’s digital platforms. Etihad Airways will be provided player appearances and access to the team’s training sessions. The partnership builds on a number of current relationships. Etihad Airways was announced as the official airline partner of MLS in March, which has seen the airline’s logo and its messages placed on in-stadium LED boards and on MLS digital platforms this season. Etihad also has a relationship with NYC FC’s co-owner, City Football Group, and is jersey sponsor for the holding company’s ownership stakes in its other two clubs, EPL club Manchester City and Australian club Melbourne City FC (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).

GOING TO THE CITY: SI.com's Tim Newcomb noted the City Blue color -- which is worn by Manchester City -- "powers the uniform, with white and dark blue detailing adding a bit of contrast to the otherwise clean uniform." Despite the Etihad Airways wordmark on the center of the uniform and the "likeness to Man City's jerseys, the NYCFC jersey will still have plenty of New York-specific touches." The club’s badge is "inspired by the old New York City subway tokens from the 1950s on the chest" (SI.com, 11/13). But ESPN’s Keith Olbermann named the club his worst persons in the sports world Thursday, noting the jerseys are almost complete duplicates of what Man City wears. They are “pale blue with a tiny team logo and a big ad for an airline nobody’s ever heard of and nobody can pronounce” ("Olbermann,” ESPN2, 11/13).

DATE FOR HOME OPENER SET: NYC FC Chief Business Officer Tim Pernetti said that with the home opener at Yankee Stadium set for March 15, the club "expects to make its MLS debut the previous weekend on the road." He added that NYC FC will train in Purchase, N.Y., and season tickets "have exceeded 11,000 with the Third Rail -- the team’s group of fans -- topping 1,000" (N.Y. POST, 11/14).