The term phoenix club is used in professional team sports to refer to a new entity that is set up to replace that of a club that has failed in business terms but not in sporting terms, and generally involves the continuation of the sporting activity.[1][2] In some cases, the phoenix club is created by the supporters of the club which has ended, or seems 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 and Italy in relation to association football, although it is also used in other countries.
The term has also been used to refer to a club formed by supporters of a major team when a change of ownership or policy causes them to lose faith in the management of their favoured side. This happened in 2005, when F.C. United of Manchester was formed by some fans of Manchester United, specifically as a protest at the sale of the latter to Malcolm Glazer, and at what they saw as the excessive and unacceptable commercialisation of the club[3] although the new club's status as a phoenix is open to dispute if the original club still exists.
The term is derived from the mythical phoenix, a bird which was 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, resulted in the newly created club actually calling itself the Wellington Phoenix FC.
In some cases, phoenix clubs 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 of the old club's name. An American football example is the Cleveland Browns, the original franchise of which moved to Baltimore in 1995 to become the Baltimore Ravens. However, the NFL stipulated that, as part of the move, the franchise would not be able to keep the history and records of the Browns, a cornerstone NFL franchise. In 1999, the "new" Browns were granted an expansion franchise and were awarded all of the former team's history by the league, even though the extant Ravens had the original Browns players and personnel. The league and club view the Browns as one single team with a sporting hiatus.[4]
The term does not include teams that have relocated as a going concern, and/or have been renamed. Many of the former may list their founding date as the day they moved, but they are considered to be the same club and therefore cannot be seen as a phoenix, unless their previous entity has officially folded.
However, because there is no single, universally-accepted definition, ascribing the term phoenix club can be disputed depending on the criteria used. Furthermore, there may be changes in what each country's football governing body and legal system defines as a phoenix club rather than resurrected club.
a The finances of the original NK Varaždin (called NK Varteks from 1958–2010) stumbled repeatedly for five years. When this led to their suspension in 2011, an unassociated NK Varteks was created. When they were suspended again in 2012, a new unassociated Varaždin emerged. The original club, including its records and history, folded in 2015.
In the early 21st century, several Italian clubs endured very severe economic problems. Some, most notably Fiorentina,[53][54]Napoli,[55][56][57]Parma[58][59] and Torino[60] were each declared formally bankrupt and had to reapply to the Italian football authorities to play at a lower level, with new owners and as new corporate entities. All are considered to be the same clubs before and after the bankruptcy rather than separate phoenix entities; They obtained the "sports title" to remain in the Italy football pyramid using clauses in the Article 52 of N.O.I.F..[57][60]
bAirdrieonians F.C. (1878) were liquidated in 2002[86] but their owners bought Clydebank[87] and rebranded it as Airdrie United (now known as Airdrieonians F.C. (2002)); therefore that club is not a phoenix as it took the place of an existing entity. However the current incarnation of Clydebank is a phoenix, as it was founded by supporters to replace the entity which had moved to Airdrie[88] and had to restart at the bottom of the (Junior) league pyramid.
^Known as the Vancouver 86ers from their founding through the 2000 season.
^ abIronically, the fourth iteration of the Orioles are a two-time Phoenix club, having previously served as the third iteration of the Milwaukee Brewers.
^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.
^ abCarraro, Franco (7 September 2004). "C.U. N°98/A (2004–05)"(PDF). Consiglio Federale (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
^ abCarraro, Franco (16 August 2005). "C.U. N°61/A (2005–06)"(PDF). Presidente Federale (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
^Donovan, Pete (2012). Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball. San Rafael, California: INSIGHT EDITIONS. pp. 35, 36. ISBN978-1-60887-019-6.
