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WPS Sky Blue FC

NJ/NY Professional Women's Soccer Team Gets a Name: Sky Blue FC

September 9, 2008 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)
Sky Blue FC News Release


SOMERSET, NJ (Sept. 9, 2008) - Sky Blue Soccer unveiled today the name and logo for its entry into Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) - the upcoming professional women's league. The Somerset, NJ based organization announced that its professional team will be called Sky Blue FC.

Sky Blue FC will be one of seven WPS franchises set to kick off the inaugural season in April 2009 with teams also playing in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington DC. Sky Blue FC will play its home matches at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ.

For the name of its professional team, Sky Blue Soccer adopted the use of the traditional FC moniker popular in many parts of the world as a shortened version of "Football Club." The use of FC reflects Sky Blue's European ties with company owners Thomas Hofstetter and Francesco Prandoni originally hailing from Germany and Italy, respectively, and with the team's first Head Coach and General Manager Ian Sawyers - a native of England.

"I'm very happy that we chose a name that reflects our European heritage - the use of FC comes naturally to us," said Sky Blue Soccer CEO and President Thomas Hofstetter. "With the logo, we wanted to go with a more contemporary style in contrast to a more traditional representation. We introduced the Sky Blue "look" with the launch of the company in 2006, and the definitive appearance has proven successful since."

The Sky Blue FC logo will feature Sky Blue's trademark box in navy blue, white, and orange colors containing the words "Sky Blue FC" in white. The Sky Blue logo features a bird - the swift - flying through the sky. The easily recognizable image is also used for other parts of the Sky Blue Soccer company, including the Sky Blue Soccer School - a developmental training program for youth players - and Jersey Sky Blue - an amateur women's soccer team that played in the W-League the past two years, and that will serve as a feeder team for the Sky Blue FC professional side.

Now that Sky Blue's professional team has a name, it will start to stock its roster next week when the first players are allocated to WPS team rosters. The allocations - comprised of players from the United States Women's National Team pool - will take place on Tuesday, September 16 in Manhattan.

Season tickets for Sky Blue FC are on sale now by visiting Sky Blue Soccer on the internet at www.SkyBlueFC.com or by calling 888-SBFC-TIX.

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