Seattle’s National Women’s Soccer League franchise doesn’t have an owner or a schedule for the upcoming season, but they do have a new (old) name and a new crest.
On Tuesday, January 9, the club announced that it would revert to the name it initially had when it joined the league in 2013 — Seattle Reign FC — and unveiled a recolored version of its original crest.
The new crest replaces the lighter “royal blue” and platinum from the original crest with a darker blue and gold respectively.
“Today is the start of a new chapter for our unique club, fans and community,” Reign CEO Vincent Berthillot said in a news release quoted in the Seattle Times. “Bringing back the club’s original name and identity from the 2013 season as the club prepares to enter a new era is our way of honoring the history of this club while respecting the progress and success we’ve experienced firsthand. Seattle Reign FC was a founding club in this growing league, and our OGs, our supporters and our community have remained by our side from the very beginning to help pave the way for the future.”
The team was known as Seattle Reign FC from 2013 to 2018. They relocated to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington, for the 2019 season and simplified their name to Reign FC.
In 2020, the parent company of French Ligue 1 team Olympique Lyonnais became majority owner of the club and renamed it OL Reign. The team moved their home games back to Seattle for the 2022 season, playing at Lumen Field (also home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’s Seattle Sounders).
A company run by American businessman John Textor bought Olympique Lyonnais in December 2022 and began the process of selling the Reign, which was the catalyst for the latest name change. The Sounders are rumored to be part of the new ownership group, but no further updates on that front were shared in Tuesday’s announcement.
OL Reign were runners-up in the NWSL in 2023, losing 2-1 to NY/NJ Gotham FC in the championship final. The 2024 NWSL season will begin on March 16, though detailed schedules for each team have yet to be announced.