The Story Of The Name And Logo Reveal
The club had been officially confirmed as a member of Major League Soccer on January 29, 2019, at a ceremony held at the Knight Concert Hall at Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center in Downtown Miami.
Up until this time, the club had no official name, and was generally referred to as “Miami MLS.” From January 29, 2018, the club went by the placeholder name “Fútbol Miami” or “Fútbol Miami MLS,” while the organisational name continued to be Miami Beckham United, LLC.
The name of the team was the subject of much debate and speculation for years, ever since co-owner Marcelo Claure was close to bringing an MLS club to Miami in conjunction with FC Barcelona. There were many options, but the two that emerged as the fan favourites were Atlético Miami and Inter Miami. Inter, short for Internacional, had long been used to refer to an eventual MLS team in Miami. It even was used by players of the famous computer simulation, Football Manager, as far back as 2007. The same can be said for Atlético.
The Beckham group kept everyone guessing as well, filing trademark applications for a host of names: the two aforementioned names in various forms, as well as names such as Miami Mundial Club de Fútbol.
Declining to go the route of a traditional press conference, the name and logo of Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami was revealed in a unique, exciting way. Actually, it was carried out in three ways:
First, in advance of the name drop, they commissioned local artist Alejandro Mijares to paint a mural on the side of a building in the city’s Brickell neighbourhood, at the corner of SW 8th Street and SW 1st Avenue. The mural was kept under wraps until 5:00 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, September 5, 2018.
Second, the team had the front and back pages of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald wrapped in pink and announcing the name and logo. As the paper was distributed, early morning readers were able to see the name and logo.
Third, the team allowed its supporters’ group, Southern Legion / Legión del Sur to be the first to announce the name and logo over social media channels beginning at 5:06 a.m. EDT (a comfortable 10:06 a.m. from my viewpoint in Lisbon, Portugal) on the morning of Wednesday, September 5, 2018:
Inter Miami CF has involved its supporters groups since the beginning; here is the tweet by Southern Legion / Legión del Sur at 5:06 a.m. on Wed. Sep 5, 2018.
Managing Owner Jorge Mas posted tweet at the same time as the supporters’ group announcement:
Then, Inter Miami CF posted its first tweet under its new name:
As the sun rose on a new day in Miami, further social media posts, including Twitter, were sent from the club and from its owners, explaining the name, logo and its symbolism.
Horizon Pink expresses the passion & energy that unites Miamians & drives us to succeed. It’s the color of our passion rising to the surface & reflecting the bright Miami sun. It’s the strength of our diverse spirit beaming through the armor of our determination @InterMiamiCF pic.twitter.com/HBve3hfqGQ
— Jorge Mas (@Jorge__Mas) September 5, 2018
Sunrise on September 5, 2018 from the Inter Miami CF offices. David Beckham checking out the morning news in Miami Beach on September 5, 2018. Mural painted by Miami artist Alejandro Mijares. Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald edition of September 5, 2018.
Mantra
Doubleday and Cartwright, a small Brooklyn design shop, developed the logo of Inter Miami CF. David Beckham became the company’s biggest fan. When asked about the choice of the small design studio, he said, “As soon as we met the Doubleday & Cartwright creative team, we knew they were the right people to help us to create something different, something that would really stand out but also have real meaning.”
Here is the behind-the-scene story of how this small design shop accomplished this enormous task.