Atletico Madrid-Owned "Atlético Ottawa" Team Launched

On January 31 2020, it was announced that Spanish soccer giant Club Atletico de Madrid has purchased an expansion team for Ottawa in the Canadian Premier League. Now the logo and identity of the new Atletico-owned Ottawa soccer team was revealed - introducing Atlético Ottawa.

The Ottawa side will become the professional league’s eighth team when the CPL’s second season begins in April.

Atlético Madrid also has a 50% ownership of Mexican club Atlético San Luis, who also have a logo inspried by Atlético Madrid's crest.

Atletico Ottawa Logo - Canadian Premier League Team

Atlético Ottawa is the Canadian Premier League’s first expansion franchis. Former Spanish league star Mista is the club’s first head coach.

Owned by La Liga outfit Club Atlético de Madrid, the new Ottawa team’s official colours are red and white and blue, and its crest is also similar to Club Atlético de Madrid’s, featuring red and white stripes, a silhouette of Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, and the Canadian Maple Leaf.

Tuesday afternoon’s unveiling took place during a special event at TD Place Stadium (where Atlético Ottawa will play its home games) with CPL commissioner David Clanachan making the announcement before a large gathering of local soccer fans.

“This for me is a momentous day, one that I’ll never forget,” Clanachan told the crowd. “We wouldn’t be a truly Canadian league unless we had a team here in Ottawa… I can’t think of anything else to say but thank you to Atletico Madrid. Ottawa has won the lottery today.”

Mista, a former Spanish national team member who once played for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer, said he was excited about returning to Ontario.

“For me, it’s a very important opportunity because it’s a big step for my career to be (coaching) in the first division,” Mista told reporters in Ottawa, in Spanish, as translated by CanPL.ca staff. “I know this country, from previously being here and I loved the way people treated me. I’m extremely happy to be here and to help, somehow, in being a part of this football team with Atletico.”

Club Atlético de Madrid’s Fernando López will oversee operations for Atlético Ottawa, with local business leader Jeff Hunt serving as a strategic partner.

Also in attendance for Tuesday’s festivities in Ottawa were Atlético de Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and Enrique Ruiz Molero, Ambassador of Spain to Canada.

Asked why Atlético Madrid decided to invest in a club in Canada, Gil Marin simply answered: “Because your country is amazing.”

This isn’t the first time Club Atlético de Madrid has invested in a foreign soccer club. It previously co-owned the Indian Super League franchise Atlético de Kolkata, before ending its partnership with the ISL club in 2017.

Also in 2017, Club Atlético de Madrid bought a major ownership stake in Mexican team San Luis Futbol Club and renamed it Atlético San Luis. The team went on to win promotion to the Mexican topflight from the second division last year.

Looking ahead, the first order of business for Atlético Ottawa will be assembling a team of players to don the red-and-white stripes of the CPL’s newest outfit.

“At the moment, we still don’t know (what the team will look like),” Mista answered, when asked about how he’d be putting together his first-team roster. “We’re still building the team and getting to know the players who will make the team, or not. But, we have to field a very competitive team to make Atlético Ottawa sit in the highest position in the league.”

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