Proud Spartan South Midlands League club Wembley FC say a trademark dispute with The Football Association could put the club out of existence.
Chairman Brian Gumm has serious concerns over the future of the club after the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office ruled in favour with The FA’s request to cancel the club’s trademark due to similarities with Wembley Stadium.
For over 70 years the country’s national stadium and Wembley FC have existed side-by-side but now The FA have raised concerns with the club’s badge.
Wembley FC have been told they must pay The FA’s legal costs.
A statement from the FA read: “We take the enforcement of our Intellectual Property seriously and only take action as a last resort when an amicable resolution does not seem possible”.
Over 9000 people have signed a petition to stop The FA from forcing the club to drop Wembley from their name – https://www.change.org/p/football-association-stop-the-fa-forcing-local-wembley-football-club-dropping-wembley-from-their-name
Gumm told BBC Radio London: “We’d have to change our logo through the whole club and it would cost us an absolute fortune.
“We’ve always been Wembley, and Wembley Stadium was [originally] called the Empire Stadium.
“We’ve been living by the side of Wembley [Stadium] for 70 years and we’ve never had any confusion. I’ve never seen 10,000 people coming to our games if there is an England game on.”
“We can’t even afford to put in an appeal. It will bankrupt the club because we can’t afford to change all our signage and kit.”
Please sign this petition to stop the @FA all signatures and RT’s very much appreciated. We can’t thank each of you enough for all the support. #WembleyFC https://t.co/NsL1EQQia7
— Wembley FC (@WembleyFC) December 21, 2017
