Hull City A.F.C.
In September 2010, there was speculation that Allam was interested in investing in
Hull City, the local football team, which had been relegated from the
Premier League earlier in 2010 with extensive financial problems. On 4 May 2013, Hull City clinched promotion back to the Premier League. Announcing the change in the
Hull Daily Mail newspaper, he said: "'Hull City' is irrelevant...it is common. I want the club to be special. It is about
identity. 'City' is a lousy identity. 'Hull City Association Football Club' is so long." The announcement stated that all references to "AFC" on club branding will be phased out, although they will remain on the shirt crest during their
first season back in the Premier League. Allam's plans to change the name of the club were met with strong opposition from supporters of the club, whose complaints he dismissed, stating "nobody questions my decisions in my business." In response to the formation of a group opposed to the name change entitled "City Till We Die," Allam responded that the supporters involved "can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football." On 9 April 2014, the FA rejected Allam's proposal to change the club's name. Allam subsequently announced his intention to appeal the decision. In early 2016, the club announced plans to replace the existing season ticket system with a new membership scheme, aiming to reduce match day costs for fans. The announcement was met with criticism from Hull City fans, with the scheme set to remove concessionary discounts and instead charge a flat rate to claim seats in particular sections of the stadium. It has also been suggested that the new system will force sections of fans to move to another area of the stadium to maintain their match day seats. Since the changes were announced, match day attendances at the KCOM Stadium have fallen significantly, with Hull City's
2016–17 campaign in the Premier League producing an average attendance figure of 20,761, a 12 per cent decrease on their previous season in the Premier League, while their 2017–18 campaign back in the Championship has so far been averaging just 15,980 fans. In spite of attendances falling, vice-chairman Ehab Allam has defended the new scheme, and has stated that it will remain. Allam's running of the club came under criticism in the summer of 2016, when after Hull City had regained promotion to the Premier League, the club only had twelve fit senior professionals available to play in the club's opening day fixture against reigning champions
Leicester City, with no acquisitions having been made since their Championship play-off final win and with no permanent manager in place after
Steve Bruce's resignation in the off-season. Allam's ownership of the club again came under scrutiny in the summer of 2017, following Hull's relegation from the Premier League, where upwards of seven key first team players were sold during the
transfer window. Hull again started a season with a threadbare squad depleted by injuries, and made a poor start to their first season back in the Championship under manager
Leonid Slutsky. He was sacked just months into the new season in early December, with the club having been on a poor run of two wins in 15 games, and firmly in a relegation battle. In late 2017, the club was still available for sale by the Allam family, with Assem Allam stating that the club "is no closer to being sold". Allam cited issues with the club's stadium ownership and "militant" fan backlash surrounding the running of the club as reasons for a potential sale being delayed. On 19 January 2022, Hull City announced that
Acun Medya, backed by
Acun Ilıcalı, had purchased the club from Allam. ==Hull Kingston Rovers==