Boston’s forthcoming NWSL expansion franchise has settled on the name Boston Legacy Football Club. The team’s reveal of its new name this morning comes a week after the team formally renounced its previous moniker, BOS Nation FC. That name was met with derision when it was announced in conjunction with a widely panned “Too Many Balls” marketing campaign back in October.
The franchise said in a statement that the name Boston Legacy FC “keeps the focus on Boston while invoking both its long history and its importance as a hub of future innovation.” The club plans to share its crest and wordmark over the next few months leading up to the team’s on-field debut in 2026.
The team detailed the name selection process in a corresponding blog post, saying it first conducted a public survey taken by 1,500 fans and gathered more than 500 name suggestions and feedback from social media, survey respondents and advisors. Takeaways from the research included choosing a name that required no explanation (a shift from BOS Nation, which was an anagram of “Bostonian”) and steering clear of “colonial, Revolutionary War and nautical themes.”
In addition to working with freelance brand consultant Kayci Baldwin, the team consulted with 31 brand advisors, including ESPN Senior Dir of Development Kati Fernandez, Monarch Collective Managing Partner Jasmine Robinson, Celtics VP/Team Operations & Organizational Growth Allison Feaster, Boston Renegades (Women’s Football Alliance) assistant coach Molly Goodwin, Athlete Ally Dir of Education A.T. Furuya, and intersectionality consultant and disability in sports advocate Chanel Keenan.
A trial in which community members are seeking to prevent the team’s ownership group, Boston Unity Soccer Partners, from moving forward with a proposal to rebuild historic White Stadium in a public-private partnership is now in its second week. A decision in that pivotal case is expected in the next few weeks.
