Boston’s NWSL franchise is changing its name months after fans and media brutally criticized its launch campaign.
The team announced Friday that it has dropped its BOS Nation FC name, and a new one will be chosen in the next few weeks.
New Name for a New Era ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/rlgbpaPwfi
— Coming Soon FC (@NWSLBoston) March 15, 2025
The city was awarded a franchise in 2023, which gave the team a year to develop a name and branding. But the team was widely ridiculed in October, not so much for the BOS Nation name, but the accompanying marketing campaign. That included a video featuring the double-entendre theme “Too Many Balls,” along with merchandise and a website with that tagline.
“The club extends our heartfelt thanks to our supporters, whose passionate voices we deeply value — not just for their unwavering support but also for their honest and critical feedback,” majority owner Jennifer Epstein said in a statement (via ESPN). “We could not have completed this process without your input. We aim to build a lasting legacy that makes all our fans feel welcome, connected, and proud to wear our colors and cheer our name for generations to come.”
In retrospect, it’s hard to believe anyone looked at the proposed marketing campaign last year and thought, “This is a great idea!” The video featured images of Boston, legendary Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins, and a voiceover: “Boston. The city of champions. A legacy filled with trophies, banners, rings, and balls. Old balls. New balls. Steel balls. Cold balls. Even goat balls (a reference to Tom Brady, who appeared in the video and said, “Wait, what?)
“Yeah, Boston loves its balls. But maybe there are too many balls in this town.”
Upcoming NWSL team BOS Nation FC has deleted their much-criticized (https://t.co/NRIEieHTUq) “Too Many Balls” ad and apologized for it. Here’s the video of it: pic.twitter.com/oeEYAGeOja
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 17, 2024
The team deleted the video almost immediately and apologized, but the damage had been done. Many Boston sports fans were happy to hear the news Friday.
Women’s soccer fans celebrate @NWSLBoston’s announcement the new team is changing its name from BOS Nation FC as it rebrands following backlash from last fall’s marketing campaign featuring the slogan “Too Many Balls.” @boston25 tonight. pic.twitter.com/iG3zNAw7F3
— Christine McCarthy (@ChristineMNews) March 15, 2025
The team is expected to begin play in 2026.
