David Beckham Announces Name Of Miami Soccer Team

MIAMI, FL — Saying "this is our story. This is our crest," Miami's new Major League Soccer team was officially dubbed Club Miami Internacional de Futbol. The announcement came via social media early Wednesday morning.

“This is such a proud day for myself and for the entire team. It’s an honor to announce the new name and crest to our fans," said team owner and President of Football Operations David Beckham.

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Miami voters will decide in November on a referendum that would allow a group led by Miami businessman Jorge Mas and Beckham to place their proposed Freedom Park soccer complex on the site of the city-owned Melreese Country Club, not far from Miami International Airport.

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If approved by voters, the new stadium will most likely be ready in 2021 though Miami's new Major League Soccer time is likely to take the field for the first time at Marlins Park or Hard Rock Stadium for the first time in 2020.

At first glance, the team logo appears to show two flamingos standing with a sun between them and a pink background. But they are actually Great White Herons, which represent freedom. Their migration paths stretch from the southern coast of Alaska to the northern beaches of Colombia and Brazil.

"The Great White Heron is a permanent resident of South Florida," according to the team. "In mythologies around the world, the heron is a symbol of power protection and patience. Tenacious hunter of land and sea, noble spear of the skies. They are the guardians at our gateway to the Americas. They are stoic and intelligent but strike with fierce accuracy."

Beckham said that the team name and logo is an homage to South American soccer teams.

"I always gravitated to the old South American crests and the logos and the colors," said the legendary soccer player. "That's one thing that I felt really needed to go into this logo because we are a new team, but we are a city with a lot of history. I think that that's what we wanted to create with this crest. But also the authenticity, the South American flavor that we wanted in there, we also needed that modern twist as well because that's what Miami is all about."

This is our story. This is our crest.#InterMiamiCF #ThisIsMiami #MLS pic.twitter.com/p3yCkFiO0S
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/InterMiami... 5, 2018

Not everybody treated the logo with reverence. One fan turned it upside down and offered a crude observation.

"I know we've created something that our fans are happy with. I just hope we've created something that everybody will be happy with," added Beckham. "I'm sure our rivals won't really care but we care."

Conceptual image of Freedom Park courtesy city of Miami