Ottawa's new pro soccer team shows its colours

Ottawa's new professional soccer franchise unveiled its colours and crest Tuesday, and fans of the team's Spanish namesake will feel right at home at TD Place.

Atlético Ottawa is the first expansion team for the Canadian Premier League (CPL). Its arrival signals the return of professional soccer to the capital after Ottawa Fury FC suspend operations in 2019 following a prolonged sanctioning battle with the league.

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Atlético Ottawa's colours are based on Club Atlético de Madrid's colours of red, white and blue, but set against a backdrop of Parliament Hill. The Spanish soccer giant purchased the team and has installed former Toronto FC player Miguel Angel Ferrer Martinez, a.k.a. Mista, as coach.

The club is set to kick off in April at TD Place when the CPL's second season begins.

"I can tell you right now, Ottawa has won the lottery today," said CPL commissioner David Clanachan. "This is an organization that has 116 years of history playing football globally. It can't get any better than that."​​​

Clanachan said it makes sense to have a professional team based in Ottawa.

"I've always believed that if you're going to have a Canadian Premier League, it needs a team in Ottawa. It's our nation's capital. The capital deserves that."

The league said former Ottawa Redblacks president and onetime owner of the Ottawa 67's, Jeff Hunt, will serve as the new team's "strategical partner."

"We're building off the legacy of the [Fury], but we we are starting something very new and we want the fans to be involved at the very earliest stage," Hunt said. 

"I hope we'll see an Atlético experience with an Ottawa flavour."