Bakay was a lifelong soccer fan and nephew of the co-chairman of one of the world’s most successful professional soccer clubs – Galatasaray of Istanbul Turkey - and had the knowledge and resources to put together an amazing group of business owners that would undoubtedly take the team to new heights.
After little conversation, Bakay was on board and continued to form an ownership group that saw no boundaries.
“For an organization to function and be successful, it has to have a group of talented and experienced people behind it,” stated Bakay, governor of Phoenix Rising FC. “Also, an organization can’t be dependent on one or two people, there is strength in numbers. We have an amazing group of entrepreneurs with great chemistry and synergy. While there are strong personalities in the group, we respect one another and work together as a team.”
One of the first, important decisions made by the ownership group was the hiring of Head Coach and President of Soccer Operations, Frank Yallop.
The Search for a Head Coach
Yallop played over 800 games during his professional career in the English Premier League and Champions League, including 52 caps for the Canadian National Team. He finished his career as a player in the upstart MLS where he twice was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
As a head coach, Yallop led the Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team and spent 13 years in MLS leading the San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire. He won two MLS Cup titles and was also honored as MLS Coach of the Year twice during his tenure.
Yallop would be the key to building Phoenix Rising FC into a league contender, which was granted provisional Division 2 status by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) Board of Directors as of January 6, 2017.
Re-Brand Offers Fresh Start
As the new owners assembled and discussed the future of the team, they really wanted a fresh start. They were all in agreement that a new name and brand identity would really solidify the rebirth of the team.
They wanted the name to be local and embrace the heritage of Phoenix . “The soccer culture is about a city getting behind a team,” states Governor, Berke Bakay.
While many names were considered, Brett Johnson, team co-chairman was adamant about the Phoenix Rising FC name. He felt it really spoke to the vision of the owners and it won our majority vote.
Next, was the creation of the new brand identity by Phoenix Rising FC co-owner and board member, Tim Riester, and his creative staff at RIESTER advertising agency.