International Federations League (fictional soccer league) - Salt Lake Rattlers. C&C wanted

[TorinK92]

I've been toying with starting a concept league for a while, and never had the means or skills to do it. I decided to start it today with some limited experience toying in inkscape.
Anyway, the concept of the league is that it is a league run by FIFA, with a seperate league in each of the 6 confederations. The winner of each league (determined by the team with the most points at the end of the season) moves on to the Finals. There the teams split into two groups of three and the top two in each pool after the round robin goes into the playoffs (1v4, 2v3.) The league has always been a popular league since it's inception in 1970, attracting many of the big name players in the world. I've shown the captains of each team on the back of each jersey.
Here's a brief history on when each confederation joined.

UEFA - 1970

CONCACAF & CONMEBOL - 1979

Australia - 1981

AFC - 1993

OFC (formerly Australia) - 1996

CAF - 1998

And a few notes about FIFA zoning

Australia is included in the OFC confederation due to it being a seperate entity in it's founding, and also to increase the competition level and to give geographical sense to it.*
*Israel remains, however in the UEFA confederation due to safety concerns to the players and fans on either side of the teams.

For a city to be granted an IFL team, they must be an active member of FIFA. They can retain their team if they drop out of the organization but cannot host special events (draft, finals, all-star games etc.)

To start, I'll be starting with the CONCACAF confederation. First concept to be up in a couple of minutes.

[TorinK92]

Halifax FC

Halifax, NS

"The Braves"

Joined: 1996 (Expansion)

Stadium: WestJet Stadium (34'500)

League Titles: 0

World Titles: 0

History: Halifax began play in 1996, along with San Diego and is currently one of five Canadian teams in the league. The team struggled out of the gate, placing last in their first two seasons and never placing above the bottom five in their first six seasons. In 2003-2004 the team went on a 12 game winning streak and ended up going 26-5-13 placing fifth in the league. They finished in the top ten the next two seasons, before dropping back into the bottom of the league. Their best finish since then has been a 19-6-22 (expansions increased the season) good for 19th in the league of 32. Despite their trouble, the team has been extremely popular with fans since the new millennium, necessitating a new state-of-the-art stadium.

[OlavoP]

Good looking kits, simple but classic, looking forward to this

[Soarindude]

Love how simple the crest is, but stll looks solid.

[TorinK92]

NEW YORK EMPIRE

New York City, NY

"The High Flyers"

Joined: 1979 (founding member)

Stadium: HBO Field (45'630)

League Titles: 3 (1983,1985,2000)

World Titles: 0

History: New York was one of the original 15 members of the CONCACAF league. They middled the first three years with a 7th and a 9th place finishes. But in their third season, they managed to put on an all star roster, winning the league and repeating just two years later after a third place finish in '84. Despite their league success, they failed to get out of the group stage of the finals both times. They continued to compete for league titles until the early 90's, when fan attendance dropped leading the team to loan and drop their best players. However, that ended thanks to surprise 1999 signings of soon-to-be Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho and up and coming Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, leading to a amazing season. They went 29-6-9 and went on to the world final game. However losing in a blowout to German side Dusseldorf in a 5-1 decision after two players went off early for New York and Casillas was injured in the semi-finals. The team put on impressive squads for the next several years, but only finished above third once in 2003. Ever since 2007, the Empire has put up rather mediocre teams, never finishing above 6th or lower than 13th.

[illwauk]

I kind of wish the red were orange, to match NYC's flag, but that's just me. Love the badge.

[TorinK92]

Wilmington Generals

Wilmington, DE

"The Green Hens"

Joined: 2001 (Expansion)

Stadium: John Haslet Stadium (28'300)

League Titles: 0

World Titles: 0

History: Serving the Philadelphia general area, the Wilmington Generals are a ressurection of the founding team by the same name that was managed into the ground in the late 80's. They won the expansion battle over Oklahoma city and Buffalo, and immediately went back to tradition. For Every season since their inception, they have worn an alternate throwback to the original franchise, even keeping the original logo unchanged. The General's have been on a steady rise in performance ever since they started playing, never finishing in the bottom or top 5 in the league. Their best season was in 2010-2011 where they went 24-5-18, placing 8th in the league. They are expected every season to put a respectable team together and challenge the best teams, but never to make a run to the championship. It should be noted that the original franchise won a championship in 1982, going to the world championship to be left at the bottom of the group in two blowout losses

[TorinK92]

Atletico Toluca

Toluca, Mex

"The pyramids"

Joined: 2001 (Expansion)

Stadium: Estadio Nemesio Diez (45'000)

League Titles: 1 (2011)

World Titles: 0

History: Toluca started their existence along with Wilmington in the 2001 expansion. They have been the more successful of the two moderately successful teams. Early on in their existence they attracted big name central and latin american players, due to them being located in the south-centre of Mexico. They quickly climbed up the standings placing fourth in just their third year. They never matched that until five years later when they made the jump from 8th to 2nd, then continued their dominance to a league championship the following year, losing in the semifinals of the World Championship. They are always a top three threat and are looking for their fifth consecutive appearance in the top five.

The crest takes it's design off of Aztec art and designs from the Aztec Calendar.

[TorinK92]

Not sure why that came out double spaced and I can't find a way to fix it.

Also, I'm not entirely happy how Wilmington came out. I tried to make it look like it was the original logo from the 70's but it sort of came out looking sort of rushed.

I might go back and fix that sometime.

[TorinK92]

Making up for Toronto FC? Maybe?

Toronto United

Toronto, ON

"The Northmen"

Joined: 1979 (founding member)

Stadium: Rogers Centre (47'568)

League Titles: 6 (1990,1991,1994,1995,1999,2001)

World Titles: 2 (1994,1995)

History: Toronto holds multiple distinctions as being one of the best teams in league history. They were the first Canadian team in the IFL, and the only in the original 15. They are also only the second team from CONCACAF to win the world championship, and only the third team to win the world's back to back, (again, the first CONCACAF team to do so.) For the first half decade of their existence, the United were a middling team, never living up to expectations. But in the late 80's increased interest in soccer in Toronto lead to more money for the team, and a better roster. They became the first and only to date Canadian team to win the league in 1990, and repeated the year after. They fell to 6th in 91-92, but after two strait third place finished, they eventually pulled another run of back to back championships. This time winning the World Titles both times in commanding performances. Toronto would go on to win the league two more times, never repeating their world dominance. TU has been weening off in recent years, finishing 11th for the past three years in a row, and fan interest has been weening over the better part of the last decade.

[TorinK92]

any C&C for the past few concepts?

[Soarindude]

My favorite so far is Wilmington Generals. Love the white alternate. So many people would be inclined to go with a bright yellow, but the mustard yellow just looks better. Nice sponsor choice as well, my dad works for Cigna!

[TorinK92]

thanks, it's always been mustard > yellow for me. And don't credit me on the sponsor, I just wikipedia'd "companies based in Philadelphia" and picked one that was established but not too obvious.
Could I get a little more C&C on these? I'd like more of other people's ideas on how to improve my logo skills and presentation before I pick this up again at the end of the week.

[TorinK92]

Oakland FC

Oakland FC

"The Oaks"

Joined: 1984 (Expansion)

Stadium: O.co Coliseum (63'132)

League Titles: 1 (1998)

World Titles: 0

History: Oakland started their history starting of at the bottom of the pack. They only finished above the bottom six in 1991-1992, then they quickly rised to contender status, and after three straight top four appearances, topped the league by just one point. However tying for last in the pool of 5 In the worlds going 0-2-2. They never matched their top five run again; being one of the more inconsistent franchises in the league, their best record being in 2005-06 placing 6th, and their worst being in 2008-09 placing 24th. in 2012-13, they went 24-6-17 placing 9th in the league.

C&C would be much appreciated

[Soarindude]

I'm not a big fan of the crest, looks kinda sloppy. You should do something similar to Nottingham Forest crest, but of course, make it your own.

[TorinK92]

I just got a new computer so I'm getting used to the ease it takes to move anything, I might fix it up a bit though.

And the tree is based off of Oaklands flag, so I'd like to keep the general shape of the crest like that.

[TorinK92]

Okay I updated the Oakland crest and added a few elements to it.

Improvement?

[TorinK92]

BUMP, any more C&C before I move on to the next concept?

[TorinK92]

Something of note, this is my first logo done completely in inkscape. It might not be the best one I've ever made but it will make way with experience for better logos in the future.

Salt Lake Rattlers

Salt Lake City, Utah

"The Gold Diggers"

Joined: 2009 (Expansion)

Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium (20'213)

League Titles 0

World Titles: 0

History: The Rattlers, being one of the two newest teams in the league, don't have an elaborate history. They managed a surprise season in their inaugural campaign, finishing 14th out of 32. However falling beneath 20th the next two seasons. Before last season, they managed to pick up a few key players including captain of the US national team, Clint Dempsey, and placed 13th in the league, up 10 positions from the previous season. They are looking for a top 10 finish this year, and might pull it off, but many pundits are calling for a similar season to last.

C&C always much wanted and appreciated.

[LAWeaver]

It all looks pretty good. I like Salt Lake's logo