The Royal Ravens have officially moved out of London and have come state-side to compete in the 2024 Call of Duty League season. With the move, the last of the EU franchises has fallen after four seasons.
The London franchise has officially settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has rebranded with the Carolina Royal Ravens name. The team will follow a similar trend of traditional sports franchises that are based in the city of Charlotte by taking on the Carolina name instead, like the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
While the Royal Ravens name is a reference to the actual ravens that reside in the Tower of London as symbolic protectors of the Crown, the city of Charlotte is commonly known as The Queen City as it was named after a former Queen in Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. While the team keeps the UK-inspired name, the franchise’s departure from the UK means that both EU-based franchises have now left, with the Paris Legion leaving for Las Vegas at the start of last season.
The Royal Ravens franchise is owned and operated by Infinite Reality, which acquired former parent company ReKTGlobal for $470 million in July 2022. Per Kevin Hitt of SBJ, who reported the team’s plans to move to Charlotte back in June, the ownership group also had backup plans in place for Mexico City, Washington D.C., and Chicago. The Royal Ravens are the second team to rebrand this offseason, following the Florida Mutineers’ change to the Miami Heretics.
As for the Ravens’ roster itself, the team parted ways with all of its players this past June ahead of the rebranding. It’s unclear currently who will play for the team in their inaugural season in Carolina.
Published: Sep 5, 2023 12:21 pm