Loftus Road will be renamed The Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium from the start of the next season after QPR gifted the naming rights to the local charity.
QPR announced in April that they would be giving the naming rights of Loftus Road to a local charity in west London for free and they invited fans to put forward their nominations.
That created a shortlist of five and from that supporters were asked to pick their favourite, with The Kiyan Prince Foundation emerging as the winner with 63 per cent of the vote.
The charity holds a special place in the hearts of QPR supporters as it was setup after Kiyan, a promising footballer at the club’s academy, was tragically stabbed to death outside his school when he broke up a fight on May 18, 2006.
Kiyan was just 15 at the time and his father, Mark, has since established The Kiyan Prince Foundation to educate young people about the devastating consequences of knife crime.
“I can’t tell you what this means to Kiyan’s mum, to me, his brothers and sisters, his friends and people who have been supporting the work we have been doing,” he said.
“It means so much and only confirms the relationship that I know I have with the QPR fans. They always give me their support.
“This gives us so many opportunities and we have to make sure we capitalise on them. Kiyan would be blown away by what is going on.”
The official unveiling of the new stadium name will take place when QPR play their first competitive fixture of the new campaign.
The club have played at Loftus Road for over 100 years, but this is the first time it will be known by another name.
“From the outset we wanted fans to nominate a local charity which has had a strong impact on our community, and The Kiyan Prince Foundation has certainly done that,” QPR CEO Lee Hoos said.
“I am delighted for Mark who is an inspiration to us all.”
