18:05 – Wales appear to be following Turkey’s example after the World Cup in Qatar and are considering asking FIFA for a name change. This was announced Tuesday afternoon by Noel Mooney, general manager of the Football Association of Wales (FAW).
Earlier this year, Turkey officially submitted a request to FIFA to change the name to “Türkiye”. That official name is now used in FIFA communications, including world rankings and other official statements. Mooney has now held talks with UEFA to see how this change came about. “We asked them what they notice: is there a tendency for people to use their language more? I know that Welsh is experiencing a renaissance and there is a lot of pride in the way we manage our culture,” Mooney said. .
Instead of the name ‘Wales’, the football association would now like to apply for a change to ‘Cymru’. “We use that name here. In our country it is clear that we are called Cymru. This is what we call our national teams. You can see it on our website and in the way we talk about ourselves,” explains Mooney.
After the World Cup change
Due to the arrival of the World Cup, Mooney currently considers it too confusing to implement the name change. “Internationally we still have some work to do, so as Wales we will go to this World Cup,” he said. Also, the FAW wants to think about the big decision first. “We are an open and democratic organization. We do not make such a decision alone and not overnight. I would say it is moving in that direction, but it is not yet seriously discussed.”
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