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Turkiye is at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and their name has gathered attention.
This is the country that used to be known in sporting competition as Turkey, but no longer, and it's a subtle but important difference.
Here's more of what you need to know about the change.
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Why is it Turkiye and not Turkey?
It's specifically Türkiye, which is pronounced as three syllables, and it has to do with cultural identity.
Türkiye is what the locals have used since their country was founded in 1923.
Now, the country has tried to align its name worldwide with how they know themselves.
There's also the obvious: a turkey is a bird. The country didn't want to be the same as the bird associated with Thanksgiving.
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The switch to Türkiye is meant to create a stronger national image.
It's much the same as what Czechia has done in rebranding on the world stage from the Czech Republic.
There's no reason for countries to identify as anything other than themselves, and that's what Türkiye is doing.
More FIFA World Cup news:
- USA, England can't actually play on July 4th
- Why Norway brought 600 pounds of salmon to the World Cup
- Messi, Mbappe, Haaland provide a World Cup day made in heaven
- Cape Verde pulls off one of craziest results in World Cup history
- Pink cleats are everywhere at the World Cup
Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
Source: Sporting News
