The Wales national team is set to change its name after the 2022 World Cup takes place. This new plan has been drawn up by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). This name change involves not only the federation, but also the government, players and staff. Wales are planning to change the name of their football team to Cymru.
Cymru is a native Welsh name in their own language and the word is familiar to the people of that country. The word Cymru is pronounced ‘come-ree’ phonetically and has the meaning of people or fellow countrymen.
Preparations to change the name of the Welsh football national team have entered an advanced stage. Cymru is already used massively in internal and external communications at the Welsh federation. The Football Federation of Wales (FAW) has held discussions with institutional officials regarding the plan to change the name of the football national team.
The name change from Wales to Cymru is considered a symbol of pride for the country. The CEO of FAW, Noel Mooney, gave this affirmation in a recent interview. “The national team should always be called Cymru, as we usually call it,” Mooney said. “I think 2023 will be the year when we have good discussions with all the different stakeholders like the government, our own board, board and decision-making bodies, staff, clubs and players,” he said.
Noel Mooney said that Cymru’s identity was very strong and embedded in the Welsh national team. However, the FAW CEO also doesn’t want to be too ambitious to ratify the Cymru name in the near future. Mooney emphasized that the target of the Wales national team in the near future is to experience the 2022 World Cup to the fullest.
The Wales national team, which is in Group B of the 2022 World Cup with England, the United States and Iran, will compete for a ticket to the round of 16 at the event. Their first match will be against the United States on Tuesday (22/11/2022). The FAW CEO also wants the decision to change the name to continue in a democratic manner, taking into account the voices of various parties.
