Czech Republic and Turkey have experienced mixed starts to their Euro 2024 campaigns.
The Czechs let slip a 1-0 lead over Portugal to succumb to a 2-1 defeat in the dying embers of the match.
Turkey, meanwhile, prevailed with a 3-1 win in a dramatic encounter with Georgia in Dortmund which is widely being viewed as the game of the tournament so far.
But amid the drama, some fans watching on TV back home would have been left confused as to why the two nations are being referred to as Czechia and Turkiye respectively at Euro 2024.
Why are Czech Republic called Czechia?
The Czech Republic’s official name has been Czechia since 2016.
The Czech government are keen to avoid any confusion arising when the name is translated into other languages, with the thinking being that Czechia would represent a more standardised name.
The government insists on Czechia being used in any sporting, literary, musical or media context, with Czech Republic used only for official purposes instead.
The country was previously known as Czechoslovakia before it split up into two sovereign countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia, in 1992.
Why are Turkey called Turkiye?
The Turkish government changed the country’s name from Turkey to Turkiye in 2021.
The move was designed to improve Turkish national identity and to strengthen the connection between its international name and the Turkish language.
It was also hoped that identifying at Turkiye would help to break the association between the country and ‘Turkey’ birds.
Turkiye has dropped all use of the word ‘Turkey’, with the name adopted across sport, arts and all international politics.
