Turkey or Turkiye? Explaining the spelling for FIFA World Cup after 2022 name change

While their 2026 World Cup campaign was quite short, Turkey did still make some commotion on social media for the country's official name being used for the tournament.

Some fans were unaware that the country changed its official name in 2022 to Turkiye. The country's new name was first seen in a large sports scene at the 2022 EURO tournament.

However, since the World Cup has a much larger viewership than the EURO tournament, many eyes gazed at the new name for the first time this summer.

Here's why the European country is spelled the way it is at this summer's World Cup.

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Is it Turkey or Turkiye, and are they the same country?

In 2022, Turkey officially changed its name to Turkiye, according to the BBC. Ankara, the capital of Turkey, sent in a formal request to rebrand its country's name to a name that highlights its culture and expressionism more.

"Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people's culture, civilization, and values," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December, per the BBC.

Many sports fans first noticed the change at the 2022 EURO tournament. Turkey qualified for the tournament and unveiled its new name to a large audience who may not have originally picked up on the official change.

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How to pronounce Turkiye?

While the announcers have slipped up in using Turkey's old name at times, the established efforts have been to use the country's new official name. This does come with a different pronunciation, not just spelling. 

While Turkey is pronounced with two syllables as "Tur-key", the newer adaptation is pronounced with three, as "Tur-key-eh."

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Turkey history and records at World Cup

Turkey were drawn in Group D at the 2026 World Cup, alongside co-host United States, Australia, and Paraguay.

Turkey's first time qualifying for the World Cup came in 1954. It took two matches, but the country finally got its first win in the competition after a 7-0 rout of South Korea. Their next win at the World Cup would come 48 years later at the 2002 competition. In absolute shocking fashion, Turkey established itself as the surprise of the tournament and finished in third-place. They fell in the semifinals to eventual winner Brazil.

In 2026, Turkey was one of the first few teams to be eliminated from the World Cup. Heading into their final match against co-host United States, they lost both of their group-stage matches to Australia and Paraguay.