Turkey or Turkiye? Why soccer fans might be confused by name of country competing at Euro 2024

Euro 2024 will run from June 14-July 14, with all eyes over the next few weeks on Germany as the top national sides in European football battle it out.

Since 2016, 24 countries have qualified for the tournament every four years, with the increased number of entrants ensuring some fresh faces on the continental stage.

Despite not being novices in the competition, Turkey are once again potential dark horses in 2024, after being drawn in Group F alongside Portugal, Georgia and Czechia.

However, eagle-eyed supporters will notice a change in how the team are referred to by the international media, as well as on TV broadcasts and by tournament organizers UEFA during the competition, with both Turkey and Turkiye widely in use.

The Sporting News explains why fans watching the country at Euro 2024 might be confused.

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Is it Turkey or Turkiye, and are they the same country?What’s in a name?

Turkey head into Euro 2024 finding themselves in a similar situation to Group F rivals Czechia, who have officially adopted a change in what they are called, as they look to bring that name into common usage in sport, instead of their former name of Czech Republic.

Turkey’s desire to be referred to as Turkiye was ratified by the United Nations in 2022. The request for the change was made by the Turkish government, as they felt it was more representative of the country, as the name that is most commonly used by Turkish citizens.

However, despite the general acceptance of the new name being used as a default — including by UEFA as part of the official Euro 2024 competition schedule — “Turkey” is still generally used by English language media (including The Sporting News) when writing about the country.

This is due in part to the presence of diacritics — the accents on the letters used in various regional alphabets — which are not used in English. The native spelling is Türkiye.

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How to pronounce Turkiye?The change in name means both Turkey and Turkiye will be used by broadcasters, media and fans at the tournament, and the newer version is pronounced differently. 

Turkey is pronounced with two syllabels as “Ter-key”, whilst the newer adaptation is pronounced with three, as “Tur-key-eh”.

Turkey history and records at EurosTurkey have been drawn in Group F at Euro 2024, alongside 2016 champions Portugal, plus Czechia and Georgia.

Turkey did not qualify for the European Championships from its inaugural competition in 1960 until their maiden appearance at Euro ’96 in England. From 1996 onwards they have qualified for five Euros, with a run to the semifinals in 2008 representing their best performance.

YearHostsRecord (W-D-L)Stage reached1996England0-0-3Group Stage2000Belgium/Netherlands1-1-2Quarterfinals2008Austria/Switzerland2-1-2Semifinals2016France1-0-2Group Stage2020Europe0-0-3Group Stage