Abstract
This study examines 315 nicknames of all the 211 FIFA national football teams (NFTs) as of January 2020. A preliminary analysis of these nicknames shows that they have statistically significant differences, suggesting subtle intercultural variation worthy of further investigation. It is hoped that this initial foray into these nicknames will inspire in-depth academic research at the continental and intercontinental levels.
Highlights
Football is a global game with tens of millions of fans, and the World Cup is one of the most popular sports tournaments in the world
Nicknames are the most frequently used in CONMEBOL, and the least in CAF; 2) the sport identifier “football” is never used in nicknames and “soccer” is only rarely used; 3) the three onomastic categories of virtues, natural phenomena, and miscellaneous showed no statistical difference among national football team (NFT); 4) the seven onomastic categories of collective, humans, colors, animals, celestial bodies, regions, and nationalities showed significant statistical differences among NFTs; and 5) the use of specific terms such as lion, warrior and dragon in nicknames are culturally different
To fans unaware of this fact, the national football team (NFT) nickname is an enigma
Summary
Football is a global game with tens of millions of fans, and the World Cup is one of the most popular sports tournaments in the world. Each participating national football team (NFT) has a nickname. The France NFT, the champion of the 21st World Cup of the Federation Internationale de Football Association or FIFA has the nickname Les Bleus ‘The Blues’, Les Tricolores or L’Equipe Tricolore, ‘The Tri-color Team’ or the Brazilians of Europe. Croatia’s team has two nicknames: Vatreni ‘The Blazers’ and Kockasti ‘The Chequered Ones’. What onomastic strategies do these nicknames reveal? What is behind the different nicknames of these teams?
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