Tottenham Hotspur clarifies preferred club reference for broadcasts
Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur made “clear how the club wants to be referenced” in an email that was circulated to league broadcasters on February 10, according to Jack Pitt-Brooke of THE ATHLETIC. The email, titled “Tottenham Hotspur Naming Update,” states the club has requested that they are “primarily known as Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs being the preferred short version.” The club also requested that they are “not referred to as Tottenham.” Pitt-Brooke noted this guidance has “gone out to Premier League broadcasters all around the world.” On the league website, it is “always ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ or ‘Spurs’ there, never ‘Tottenham.’” Tottenham is the “name of the area, but not the name of the club.” It is “long-standing club policy not to refer to themselves as ‘Tottenham.’” So there is “nothing new about this, as it has been the club’s position going back to 2011.” What specifically changed is that in November last year, the club “unveiled a ‘remastered brand identity,’” which was “rolled out across all the Club’s physical and digital touchpoints.” This came with a “Brand Playbook,” which “explains in comprehensive detail what the new brand identity means.” This month’s fresh guidance to broadcasters is an “apparent attempt to underline this,” and to “make sure that ‘Spurs’ rather than ‘Tottenham’ becomes the common shorthand when ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ does not fit” (THE ATHLETIC, 2/21).
ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF: THE ATHLETIC’s Mark Critchley noted it has been suggested the naming update is “simply related to copyright, as the term ‘Spurs’ would be easier to trademark than the name of the surrounding area.” Six years ago, fellow Premier League club Liverpool “failed to trademark the city’s name for merchandising purposes.” Another club, Chelsea, “had more success of a sort earlier this season.” In 2016, West Ham United added the word “London” to their revamped crest, although they “at least put that to a vote among supporters first.” Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain’s rebranding “accentuated the word ‘Paris’ on their logo, not so much the ‘Saint-Germain,’” and UEFA “uniformly refers to the club as ‘Paris’ rather than ‘PSG.’” On the surface level, Tottenham’s “Spurs” preference is “different from some of those examples.” Rather than more “closely associating themselves with a larger metropolitan surrounding, they have gone the other way.” All are “fundamental attempts to make a club’s identity something that can be more easily swallowed and digested.” In other words, something that “can be consumed, especially on the global market” (THE ATHLETIC, 2/23).