Soccer fans have the opportunity to vote on a new nickname and slogan for the men’s and women’s national squads ahead of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and Asian Games.
Online voting is open until Aug. 14, the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) said in a news release earlier this month.
People can vote at https://contest.plus1today.tw/ctfanationalteam/?v=156771&_trms=ebe8a2637e1a8171.1690553323876
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Football Association
“The CTFA is looking to rally our citizens to support the national teams, and so it is organizing a contest for all soccer fans and friends to vote on a special new name for the squad,” the CTFA said, adding that it aims to “create a positive image for all age levels of Taiwan soccer in international competitions.”
The CTFA has provided four nickname options to vote on: Island Fighters (島嶼鬥士), Blue Mags (我們的藍鵲們), Blue Wings (藍翼軍團) and Blue Claws (藍爪軍團).
The five choices for the new slogans are “Back your Blue Mags” (支持你的足球國家隊), “Claws out” (猛爪出擊), “Fight for your dream” (為夢想而戰), “Run till goal” (狂奔直到攻破球門) and “Aka La Lima” (突破困難).
“Aka La Lima” might seem like an odd tribute to Peru’s capital city, but the CTFA said it comes from the Amis people on Taiwan’s east coast, and means “getting past the fifth wave.” It is a colloquial expression meant as an encouragement to keep fighting under difficult conditions, to never give up or accept defeat.
Many people on Taiwan’s soccer chat sites have asked for more options, as some have found the proposed nicknames unfamiliar and lacking in connection.
When Taiwan’s national team began to be noticed on the Asian soccer stage in the 1960s, they had no well-recognized symbol or nickname.
Domestic sports media and supporters traditionally referred them as “Zhonghua Team” (中華隊), “the Blues” or “the Blue shirts” (藍衫軍), as the national kit was blue when players traveled overseas during the Martial Law era. It alluded to the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) “blue sky with a white sun” emblem.
In recent decades, as the national identity has changed, it has become more common to hear people cheering for “Team Taiwan,” while supporters from the “Blue Gale” (藍色疾風) soccer group have taken to using the “All Hail Formosa” slogan and chanting “Formosa Oh ole.” They refer to national players as the “Formosan Warriors.”
Sports experts and international soccer observers have also called for “Mulan” (木蘭) to be dropped as the nickname for the women’s team, in favor of the “Blue Magpies,” due to controversy surrounding the Disney film Mulan and because it was coined during the KMT’s rule.
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