# On the three-letter codes that identify the countries participating in the World Cup? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [June 14, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898 "2026-06-14T17:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/1 "2026-06-14T17:01:45Z")
They seem to be pretty straightforward and utilitarian: Mexico is MEX, Scotland is SCO, Haiti is HAI, etc. The ones that aren’t the first three letters of the country’s name also make sense: USA for United States of America, for example. I’ve noticed a few outliers, though. Morocco, for instance, is MAR, which I’m guessing has something to do how Morocco’s name of its own country is rendered in Arabic (or maybe Berber) and and then transliterated into Roman script. Bosnia & Herzegovina is BIH, which I’m guessing has to do with the I being the word for “and” in … their language. Or maybe the I in Bosnia. Or something. So, does FIFA tell each country how to render the letters, in their own tongue? Will the Germans watching see their team rendered as DEU on the chyron on the screen? Or is it consistent across all countries that use Roman script? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/2 "2026-06-14T17:18:24Z")
They are almost certainly using [ISO country codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/3 "2026-06-14T17:18:57Z")
Because of the multitude of languages involved, isn’t this something best left to broadcasters. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/4 "2026-06-14T17:19:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > They are almost certainly using [ISO country codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3). Or [IOC country codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IOC_country_codes)? Edit: An easy way to check would be to look up a match with Iran - it’s IRN in ISO, IRI in IOC. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/5 "2026-06-14T17:24:52Z")
Apparently, FIFA has its own [country codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_country_codes). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/6 "2026-06-14T17:35:14Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Morocco, for instance, is MAR, which I’m guessing has something to do how Morocco’s name of its own country is rendered in Arabic (or maybe Berber) and and then transliterated into Roman script. No, it is French (_Maroc_) or Spanish (_Marruecos_). I assume you are aware that Moroccans do not call their country “Morocco” or anything that sounds like that; it’s the Western Kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![Allecher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@Allecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allecher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/7 "2026-06-15T15:57:14Z")
Another example was a game Sunday night with a team coded CIV. I was not able to figure it out until I saw a sign for Côte d’Ivoire. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/8 "2026-06-15T16:00:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > FIFA has its own [country codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_country_codes) FIFA being FIFA, I’m sure they’ve managed to squeeze a few bucks/euros out of it in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/9 "2026-06-15T19:42:55Z")
Is the FIFA list of country codes sponsored by anyone? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/10 "2026-06-15T22:30:29Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Will the Germans watching see their team rendered as DEU on the chyron on the screen? I don’t know about other countries and their broadcasters, but in Germany, no, Deutschland is rendered as GER, and everybody understands it. Before 1990, it were the even more obscure FRG and GDR, but we also quickly adapted. And I’m watching the KSA-URU game at the moment. ETA: I think all on-screen graphics of WC games are transferred unchanged and untranslated from the US broadcast here. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/11 "2026-06-16T06:40:17Z")
This seems like a great place to point out that a hypothetical match between Sweden and Denmark, shortened to the three letter codes, would most likely be SWE-DEN, and the omitted letters would spell DEN-MARK. ---
**Author:** ![Pheoinix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@Pheoinix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pheoinix)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/12 "2026-06-16T08:26:11Z")
Nigeria is usually NIG and Germany is usually GER but when they’re playing each other they usually change the abbraviations, for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/13 "2026-06-16T08:57:31Z")
On a lighter, but related note, anyone ever seen any ‘comedy’ pairings of abbreviated names? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/14 "2026-06-16T09:00:00Z")
I remember a “Joss Whedon” matchup of Germany and Argentina, represented as “GER - ARG”. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/15 "2026-06-16T17:12:48Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > On a lighter, but related note, anyone ever seen any ‘comedy’ pairings of abbreviated names? Not World Cup, but I remember a BRAD - PITT game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/16 "2026-06-17T16:45:27Z")
FIFA uses its own codes - e.g. Nigeria isn’t NIG - that’s been assigned to Niger. This is to avoid the embarrassment of a Nigeria-Germany match - much more likely than Niger-Germany. (of course - you could flip the countries - but the order may be important). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/17 "2026-06-18T01:56:21Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > On a lighter, but related note, anyone ever seen any ‘comedy’ pairings of abbreviated names? The one that instantly springs to mind is from baseball. The local Philadelphia NBC affiliate would show the score using the logo from the teams cap. When the Philadelphia Phillies played the Pittsburgh Pirates the game started with the score P0 0P. They eventually retired the poop score to the dismay of fans. > **[Phillies pay tribute to 'POOP' scoreboard before a wild win over Pirates](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/phillies-pirates-poop-scoreboard-bryce-harper-1000-rbis)** > > Bryce Harper reached 1,000 RBIs and was part of a wild seventh-inning rally on a night when the Phillies broadcast honored their "gone but never forgotten" scoreboard. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/18 "2026-06-18T05:44:41Z")
Ha! Yep that is the sort of thing I am looking for haha! ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/19 "2026-06-18T10:41:36Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: I think all on-screen graphics of WC games are transferred unchanged and untranslated from the US broadcast here. That’s surprising. Here in the UK, the World Cup coverage is shared between BBC and ITV, and they each have their own branded graphics. So there’s certainly a graphic-free feed available. Which makes sense, because viewers in nations that don’t use the Latin alphabet want to know what’s going on too. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898/20 "2026-06-18T11:16:03Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > That’s surprising. Here in the UK, the World Cup coverage is shared between BBC and ITV, and they each have their own branded graphics. So there’s certainly a graphic-free feed available. That is very probable, but I think the German stations just didn’t bother to create their own graphics and saved the effort and costs, because most Germans have enough English to understand the original captions, and you only need a few keywords. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-three-letter-codes-that-identify-the-countries-participating-in-the-world-cup/1030898.md?page=2)