Tottenham makes a big change that could affect all broadcasters
Spurs have made a big change about how broadcasters should talk about the club, after previously sending out a ‘remastered brand identity’ email in February 2025.
Last year, on February 10, the club emailed Premier League broadcasters with instructions on the correct way to mention the team. The email said, “Tottenham Hotspur has clarified its official name. They want to be mainly called Tottenham Hotspur, with ‘Spurs’ as the preferred short name. They asked not to be called simply ‘Tottenham.’”
This message went to broadcasters all over the world, including Sky Sports and TNT Sports. The club explained that ‘Tottenham’ is the name of a part of north London, not just the football team, and this rule has been in place since 2011.
Their brand rules showed that saying ‘Tottenham Hotspur,’ ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club,’ or ‘THFC’ is okay. But they asked broadcasters not to use ‘Tottenham,’ ‘Tottenham Hotspur FC,’ or ‘TH.’
One part of the brand guide said, “In a world with many teams called United, City, or Rovers, there is only one Hotspur – Tottenham Hotspur. When talking about the team, please say ‘Tottenham Hotspur,’ ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club,’ or ‘THFC.’ Never say ‘Tottenham,’ ‘Tottenham Hotspur FC,’ or ‘TH.’”
But now, 20 months later, the club has changed its mind. The words ‘This is Tottenham’ are now big and visible on the stadium and screens, and the club is happy to use ‘Tottenham’ again.
According to The Athletic, the change came after talks with fan groups, who are glad to see the word ‘Tottenham’ come back. The club wants to celebrate what the word means to fans and its history in this part of north-east London since 1882.
It’s not yet clear how this will affect what broadcasters are told in the future.
Spurs, currently at the bottom of the Premier League, will play their next match away against Manchester United on Saturday, October 10.