SPORTS DIRECT, the well-known sports retail chain, has come under fire for a glaring error in its Welsh-language branding. The retailer has been criticised on social media after a bobble hat, emblazoned with “Cyrmu” instead of the correct spelling “Cymru” (the Welsh word for Wales), was spotted on its website.
Although the £6 beanie has since been removed from the Sports Direct website, it remains available in stores. Several of the hats were even seen being worn by football fans at Cardiff City Stadium during the Wales women’s Euro 2025 playoff final first leg on Friday.
The blunder has prompted a wave of reaction online, with shoppers taking to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their frustration. One user, @Sianz, tweeted: “Dear @SportsDirectUK can you maybe spell Cymru correctly.” Another, @PaddyMOliver, called for a product recall, writing: “@SportsDirectUK no such country as Cyrmu… time for a recall I reckon…”
Sports Direct has been approached for comment but is yet to respond.
This isn’t the first instance of Welsh-language mistakes sparking controversy. Earlier this year, a road sign in Monmouthshire directed drivers to “Trefwynwy”, a nonsensical translation that roughly means “town egg gas”. Similarly, in 2019, the alcohol-free section of an Asda store in Cwmbran was mislabelled as “free alcohol”. And in one bizarre example, residents of Llanbadarn Fawr in Ceredigion were informed that their nearest B&Q store was across the Atlantic in the United States.
The ongoing string of errors highlights the challenges some companies face in accurately incorporating the Welsh language, a crucial part of Wales’ cultural identity.
