Sports Direct Draws Criticism for Misspelling “Cymru” on Hats

A prominent sports retail company has faced criticism for incorrectly spelling the Welsh term for Wales on its bobble hats. Individuals utilized social media platforms to highlight Sports Direct’s error after the hats, which display “Cyrmu” instead of “Cymru,” were observed on the company’s website. Following the identification of the mistake, the hat has since been removed from the Sports Direct website. However, the £6 beanie remains available for purchase in physical stores. On Friday, several of these hats were seen on football supporters during the Wales women’s Euro 2025 playoff final first leg at Cardiff City Stadium. Sports Direct has been contacted for comment. This incident is not the first occasion where Welsh words have been incorrectly spelled, leading to confusion. In February, a road sign in Monmouthshire erroneously directed drivers to “Trefwynwy,” a phrase that translates literally to “town egg gas.” Similarly, in 2019, the section for alcohol-free products at an Asda store in Cwmbran was incorrectly translated as “free alcohol.” Another instance involved residents in Llanbadarn Fawr, Ceredigion, being informed that they might need to travel across the Atlantic to the US to locate their nearest B&Q store. Some shoppers used X, formerly known as Twitter, to call attention to the retail giant’s error. One X user, @Sianz, posted: “Dear @SportsDirectUK can you maybe spell Cymru correctly”. Meanwhile, @PaddyMOliver mentioned the sports retailer and requested a recall of the inaccurately spelled hat, stating: “@SportsDirectUK no such country as Cyrmu… time for a recall I reckon…”