Taekwondo group dropkicks ‘negative’ name to the curb
Score one for Internet slang. The abbreviation WTF, which stands for “What the (fudge),” no longer has to compete with the World Taekwondo Federation for meaning, although, really, it never did.
After having used the initials for 44 years, the organization declared Friday it will now be known simply as World Taekwondo.
“In the digital age, the acronym of our federation has developed negative connotations unrelated to our organization and so it was important that we rebranded to better engage with our fans,” World Taekwondo president Chungwon Choue said in a statement. “Today is an important moment in the history of our great federation.”
According to the Guardian, World Taekwondo first contemplated the rebrand in 2015. It’s unclear why the process took more than 18 months.
It likely wasn’t because it took that long to come up with its new logo.
World Taekwondo gave its logo only a partial makeover, deciding to retain its signature “kicking athlete” that previously formed the T in WTF. In the new logo, the kicking athlete isn’t a letter, but remains just as symbolic.
They unveiled the rebrand on Friday, a day before the World Taekwondo Championships kicked off in South Korea.
World Taekwondo isn’t the first organization to drop the “WTF” acronym, according to EuroNews.
The Wisconsin Tourism Federation rebranded itself in 2009 to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin to avoid association with the online slang.