Fans urged to ‘make the web more Welsh’ during Euro 2016

Wales football fans are being urged to show their support for the team during the Euro Championships by registering to use the .cymru and .wales domain names that give the country instant international recognition on the internet.

Individuals and organisations proud of their Welsh heritage can now use these domains for their websites and email addresses. Over 20,000 have already registered, putting the two new domains for Wales into the Top 10* of the European league table for new location-specific domain names.

It is likely that Euro 2016 will encourage a repeat in the upsurge of interest in registering for a .cymru and .wales domain, as witnessed during the 2015 Rugby World Cup when there was a 10% increase in registrations to ‘fly the flag’ for Wales online.

One of the first to adopt the Welsh domain name was the Football Association of Wales (www.faw.cymru) whose Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Ford said: “We jumped at the prospect of reinforcing our Welsh identity by using the new domains. We want to take every opportunity to put the name of Cymru and Wales out there for the world to see.

“Qualifying for our first major tournament since 1958 has certainly given Wales a strong international profile and we hope individual fans will keep that going by registering for the .cymru and .wales domains and helping Wales to stick out from the crowd.”

Jayne Kendall, Product Manager for .cymru .wales urged football fans to sign up. She said: “In the European league table of location-specific domains, we’re holding our own against high-profile places like Paris, Hamburg, and ahead of Brussels and Vienna.

“People have recognised the value of highlighting their distinct Welsh identity which helps both individuals and businesses to stand out on the web. There’s been great enthusiasm for the new domain names and given the lead shown by the FAW, using one is a great way to show you’re proud of being Welsh and to celebrate your connection to Wales.”

Among the football fans who have just registered for the .cymru and .wales domains is Fintan Godkin of Adventure Camp Wales, (https://adventurecamp.wales/) based in St David’s, Pembrokeshire who said: “I feel so proud that Wales can be seen out there at the tournament, lining up alongside the big, well-known, countries. It’s great that we can now make the nation more visible on the internet by using these domains.”

Former Welsh International rugby player, Lee Byrne now works with Adventure Camps Wales. He commented: “I’ve been very lucky to have played rugby at an international level, it goes without saying that I’m patriotic, so I’m super proud to see our football team compete at the highest level, representing Wales.

“The fact that FAW have a .Cymru domain is testament to how proud they are of our nation, we followed suit with Adventure Camp Wales, I think more and more individuals and business will follow suit now too. Come on Wales! Good luck boys!”

 

Further information from Lydia Jones or Hannah Jones 029 2045 5182 / 07450 929 149

Notes to Editors

Source: Data analysis undertaken by Nominet on 1 June 2016. Using data taken from nTLDstats, Nominet undertook an analysis of the number of registrations of the 14 European geographic Top Level Domains. Where gTLDs have been launched in pairs (e.g. Wales/Cymru and Cologne/Koeln), registrations have been combined. nTLDstats collates date from root zone reports on domain registrations that are logged with ICANN, the organisation responsible for maintaining the global Domain Name System.

Top Ten European Geographical Top Level Domains

  1. London
  2. Berlin
  3. Bayern
  4. Cologne – combines .cologne and .koeln
  5. Amsterdam
  6. Hamburg
  7. Paris
  8. Wales – combines .wales and .cymru
  9. Wien
  10. Scot

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