The Czech Olympic Committee Executive Committee wants the country to be known as Czechia in international sport ©Getty Images

The Czech Olympic Committee (ČOV) Executive Committee has decided that it wishes for the country to be known as Czechia instead of Czech Republic by the international sporting community.

The governing body is set to formally ask the International Olympic Committee to change the name in its international sports database.

It is hoped the change, which has already been adopted by the United Nations, will help to unify Czech identity in sports and other areas internationally.

"We are following up on the approach of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has already made this change at the UN or NATO," said Roman Kumpošt, ČOV vice-president for international relations.

"This name has naturally been adopted at international level by many other organisations and it is a logical outcome in sport as well.

"In our case, the vast majority of Olympic sports have spoken out for this change."

Different names are currently used by different National Federations, with the Czech Basketball Federation opting for Česko ©Getty Images
Different names are currently used by different National Federations, with the Czech Basketball Federation opting for Česko ©Getty Images

It is hoped that the change will be completed in a relatively short time but will bring added costs to the country's National Federations for new uniforms and other equipment.

"This is a formal step that can be implemented in a few weeks," Kumpošt said.

Currently the Czech national basketball and ice hockey teams use Česko, which is the short form in the Czech language, on their uniforms.

After Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1992, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended Czechia for the English short name.

This form was not adopted at the time, leading to Czech Republic being used in all circumstances.

The Czech Government then approved Czechia as the official English short name in 2016.