The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) has changed its name to World Taekwondo because of the “negative connotations”associated with its initials.

The organisation had used the previous name since it was established in 1973.

However, it felt in the “digital age” the slang of the old abbreviation was “unrelated to our organisation and so it was important that we rebranded to better engage with our fans”.

The change was made before the start of the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships.

The event is taking place in Muju, South Korea.

“World Taekwondo is distinctive and simple to understand and reinforces the global nature of our sport,” said World Taekwondo president Choue Chung-won.

“Our vision is taekwondo for all and as World Taekwondo we are confident we can build on our success to date and achieve that vision.”