This article explains the rules regarding the name fields used in FIFA Connect ID, in particular local vs. international name fields.
What is not straightforward - and will be explained in the article - is what alphabets should be used for which fields.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


As a rule of thumb: 
- international names are always in latin/ roman script
- local names are in local characters (e.g. Arabic/ Chinese/ Cyrillic/ Japanese/ Thai) or in latin characters, if the local language uses the latin alphabet.


1. Person names


When it comes to whether fields are optional or mandatory, the FIFA Data Standard should be used as a reference. According to it (https://data.fifaconnect.org/content/v3_3/documentation/scenarios_PersonLocalType.html#Link19), the following person names are mandatory/ optional:

  • InternationalFirstName - optional
  • InternationalLastName - optional
  • LocalFirstName - optional (only because in some languages there are no first names)
  • LocalLastName - mandatory
  • LocalBirthName - optional. The local birth name should be specified if any different from current local first/ last names.


Regarding the alphabets/scripts to use for local and international names, the rules follow:


LocalFirstName, LocalLastName, LocalBirthName: EITHER IN LATIN/ ROMAN OR LOCAL SCRIPT (reference is local identity document)


Fill with the local name(s) as defined in local identification documents. Can be in either Roman/Latin script (if this is the local language that is written in Roman script) or local (non-Roman) script.


InternationalFirstName, InternationalLastName: SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN LATIN/ ROMAN SCRIPT (reference is international travel passport)


Fill with local names, if the local names are in Roman/Latin) script.

Fill with international name (Roman/Latin script), if an international name is available (as defined in passport document) or if a translation of the local name to Roman script exists.

Leave empty, if no name in Roman script exists or can be deduced based on local name.


2. Club names


The following names are included in the FIFA Connect ID Service for definition:

  • International (long) name: full name in Latin/Roman script as in an official registry, such as a state/government registry (or translation into Latin characters, if the official registry is only in local characters) 
  • International short name: popular name in Latin/Roman script as used in international media (e.g. newspaper or TV) (or translation into Latin characters from local media, if no mention in international media)
  • Local (long) name: full name in local characters as in an official registry, such as a state/government registry
  • Local short name: popular name in local characters as used in local media (e.g. newspaper or TV)


Important: The club names as provided to FIFA Connect ID will be automatically imported to all FIFA systems (including FIFA TMS). Therefore, correct use of the name fields is extremely important.  
The following mapping is done in FIFA TMS:

1) TMS Club Popular name: International short name. In case international short name is not provided, international (long) name is used.

2) TMS Club name: International (long) name. In case international (long) name is not provided, local (long) name used.