According to former international representative Emmanuel Imorou, the Benin football team will appear more intimidating to their opponents if they switched from squirrels to cheetahs.
The proposed move is currently awaiting approval from the West African government.
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"Calling us squirrels was less scary for our opponents," Immorow says
“Cheetah is feared, but it is also a noble animal with a certain charisma.”
The 33-year-old added: "I really like it. I didn't hear from my ex-team-mates yet, but I think that we have the same opinion on this."
Many of Africa's football sides draw their nicknames from the animal kingdom, with Cameroon's Indomitable Lions, Ivory Coast's Elephants and The Gambia's Scorpions among them.
Les Ecureuils, which translates into English as the Squirrels, was coined by Benin in the 1960s - apparently to reflect a small nation aiming to climb high.
Yet Benin, ranked 91st in the world, have never qualified for the World Cup and have only featured at the Nations Cup finals four times; in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2019.
A change in nickname was previously considered in 2008 and also in 2018, when ex-Huddersfield Town striker Steve Mounie offered his own suggestion of the Pythons.
But now a switch looks set to finally happen, after re-elected Benin Football Federation president Mathurin de Chacus announced his intention for the side to become the Guepards (Cheetahs).
Imorou was part of the Benin squad which reached the quarter-finals at the 2019 Nations Cup, and says their nickname was discussed when he was playing.
"When we see our opponents being called the Lions or the Elephants, we thought it would be good to have a name that is a bit more scary," the former Chateauroux, Clermont and Caen left-back said.
Benin have lost their first two qualifiers for the 2023 Nations Cup, and Imorou hopes a rebrand could help an upturn in their fortunes.
"If you manage to come up with a new nice logo, one that emits what Cheetahs emit; class, fear and speed - those are the first things that come to my mind - we're off to a good start," he said.
"Saying that our opponents will get on the pitch with their legs shaking, I'm not so sure!"
