After recently abolishing their long-time and often controversial name, Washington's NFL team will go without one for the upcoming 2020 season. 

The team announced on Thursday they will be called The Washington Football Team until a decision is made on a name to replace the Redskins moniker that was formally retired earlier this month amid heavy pressure from sponsors and activist groups. 

"For updated brand clarity and consistency purposes, we will call ourselves the "Washington Football Team" pending adoption of our new name," the team said in a statement. "We encourage fans, media and all other parties to use "Washington Football Team" immediately. The Redskins name and logo will officially be retired by the start of the 2020 season. 

The team added they will unveil new uniforms in time for their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 13.

Washington will keep their traditional burgundy and gold colour scheme, but will remove the Indian head logo on their helmets as well as any displays at their home stadium of FedExField. 

"Starting tomorrow and over the next 50 days, we will begin the process of retiring all Redskins branding from team properties whether it be FedExField, Redskins Park, other physical and digital spaces. We hope to complete this process in full by the team's home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 13," the team stated. 

The franchise announced on July 13 they will relinquish the Redskins name used since 1933, their second season in the NFL. The decision was influenced by several major sponsors such as FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo requesting that majority owner Daniel Snyder change the name, widely viewed as being offensive to Native Americans. 

The change has been part of a tumultuous month for the franchise and Snyder, who recently hired a Washington-based law firm to review the organisation's culture after the Washington Post reported last week that 15 former female employees said they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.