WC teams not playing in national colours

Why do some teams not play in national colours?

Germany - My German friend said its got something to do with WWII and being sensitive about showing German colours.

Japan - Playing in blue, is it the same?

Italy - Ive never worked out why they play in blue

England - why do they play in white and blue, not white and red?

Spain - playing in red and blue and not red and yellow.

There are probably other non WC teams that do this, does anyone know why they do it?

For some reason, Austrailia plays all of their sports in Yellow and Green (except baseball I think).


Germany wears Black and Gold in hockey so I'm not sure if that reason is totally true. Japan in hockey wears red and white too.

Italy - Ive never worked out why they play in blue

There are probably other non WC teams that do this, does anyone know why they do it?

Because of the nice weather in Itlaly and the sky blue sky. Azzurro means sky blue in Italian and therefore the squad was nicknamed the Azzurris and plays in blue jerseys.

For some reason, Austrailia plays all of their sports in Yellow and Green (except baseball I think).


Germany wears Black and Gold in hockey so I'm not sure if that reason is totally true. Japan in hockey wears red and white too.
Ooops, I forgot Australia, there must be a good reason why countries do this and I'm curious to find out why.

Ooops, I forgot Australia, there must be a good reason why countries do this and I'm curious to find out why.


I assume that if Australia changes their flag it will be green and yellow

Germany - My German friend said its got something to do with WWII and being sensitive about showing German colours.


If that would be the case, black and white would be a horrible choice ;)
It is much closer to the black, white and red colours we had in the second and third Reich.

After doing a short research, it actually has something to do with the colours of the second Reich. The first games were played during the days of the second Reich, black and white represent Prussia, which was the dominating part of Germany. They never bothered to change the colours afterwards, even though the colours had no meaning in the Weimar Republic or the current Bundesrepubilk.

If that would be the case, black and white would be a horrible choice ;)
It is much closer to the black, white and red colours we had in the second and third Reich.

After doing a short research, it actually has something to do with the colours of the second Reich. The first games were played during the days of the second Reich, black and white represent Prussia, which was the dominating part of Germany. They never bothered to change the colours afterwards, even though the colours had no meaning in the Weimar Republic or the current Bundesrepubilk.

Thanks, I cant believe I'm learning some history as I hated it at school. :amazed:

I'm still not convinced on the Italian one though, sounds a bit dodgy to me. ;)

Ivory Coast plays in Orange usually which isn't in the flag either.

So does Holland, though their Oranje obviously has clear historcial roots - the house of Oranje


As for Spain, they usually have both red and yellow in their kits.

Ivory Coast plays in Orange usually which isn't in the flag either.

So does Holland, though their Oranje obviously has clear historcial roots - the house of Oranje



Orange is in both flags

Orange is in both flags

Nope: red / white / blue is the dutch flag.


True about the Ivory coast though, I always thought that wasn't Orange but it is.

Orange is in both flags
I knew orange was in the Dutch flag and Id have thought a Belgian would know that!

Spain have yellow trim but blue is always more prominent.

I knew orange was in the Dutch flag and Id have thought a Belgian would know that!


Well I don't know where the Orange comes from? Red white blue I tell you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Netherlands

Well I don't know where the Orange comes from? Red white blue I tell you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Netherlands


Oh, I always throught the Dutch flag was Orange white and blue, thinking it was more orange than blue, but it's not like pure red.

Well I don't know where the Orange comes from? Red white blue I tell you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_NetherlandsSometimes an orange ribbon is attached to the Dutch flag (like with Commonwealth day-Koninginnedag) day but that's about it.


http://www.terneuzen.nl/topics/actueel/informatiepagina/2005/koninginnedag/vlag_2457.jpg

Well I don't know where the Orange comes from? Red white blue I tell you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Netherlands

I always thought it was orange. That kind of colour is hard to tell. In the Early 90s when the flyers were on Eurosport it always looked like they played in red when I watched them and the Dutch flag always looked orange when I saw it on TV.

Because of the nice weather in Itlaly and the sky blue sky. Azzurro means sky blue in Italian and therefore the squad was nicknamed the Azzurris and plays in blue jerseys.

Where I live in Wales gets more sunshine than Milan :)

I remember reading something about Italy's blue shirts deriving from some kind of merchant family / house thing - the Savoy or Genoa.. not sure.

Where I live in Wales gets more sunshine than Milan :)

I remember reading something about Italy's blue shirts deriving from some kind of merchant family / house thing - the Savoy or Genoa.. not sure.
Does Italy ends outside of Milans outskirts?;)

Italy is pretty much surrounded by the (BLUE) sea. Heli were are you, when you are needed.

Where I live in Wales gets more sunshine than Milan :)

I remember reading something about Italy's blue shirts deriving from some kind of merchant family / house thing - the Savoy or Genoa.. not sure.

Yeah, I was under the impression that it was the colour of some old royal family as well.

Italy plays in Blue, which is in reference to the House of Savoy.


http://www.eurosport.com/football/worldcup/2006/mc_vid26448.shtml

The old dutch flag was indeed orange-white-blue. Look at paintings from the glory days in the 1600s and see them tall ships sport big flags with orange. The Dutch air force also sported orange triangles as coqards in WW2.

And if that wasn't enough, the dutch royal house are Orange (Oranien, Oranje, etc etc). Hence the orange on the Irish flag (introduced to represent the Ulster protestants who celebrate Dutch bigwhig William of Orange's victory at the Boyne).

It's all connected.

The German white is probably representative of Prussia, as was their silver/white racing cars of the interbellum period. Note that Germany had them green suits when being BRD that was reminiscent of German coppers.

Why Italy play in blue (as Japan), I don't know.

England are white since the mid 1800s, cuz it was probably something they got out of the boarding school system.

Aussies are green/yellow because it's a statement of independence. They might change their flag one day, true.

National colors aren't always the same as flag colors.

Edit: The blue Spanish shorts could be reference to the blue of the Borbóns/Bourbons.

Nobody has any opinions on Japan? I too was wondering about that. They where red in all other sports I've seen them in.

Why do some teams not play in national colours?

Is hot pink one of Korea's national colors or is that just the TV at the pub?

I believe the Imperial Japanese Army wore blue, and so that's where they draw their colours from.

I assume that if Australia changes their flag it will be green and yellow
If is the big question here with Australia. While off the top of my head I'm not too sure where green and gold comes from (although if i heard it I would likely recognize the reason), it would only be applied to our flag if we gained independance from England. There was a referrendum on this about 6 years ago and it was shot down, as many people voted to remain a monarchy not because they liked the Queen being our head of state, but because they did not approve of the setup that was proposed to replace the queen. I think the discussion is pretty much dead for now on the whole republic debate, but it will ultimately resurface again.

You will see at most global sporting events that a prevalent flag involving Australia is the yellow boxing kangaroo on the green background. If we were to gain independence the flag would most certainly change (the Union Jack would be removed). Probably the most popular idea I heard of for a new flag would be having the same green and gold colors as the boxing kangaroo, but with the green background and the southern cross (which are the stars on the australian flag as it exists now) centered in gold. I think it would be simple and effective, and would definitely make a lot more sense to the global sporting community.

Whether this happens of course, is anyone's guess, though I don't expect it any time soon.

england play in White, and then Red, but have Blue shorts maybe because of the Three Lions crest?

The old dutch flag was indeed orange-white-blue. Look at paintings from the glory days in the 1600s and see them tall ships sport big flags with orange. The Dutch air force also sported orange triangles as coqards in WW2.

And if that wasn't enough, the dutch royal house are Orange (Oranien, Oranje, etc etc). Hence the orange on the Irish flag (introduced to represent the Ulster protestants who celebrate Dutch bigwhig William of Orange's victory at the Boyne).



http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/060608

6. THE NETHERLANDS
Dixon says: Here we have one of the handful of teams with a standard jersey color that isn't found in the country's flag. The orange jersey is paired with white shorts and blue socks, a color scheme apparently inspired by this flag, known as "the Prince's flag," which was used by rebels headed by the Prince of Orange in their war for independence in the 16th and 17th centuries...

If is the big question here with Australia. While off the top of my head I'm not too sure where green and gold comes from (although if i heard it I would likely recognize the reason), it would only be applied to our flag if we gained independance from England. There was a referrendum on this about 6 years ago and it was shot down, as many people voted to remain a monarchy not because they liked the Queen being our head of state, but because they did not approve of the setup that was proposed to replace the queen. I think the discussion is pretty much dead for now on the whole republic debate, but it will ultimately resurface again.

You will see at most global sporting events that a prevalent flag involving Australia is the yellow boxing kangaroo on the green background. If we were to gain independence the flag would most certainly change (the Union Jack would be removed). Probably the most popular idea I heard of for a new flag would be having the same green and gold colors as the boxing kangaroo, but with the green background and the southern cross (which are the stars on the australian flag as it exists now) centered in gold. I think it would be simple and effective, and would definitely make a lot more sense to the global sporting community.

Whether this happens of course, is anyone's guess, though I don't expect it any time soon.

Canada is still part of the Commonwealth, with the Queen as head of state, but we have our own flag with no Union Jack in it. I remember seeing a documentary about it which was quite interesting - it happened in the 60's.

The old flag was mostly red with the Union Jack in one corner. You can have a new flag without abandoning the monarchy.

Why do some teams not play in national colours?

Germany - My German friend said its got something to do with WWII and being sensitive about showing German colours.

Japan - Playing in blue, is it the same?

Italy - Ive never worked out why they play in blue

England - why do they play in white and blue, not white and red?

Spain - playing in red and blue and not red and yellow.

There are probably other non WC teams that do this, does anyone know why they do it?

England - Home kit white, away kit red.

Most teams have a very good reason for playing in the colours they do

England - Home kit white, away kit red.

Most teams have a very good reason for playing in the colours they do
Yeah I know that but surely red shorts would have been the natural choice looking at the flag.

Incidentally, did everyone know that Juve play in black and white because a Grimsby kit was sent to them by mistake, they used to play in pink.

Boca didn't know what colour to use for their kits so they said theyd chose the colours of the flag of the first ship that sailed into port. It was from Sweden.

Yeah I know that but surely red shorts would have been the natural choice looking at the flag.

Incidentally, did everyone know that Juve play in black and white because a Grimsby kit was sent to them by mistake, they used to play in pink.

Boca didn't know what colour to use for their kits so they said theyd chose the colours of the flag of the first ship that sailed into port. It was from Sweden.
Juve still uses Pink, also Blue and Yellow.

Juve still uses Pink, also Blue and Yellow.Yeah I meant as their main colour, they've used it as an away kit on an off.

Canada is still part of the Commonwealth, with the Queen as head of state, but we have our own flag with no Union Jack in it. I remember seeing a documentary about it which was quite interesting - it happened in the 60's.

The old flag was mostly red with the Union Jack in one corner. You can have a new flag without abandoning the monarchy.
True, but in Australia it is basically tied into the whole monarchist debate.......While it would certainly be possible to change the flag without becoming a republic, it is highly unlikely

The FA's main colors are white and blue.
Sod them, who wants to be associated with those senile old gits? We should change the blue to red.