Why the Netherlands wear orange despite it not being a colour on their flag

The Netherlands have become famous for their bright orange kits despite the fact that the colour does not feature on the country's flag.

Having competed in eleven FIFA World Cups, appearing in the final three times, the Netherlands are undoubtedly among the World Cup's most notable nations.

In the 2026 World Cup, Ronald Koeman's side had a slightly rocky start with a 2-2 draw with Japan in their opening fixture before bouncing back with a 5-1 thrashing of Sweden.

Next, the Netherlands face Tunisia in their final group stage fixture, with a win guaranteeing their spot in the knockouts, potentially as group winners depending on the result in Japan v Sweden

Either way, they will face a tough fixture against either Brazil or Morocco in their next fixture.

Throughout all of their fixtures at the World Cup, the Netherlands have of course worn their iconic orange kit.

But have you ever stopped to wonder why the shirts they wear are orange?

Given the fact that the flag of the Netherlands is red, white, and blue, it seems strange that their national football team is known by the nickname 'Oranje'.

They aren't the only country who wear a different coloured kit to the ones represented on their flag, with Germany's iconic white kit in stark contrast to the red, black and yellow on their national flag.

But the reason for the The Netherlands' kit and crest being orange actually makes a lot of sense as it's the colour of the House of Orange-Nassau - the Dutch royal family.

In the Netherlands, being described as a 'Prince of Orange' is seen as a compliment in the country, showing just how significant the colour is in the country's culture.

READ MORE: Reason why Virgil van Dijk only uses first name on back of Netherlands jersey

As such, the football team isn't the only Dutch sports team to wear orange.

The Netherlands' hockey and rugby teams do so too, along with a number of other sports teams, with fans of Formula One star Max Verstappen often arriving at races with orange flags and even orange flares.

And while they're known in the UK as 'Oranje', media outlets in the country also referr to the team as the 'Clockwork Orange'.

Centuries ago the national flag was actually originally blue, white and orange but from around 1630 more flags with a red stripe were used, and after 1660 the version with the orange stripe became very rare.

Eventually, hundreds of years later, Queen Wilhelmina decided by order on 19 February 1937 that: "The colours of the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are red, white and blue."