Ryan Smart
Germany's flag consists of the colours red, yellow and black - so why is their home kit white in international football?
Germany are currently hosting Euro 2024 and have been one of the teams to watch so far.
Julian Nagelsmann's side are considered as one of the favourites to win the competition, despite not making it out of the group stages at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Advert
Throughout the tournament, Germany will wear their traditional white home kit, or their pink and purple-coloured away kit.
But what is the reason behind their white kit - given the colour doesn't feature on their flag?
It is because the colour of the flag of Prussia - the state that stretched from the modern day border of Russia to the border of France - was actually white.
Prussia formed the German empire in the unification of German states in 1871, and became a dominant force within Germany at the time.
Advert
In fact, when the German football team was set up in 1899, they decided to adopt the Prussian colours.
The Prussia flag also had a cross in the middle, although it was later replaced by a black eagle.
As well as the black eagle being featured on the Prussia flag, it has also featured on the Germany state flag since 1950, which may only be used by federal government authorities.
Advert
Despite the state ending in 1918 as a result of the November Revolution at the end of World War I, the football team decided it would keep the colour of white as its primary colour.
Meanwhile, the East Germany team, which was a full member of FIFA between 1951 and 1990 until it reunified with West Germany, wore blue as its home strip but used a white kit as its away colours.
SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated transfer news channel to send you the latest deals, rumours and more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.