There is no orange on the Dutch flag – so why are the Netherlands so associated with the colour?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
It is one of the most iconic shirts in football. The Netherlands' orange kit is bold and bright; it's unique – and it stands out.
In men's football, the Dutch have only won one major trophy: the 1988 European Championship.
Coached by the great Rinus Michels, that Dutch side featured some wonderful footballers – including Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten. The latter's volley in the final against the Soviet Union is one of the Euros' greatest-ever goals.
Netherlands players line up ahead of a game against the Republic of Ireland in November 2023. (Image credit: Getty Images)
But long before their Euro 88 success, the Dutch became synonymous with an exciting brand of attacking play. In the 1970s, the Netherlands reached back-to-back World Cup finals and wowed the world with their exciting and innovative play.
It was called Total Football and Michels was the mastermind behind it, having led the great Ajax team to the first of their three European Cups in a row earlier in the decade.
On the pitch, the genius of Johan Cruyff won the Dutch team thousands of admirers throughout the world. The football was great and those orange shirts were very cool.
But there is no orange on the Dutch flag, which features three horizontal stripes: red, white and blue. So why do the Netherlands play in orange?
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Orange is used on the Netherlands' football shirts, in other sports and throughout much of Dutch culture. It is their national colour.
That is because of the Dutch royal family, which is made up of members of the House of Orange-Nassau. An independent Dutch state was created after William the Silent led a revolt against Spanish rule between around 1566 and 1648, while William III of Orange later led the resistance of the Netherlands and Europe to Louis XIV of France.
Netherlands fans, dressed in orange, wave flags during their team's 2006 World Cup clash against Portugal in Germany. (Image credit: Getty Images)
The Dutch flag did originally feature orange along with the blue and white, but that later changed to red.
Don't expect their football shirt to change colour any time soon, though. The team's nickname is the Oranje and when supporters descend upon a major tournament in great numbers all wearing the colour, it is one of football's great sights.
With Euro 2024 taking place in neighbouring Germany in June and July, the Dutch will be there in their thousands this summer for every match. Known as Het Oranje Legioen (The Orange Legion), those fans should be quite easy to spot this summer.
Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
