Why do Italian national sports teams wear blue, rather than one of the colours represented on the flag?

The Italian national flag consists of the green, white and red. The romantic notion of the provenance behind these selections suggests that green represents the hills of the country; white, the mountains; and red, the blood of those who fought wars for Italian independence.

The Italy of today is very different from the one of the early 20th century. Italy is now categorised as a Republic, with the power held by the people, and the men and women they elected to represent them. However, in the early 20th century, Italy was still a monarchy ruled over by a King or Queen. This royal family was known as the ‘House of Savoy’ or ‘Casa Savoia.’

This royal house ruled Italy (with some interruptions) from 1861 to 1946. Significantly, the official colour of the House of Savoia was blue, so when the Italy national football team played their first ever match back in 1910, they adopted the colours of their royal family rather than those of the national flag.