You may love the Argentine football team, but do you know its flag?

It is World Cup season again, and you know what that means. “Argentina or Brazil?” The age-old question every Bangladeshi must have an answer for.

From the narrow winding streets of Puran Dhaka to crowded shopping malls and restaurants, nearly every inch of the capital is adorned with flags. Among them stands tall and proud, the Argentine flag, representing the team which has always been a fan favourite in this country.

While the Argentine flag is well-known by regular and “season” football fans alike, have you ever wondered what the flag truly symbolises? Each component of this flag, from the blue and white stripes to the sun placed at its centre, represents a story worth discussing.

The Blue and White

Though it is a common belief that the light blue and white coloured stripes of equal width symbolise the blue sky and white fluffy clouds of Argentina, some historians have a more critical explanation for it.

These stripes were present from the very first version of the flag and are said to represent the colours of the House of Bourbon, the original Spanish royal family.

The flag was designed during Napoleon’s invasion of Spain, when the Spanish Bourbon monarchs were forced into exile.

While the locals of Argentina opposed both the monarchy and Napoleon’s invasion, they could not declare complete independence from Spain and instead used “loyalty to the true Spanish king” as a shield for revolution.

This later became popularly known as a part of the political “Mask of Ferdinand VII”.

Sun of May

The sun, too, has a fascinating historical interpretation. Many historians say the sun at the flag’s centre represents the Inca god of the sun “Inti”, which ties Argentine locals to the ancient South American Inca civilisation and opposes any connection to Europeans.

Others also believe that the symbol actually represents the Sun of May, a very famous Argentine story concerning the May Revolution of 1810. It is said that on 25 May 1810, the beginning of Argentina’s independence from Spain, when the crowds were gathered in the city centre during heavy rain, suddenly the clouds parted to reveal the bright rays of the sun, something which symbolised hope of new beginnings for the locals.

This became especially important due to the volatility of the period and the spirit of nationalism. 

The Football World Cup is a time of immense competition, excitement and celebration for many around the world, but it also offers an opportunity for different cultures and histories to be shared and learnt from. Many fascinating stories are told silently by the flags of the participating countries, such as the unique history behind the ever-so-popular Argentine flag.