Today's Tiny Thought: Football, Flags and Identity

Over time, England football fans went from avidly waving the Union Flag to adopting the cross of St. George. But why?

I’m writing this mere minutes after Ollie Watkins blasted England into the finals of Euro 2024. As a Scot, I have to admit that this England team is hard to dislike, and I've genuinely been rooting for them, especially since Scotland got knocked out in the group stages, leaving me team-less. (I know, I know, my Scottish credentials are in tatters). As an aside, I partly blame Match of the Day for my emotional connection to the England team, as watching the Premier League every week has created some bizarre one-way, parasocial relationship between me and the players, making it impossible not to support them. Anyways, I recently made an interesting sociological observation, which, as it turns out, many others have also noted. I thought it might be of interest to you, too.

If you look at England football clips from bygone eras, you can see a clear preference among fans for waving the Union Flag rather than England Flag. Let’s take the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, for instance, with the footage and image coming courtesy of British Pathé:

England v West Germany: 1966 World Cup Final | British Pathé

From a quick glance at the crowd, there seems to be a strong bias for the Union Jack over the England Flag. Similarly, below are some images of England fans and their flags at the Malmö Stadium at Euro 1992 in Sweden, although there are certainly more flags of St. George showing here:

Image courtesy of Juha Tamminen

Image courtesy of Juha Tamminen

Now compare this to the crowds at this year’s Euros:

That’s quite a transition in flag preference.

Sports historian Professor Martin Polley claims that the first clear evidence of this cultural evolution was the 2002 World Cup, marking a shift from the Union Jack to the St. George's Cross as a symbol of English sport and identity. Moreover, in May and June of that year, the distinction between the British and English flags was evident: the red, white, and blue of the Union Jack celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s golden jubilee, while the St. George’s Cross rallied support for the England football team. The question, then, is why this shift in identity occurred.

One explanation is the oft-heard view that English patriotism has historically been somewhat oxymoronic and even a source of embarrassment, with perhaps a stronger affiliation to a broader British identity. However, I’m not totally sold on that interpretation. Another, perhaps more compelling reason, is the rise of nationalism in the other UK nations. Certain voices from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland highlighted the frequent conflation between England and the UK, and have called for a clearer distinction between these identities.

Martin Polley makes the observation that the nationalism seen in the other UK nations almost provided a ‘model’ for a more overtly English sense of identity, stressing the correlation between 2002’s flag-waving and the devolution process in the UK. And given the UK more generally was being ‘reshaped’ via European federalisation, in such times the England football team, adorned with the historic symbol of Englishness, may have become an appealing way for many people to express their sense of belonging.

Whatever the reason (or reasons), it’s a fascinating sociological change nonetheless. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments below: what socio-cultural factors do you think influenced this shift?