2026 FIFA World Cup: Stars and Stripes

The 2026 World Cup is over. After 104 matches and 208 national anthems. The world champion is Spain after an exciting but rather boring match against Argentina. Two Spanish-speaking countries facing each other. Once in a lifetime. "Don't Cry for me Argentina" sang Julie Covington in 1976 for the album Evita 50 years ago. We are not analyzing the football, but it is mainly the flags (parade) on the field that impress me. Do you know why these flags have these designs for these debuting countries of the World Cup: Curaçao, Jordan, Cape Verde, and Uzbekistan?

Curaçao

The flag of Curaçao is blue with a yellow stripe and two white stars at the top on the hoist side. A competition was held for the design of the flag, which received 1782 entries. Ten designs were selected from these and judged by the flag committee. The winning design was by Martin den Dulk, who was twenty years old at the time. He had designed a flag that is not only recognizable as a symbol of the island but is also simple enough for children to copy.

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After Aruba had adopted its own flag (when it was still part of the Netherlands Antilles), Curaçao received approval for a flag in 1979. Two thousand designs were submitted to a special council, ten were selected, and the council made a decision on November 29, 1982. With a few adjustments, the flag was adopted on July 2, 1984. Since then, Flag Day (Dia di bandera) has been celebrated on July 2.

According to the designer of the flag, Martin den Dulk, the color blue symbolizes the loyalty of the people. The blue in the upper half of the flag symbolizes the blue sky, and in the lower half the sea surrounding the island. The yellow band in the middle represents the sun that brings joy to the people every day, but also the happiness and cheerfulness of the people. The Constitution stipulates that the island territory of Curaçao consists of the islands of Curaçao and Klein Curaçao. These are symbolized by the two stars. The five-pointed star represents the five continents from which the population originates. The color white, in turn, stands for peace and happiness.

Jordan

The flag of Jordan is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The flag has been in use since April 16, 1928, and consists of three horizontal stripes in the colors black, white, and green. On the left side is a red triangle containing a seven-pointed star. The naval war flag version of the national flag displays the ordinary Jordanian flag in the canton of a white flag, in which the symbol of the Jordanian Navy is located on the right side: a crowned anchor with scimitars.

The three horizontal bands symbolize the old caliphates of the Abbasids, Umayyads, and Fatimids. The red triangle represents the Hashemite dynasty. The seven-pointed star is the only element in the flag that distinguishes the Jordanian flag from the flag of the Arab insurgents. This star represents both the seven verses of the first surah of the Quran and the unity of the Arab peoples. According to some, the seven points also symbolize the seven hills upon which the Jordanian capital, Amman, is built.

Cape Verde

The flag of Cape Verde was adopted on September 22, 1992, and symbolizes the break in relations with Guinea-Bissau, with whom Cape Verde would unite. The ten stars on the flag represent the ten most important islands of the African archipelago. The blue color represents the ocean and the sky; the white and red band stands for the path to a good future.

Upon independence from Portugal in 1975, the country's first official flag was derived from the party flag of the Partido Africano da Independência de Guiné e Cabo Verde, a resistance movement that fought for independence and later became a political party. The flag of Guinea-Bissau is also based on this flag in the Pan-African colors.

Uzbekistan

The flag of Uzbekistan was adopted on November 18, 1991. The flag consists of three horizontal stripes in the colors blue, white, and green, separated by narrow red stripes. In the top stripe are a white crescent and twelve white stars.

There are various known explanations regarding the symbolism of the colors and elements in the flag:

• The twelve stars represent the twelve provinces of Uzbekistan. The blue stripe represents the sky, the white justice, and the green hospitality. The two red stripes stand for strength. The crescent moon represents either the country's return to the international stage after belonging to the Soviet Union for a long time, or the Islamic religion.
• The twelve stars represent the twelve months, the white stripe stands for cotton cultivation, and the crescent moon for Islam.
• The blue stripe represents water, white peace, and green the nature of Uzbekistan. The red lines stand for the life force that connects the other stripes.
• The color turquoise – as the name suggests – is generally regarded as the traditional color of the ancient Turkic peoples, as is also the case in the flags of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. This color is said to symbolize the pre-Islamic god of the Turks, namely Goktengri.

The crescent also shows a connection to the flag of Turkey. Uzbeks are considered part of the Turkic peoples.