Last modified: 2023-08-26 by rob raeside
Keywords: union jack |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
Such flags are sold online in a variety of color combinations. The ratio is often 3:5, but 5:8 is also frequently used, which may seem non-standard, but is sometimes also used for the Union Jack itself. Each of these flags is advertised as being made for the fans of several different clubs, not only football, but rugby as well. While some of these designs were indeed invented by the sport fans, it is also possible that some of them were invented by the manufacturers wishing to exploit a good market, or at least, that they expanded the list of targeted clubs.
[1] Warstore online shop:
http://www.warstore.co.uk/union-jacks-238-c.asp
[2] Mad About Flags
online shop:
http://www.madaboutflags.co.uk/great-britain-large-country-flag---8-x-5-405-p.asp
Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
A flag on which both blue and red are replaced with black [1] is merchandised
targeting the fans of football clubs such as Newcastle United [2, 4], Derby
County [2, 5] or Grimsby Town [3, 6], but also of the rugby clubs such as
Swansea RFC [2, 7].
Sources:
[1] "Black Union Jack" photo at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/funfilledgeorgie/4113555960/
[2] "Black
Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-White-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Sports-Newcastle-Derby-Swansea-Football-Rugby-bn/181110470156
[3] "Black Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grimsby-Town-Union-Jack-Flag-5x3-/121081083699?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item1c30feb733
[4] Newcastle United F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_United_F.C.#Colours_and_badge
[5] Derby County F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby_County_F.C.#Colours
[6] Grimsby Town
F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsby_Town_F.C.#Kit
[7] Swansea RFC at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea_RFC
Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 2 October 2016
The name under which this flag is usually being merchandised [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] may
be misleading, since the field color, as the photos reveal [2, 3, 4, 6], is
actually orange and while black does take the place of red from the original
flag, white also appears, in unchanged position. Among the clubs whose fans are
targeted, only Wolverhampton Wanderers describe the color as gold [7], although
it has evolved through the years from the original old gold to current orange
[8]. In case of Hull City [9], the color is described as amber, which varied
through the years between dark yellow and light orange [10], and for Blackpool
[11, 12] and Dundee United [13, 14], it is described as tangerine - definitely,
a shade of orange. To make it more complicated, either white or black may miss
from these clubs' color sets, although in those cases, their past use is
verified [8, 10, 12, 14]. Despite all these complications, the flag is
invariably being advertised as created for the clubs' fans.
Sources:
[1] The flag at Royal-Flags online shop:
http://www.royal-flags.co.uk/union-jack-black-gold-flag-1753.html
[2]
The flag at Warstore online shop:
http://www.warstore.co.uk/union-jack-gold--black---5-x-3-flag-3432-p.asp
[3] The flag at Mad About Flags online shop:
http://www.madaboutflags.co.uk/great-britain-black-and-gold-large-country-flag---5-x-3-9621-p.asp
[4] The flag at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Gold-Orange-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Blackpool-Luton-Dundee-Sports-Football-bnip-/170943183425?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item27cd01fa41
[5] The flag at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wolverhampton-Wanderers-Wolves-Union-Jack-Flag-5x3-/380599141809?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item589d7a05b1
[6] Portland Flag Association at Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLCX9BQjTnV/
[7] Wolverhampton Wanderers
F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverhampton_Wanderers_F.C.#Colours_and_badge
[8] Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. at Historical Football Kits website:
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Wolverhampton_Wanderers/Wolverhampton_Wanderers.htm
[9] Hull City A.F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_City_A.F.C.#Colours_and_crest
[10]
Hull City A.F.C. at Historical Football Kits website:
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Hull_City/Hull_City.htm
[11] Blackpool
F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_F.C.#Kits
[12] Blackpool F.C. at
Historical Football Kits website:
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Blackpool/Blackpool.htm
[13] Dundee
United F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundee_United_F.C.#Colours_and_badge
[14]
Dundee United F.C. at Historical Football Kits website:
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Dundee_United/Dundee_United.htm
Tomislav Todorovic, 2 October 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
A flag on which red color is changed into blue exists in several variants,
depending on the shade of blue color, which mainly varies between navy blue
(Union Jack field color or somewhat lighter) [1, 2, 3] and royal blue [4, 5, 6,
7]. Targeted buyers are the fans of clubs such as Chelsea [8], Rangers [9],
Everton [10], Cardiff City [11], Portsmouth [12], Reading [13], Sheffield
Wednesday [14] and many other clubs which wear dark to medium blue in
combination with white. A variant of this flag [15], presumably (not explicitly
stated) sky blue, is intended for the fans of Manchester City [16]. Another
derived flag might have existed for the same club, with blue cross and saltire
on white field, but has been confirmed only for use as the pins so far [17].
Sources:
[1] "Blue Union Jack" (navy blue) photo at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/layclerk/2749959366/
[2] Mad About Flags
online shop - "Blue Union Jack" (navy blue):
http://www.madaboutflags.co.uk/great-britain-navy-blue-large-country-flag---5-x-3-406-p.asp
[3] "Blue Union Jack" (navy blue) at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Navy-Blue-and-White-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Sports-Chelsea-Rangers-Everton-Scotland-/171014266415?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item27d13e9e2f
[4] "Blue Union Jack" (royal blue) photo at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52246821@N00/5716439722/
[5] Mad About
Flags online shop - "Blue Union Jack" (royal blue):
http://www.madaboutflags.co.uk/great-britain-royal-blue--white-union-jack-large-country-flag---5-x-3-11224-p.asp
[6] "Blue Union Jack" (royal blue) at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Royal-Blue-and-White-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Sports-QPR-Cardiff-Portsmouth-Reading-bn-/170943114874?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item27cd00ee7a
[7] "Blue Union Jack" (royal blue) at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sheffield-Wednesday-Union-Jack-Flag-5x3-/380599173461?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item589d7a8155
[8] Chelsea F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C.
[9] Rangers F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangers_F.C.
[10] Everton F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everton_F.C.
[11] Cardiff City F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_City_F.C.
[12] Portsmouth F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_F.C.
[13] Reading F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_F.C.
[14] Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Wednesday_F.C.
[15] "Blue Union
Jack" (presumably sky blue) at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLUE-WHITE-UNION-JACK-MANCHESTER-CITY-LARGE-QUALITY-SPORTS-FLAG-5-X-3FT-NEW-/271010551647?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item3f197cd75f
[16] Manchester City F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_City_F.C.#Club_badge_and_colours
[17] Manchester City F.C. pin at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/citizencorinthian/5462759934/
Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
Recently, a number of online shops have expanded their offer with a variant of
Blue Union Jack for which the color shade is explicitly stated to be sky blue.
The ratio is offered as either 3:5 or 2:3. It is possible that this expansion is
derived from the above description of the flag, which might have made the
manufacturers decide on the potentials of a new product: they seem to
increasingly follow the flag-related sites' content updating in order to find
inspiration for new products, this being just one case out of many.
Sources:
[1] The Flag Shop website:
https://www.theflagshop.co.uk/custom-sky-blue-union-jack-flag.html
[2]
1000 Flags Ltd website:
https://www.1000flags.co.uk/supporters-union-jack-sky-blue-5x3-150cm-x-90cm-flag-65761-p.asp
[3] Midland Flags website:
https://www.midland-flags.co.uk/Union-Jack-Flags/5UnionJackSkyBlue
[4]
Warstore Flags at eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123481251559
Tomislav Todorovic,
18 January 2019
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
Flag on which both blue and red are replaced with green [1, 2, 3, 4] is
sometimes advertised with the Environmentalists as targeted market [3], but much
more often, the football clubs such as Celtic [5, 6], Hibernian [7, 8], Yeovil
Town [9, 10], Plymouth Argyle [11, 12] and many others which use this color
combination. The design was also proposed for new flag of Northern Ireland [13]
and, with some modifications (green saltire centered along the diagonals), for
the new national flag in case of the separation of Scotland [14].
[1]
"Green Union Jack" photo at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/funfilledgeorgie/4163827299/
[2] "Green
Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Great-Britain-UK-Green-Union-Jack-Country-Flag-5-x-3-/280928431393?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item4168a3ad21
[3] "Green Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Green-White-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Sports-Irish-Environment-recycle-Recycling-School-/181026261938?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item2a26018bb2
[4] Best Buy Flags online shop - "Green Union Jack":
http://www.best-buy-flags.co.uk/great-britain-union-jack-green-flag-3-x-5-ft.html
[5] "Green Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Celtic-Supporters-Union-Jack-5ftx-3ft-FLAG-Free-UK-P-P-/360629590692?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item53f732daa4
[6] Celtic F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernian_F.C.#Colours_and_badge
[7]
"Green Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hibernian-Hibs-Supporters-Union-Jack-5ftx-3ft-FLAG-Free-UK-P-P-/360629591015?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item53f732dbe7
[8] Hibernian F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernian_F.C.#Colours_and_badge
[9]
"Green Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yeovil-Town-Supporters-Union-Jack-5ftx-3ft-FLAG-Free-UK-P-P-/230958833548?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item35c6381f8c
[10] Yeovil Town F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeovil_Town_F.C.
[11] "Green Union Jack"
at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plymouth-Argyle-Supporters-Union-Jack-5ftx-3ft-FLAG-Free-UK-P-P-/360629603881?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item53f7330e29
[12] Plymouth Argyle F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Argyle_F.C.
[13] Belfast
Telegraph website - readers' suggestions for new flag of Northern Ireland:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-flag-reader-submissions-red-hands-harps-and-soda-bread-29807487.html
[14] VMAL website - proposals for redesign of Union Jack in case of the
separation of Scotland:
http://vmal.co.uk/new-union-flag-post-scotland-independence/
Tomislav Todorovic, 3 May 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 19 January 2019
The flag derived from the Union Jack by changing blue color into red [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] is merchandised targeting the fans of football clubs such as Liverpool [6, 7, 8] Arsenal [6, 9], Stoke City [6, 10], Sunderland [6, 11] and many others which use this color combination. The color shade, according to the photos [1, 2, 3, 6], seems to be not as light as the FOTW color R, but also not as dark as the FOTW color R+; the same seems to be true for the shades which are used by the said clubs [8, 9, 10, 11].
Sources:
[1] "Red Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RED-UNION-JACK-FLAG-OF-UK-UNITED-KINGDOM-5X3-/360235968462?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item53dfbca7ce
[2] "Red Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Great-Britain-UK-Red-Union-Jack-Country-Flag-5-x-3-/280467076304?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item414d23f4d0
[3] Mad About Flags online shop - "Red Union Jack":
http://www.madaboutflags.co.uk/great-britain-red-union-jack-large-country-flag---5-x-3-407-p.asp
[4] Warstore Flags online shop - "Red Union Jack":
https://www.warstore.co.uk/union-jack-red-anyflag-range---various-sizes-28689-p.asp
[5] Midland Flags online shop - "Red Union Jack":
https://www.midland-flags.co.uk/AnyFlag-Union-Jack-Red-Custom-Made-Flag?filter_name=union%20jack
[6] "Red Union Jack" at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-White-UK-Flag-Union-Jack-Sports-Liverpool-Stoke-Sunderland-Arsenal-Sports-bn-/170980227166?pt=UK_Flags&hash=item27cf37385e
[7] "Red Union Jack" at eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-White-Union-Jack-Flag-5-x-3-FT-Football-Sports-Team-Flags-UK-Liverpool-/361370308864
[8] Liverpool F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C.
[9] Arsenal F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C.
[10] Stoke City F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoke_City_F.C.
[11] Sunderland A.F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_A.F.C.
Tomislav Todorovic, 19 January 2019
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 17 February 2019
The flag on which red color is changed into yellow is not merchandised under a singular name: blue and yellow color may be listed in either order [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] and the name of a particular club may be added to them, or replace them completely. The clubs whose fans are known to be targeted in this way are Leeds United [6, 7, 8], Oxford United [9, 10], Mansfield Town [11, 12] and Torquay United [13, 14], all of which do use blue and yellow colors, sometimes combining them with white, which also appears on the flag, although is not mentioned in its naming, same as with the other such flags. While the shades of blue and yellow used by the clubs vary a lot, those which appear on the flag seem to be rather uniform: the variations seen on the photos used by the online sellers are so small that it is difficult to tell whether they are due to the different picture taking conditions, or the dye used in the photographed flags really differed. Nevertheless, blue seems to be very close to the Union Jack field color, perhaps a bit lighter, and yellow is visibly darker than the FOTW color Y, but still lighter than the FOTW color Y+.
Sources:
[1] The flag at Royal-Flags online shop:
https://www.royal-flags.co.uk/union-jack-blue-yellow-flag-1746.html
[2]
The flag at Best Buy Flags online shop:
http://www.best-buy-flags.co.uk/great-britain-union-jack
[3] The flag at Warstore Flags online shop:
https://www.warstore.co.uk/union-jack-blue--yellow
[4] The flag at eBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNION-JACK-YELLOW-AND-BLUE
[5] The flag at eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blue-Yellow-UK-Flag-Union-Jack
[6] Leeds United F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_United_F.C.
[7] Leeds United Union
Jack at eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEEDS-UNITED-UNION-JACK
[8] The flag at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leeds-United-Yellow-MASSIVE-1000-Flags
[9] Oxford United F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_United_F.C.
[10] Oxford United
Union Jack at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-United-Union-Jack
[11] Mansfield Town F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_Town_F.C.
[12] The flag at
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mansfield-Town-Yellow-Union
[13] Torquay United F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torquay_United_F.C.
[14] Torquay United
Union Jack at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Torquay-United-Union-Jack
Tomislav Todorovic, 17 February 2019
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 22 July 2023
Flags are derived from the Union Jack by changing the colors into those of
football clubs. The flag [1, 2] with the red areas in a shade called claret
(dark, purplish to brownish shade of color) and the field in sky blue, which is
sometimes specified within the flag name [3, 4, 5, 6], is merchandised targeting
the fans of football clubs such as Aston Villa [1, 2, 3, 7], West Ham United [1,
2, 4, 6, 8] and Burnley [1, 2, 5, 9], all of which use these colors, sometimes
combining them with white, which also appears on the flag but, same as with the
other such flags, is not mentioned in its naming.
Sources:
[1] The
flag at Warstore Flags online shop:
https://www.warstore.co.uk/union-jack-claret--blue
[2] The flag at eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-x-3-Claret-and-Blue-Union-Jack
[3] The flag
at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aston-Villa-Claret-Blue-Union
[4] The flag at
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/West-United-Claret-Blue-Union
[5] The flag at
WorthPoint:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/blue-claret-uk
[6] The flag badge
at WorthPoint:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/west-ham
[7] Aston Villa F.C. at
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Villa_F.C.
[8] West Ham United
F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Ham_United_F.C.
[9]
Burnley F.C. at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnley_F.C.
Tomislav Todorovic, 22 July 2023