Italy's national football team, known as gli Azzurri (the Blues), wears blue kits due to a deep historical tie to the House of Savoy, Italy's former royal family.

This tradition began in 1911 when the team switched from white shirts to blue jerseys—specifically "Savoy azure," the signature color of the Savoy crest that bordered Italy's flag during the Kingdom era—for a friendly match against Hungary in Milan. The choice symbolized national pride under the monarchy, even though Italy's flag features green, white, and red with no blue.

Historical Origins

The blue jersey debuted on January 6, 1911, at Arena Civica, marking the birth of the Azzurri nickname that persists today across Italian sports.

  • It honored the Savoy dynasty's azure blue, used since the 11th century and embedded in royal heraldry.
  • Early kits paired the blue shirt with white shorts and black socks (later turned blue), setting a style that's evolved but endured.

This wasn't arbitrary; Italy's football federation deliberately chose it to reflect monarchical identity, unlike most nations mirroring their flags directly (e.g., France's blue-white-red or Brazil's green-yellow).

Kit Changes Over Time

Italy's colors faced brief disruptions tied to political shifts:

  1. 1930s Fascist Era : Benito Mussolini ordered black kits in 1935 to align with his regime's aesthetics, debuting against France and worn once at the 1938 World Cup (though blue appeared at the 1936 Olympics).
  1. Post-WWII Return : After the monarchy's 1946 abolition and the Republic's birth, blue was reinstated in 1946, dropping the Savoy cross for the Tricolore badge.

Since then, blue has symbolized triumphs like four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and two Euros (1968, 2020), becoming cultural shorthand for Italian passion.

Cultural Significance Today

Even in modern republican Italy, the azure persists as a nod to heritage—evident in the President's Standard and fan chants.

From a monarchist viewpoint, it quietly honors Savoy roots; republicans see it as timeless sporting identity. Speculation on forums suggests subtle nostalgia, with Reddit users joking, "We're all secretly monarchic," tying it to Verdi operas' hidden royal codes.

As of February 2026, no major kit changes trend; Italy's latest Nike designs stay true to azure for qualifiers and beyond.

TL;DR: Italy plays in blue for the Savoy family's historic azure, adopted in 1911—a tradition outlasting monarchy, fascism, and republics.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.