The Brazilian team plays today (2) against Cameroon in the last round of the group stage of the cup. In the stands, many fans wave the green, red and yellow flag of the African country.
They share the same colors as Ghana and Senegal, who are also in the cup, and other African countries like Ethiopia, Benin and Mali, who did not qualify for the World Cup.
But after all, why are these colors repeated on the flags of 13 nations in Africa?
Why do African flags have the same colors?
The origin of red, yellow and green, which has been adopted by various African countries, lies in the history of Ethiopia🇧🇷 The East African country officially introduced the tricolor after its victory against the colonial rule of Italy in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa.
Emperor Menelik II, who was Christian, raised the flag to mark the end of the First ItaloEthiopian War. with the three colors that would represent the rainbow God placed in the sky after the Flood in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
Despite being occupied again by Mussolini’s Italy in the 1930s, Ethiopia along with Liberia was one of the few countries on the continent not to be colonised.
Already in the middle of the 20th century, during the wave of independence wars of African countries against European colonizers, The three colors were circulated on the flags of independent nations in honor of the Ethiopians’ first victory over their invaders🇧🇷 The first country after Ethiopia to opt for a flag in these colors was Ghana in 1957.
Currently, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Mali, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal and Togo show the three colors.
Senegal fans
Image: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
What do the three colors of the flag mean?
In each African country, the symbolism of these three colors can vary and evolve over time. However, in the context in which they were adopted during decolonization, The colors were usually associated with independence, war, and power. For example, red is usually associated with the blood shed by ancestors and warriors, yellow with the power and wealth of African countries, and green with hope or the nature of the continent.
Two color triads are associated with the panAfricanist movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the proposal to unite the struggle against the exploitation of Africans and their descendants and their emancipation worldwide.
One is the green, yellow and red flag of Ethiopia, Colors used by various panAfrican groups and the Rastafarian movement🇧🇷
The second triad consists of red, black and green. Introduced by Jamaican Marcus Garvey in 1920, it is also adopted in flags of African nations.
How was the history in Cameroon?
1960, It was Cameroon that started the wave of independence on the continent: Between January and August of the same year, eighteen colonies in subSaharan Africa declared their sovereignty.
A former German colony, the African country’s territory was divided between the United Kingdom and France after World War I. A war of independence against French troops began in 1955 and materialized in the early 1960s. The national flag with the three colors was officially adopted in 1957 and retained after independence.
Cameroon flag
Image: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
In addition to the history of Ethiopia, the choice of color refers to the African Democratic Assembly, which they also represent. The political front was created by African leaders in the postwar period to promote the decolonization of countries on the continent under French rule.
The current configuration of the flag of Cameroon, with the yellow star in the center, dates back to 1975, when the two stars that used to symbolize the two territorial zones were replaced with a single one, representing national unity.