Spain Used to Wore Wrong Crest on Their Kits at 2010 World Cup?
- Incorrect Crest Discovery: A historian discovered that the Spanish national team used a crest with an error on their kits for many years, including when they won the 2010 World Cup.
- Nature of the Error: The error in the crest was the absence of a red border on the blue shield of the House of Bourbon, a crucial detail that distinguishes it from the French Royal Family's crest.
- Correction and Simplification: The Royal Spanish Football Federation corrected the crest error for the 2014 World Cup kit and has since mostly adopted simplified, monochrome logos to prevent future color-related inaccuracies.
An interesting detail has just resurfaced: the Spanish national team was played with a mistake on their crest for many years until 2013, according to a discovery by historian Jaime Salazar. He eventually reported the error to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) so it could be corrected.
Spain Used Wrong Crest at 2010 World Cup
Big thanks to @jerseystory_vn for the collage.
Specifically, the mistake was within the shield of the House of Bourbon (the ruling house of Spain) located at the center of the coat of arms. The blue shield with three fleurs-de-lis was missing its red border - a crucial detail that distinguishes it from the crest of the French Royal Family.
This official coat of arms and emblem of the House of Bourbon has been used by Spain since 1981.
Remarkably, La Roja won many prestigious titles - including EURO 2008, EURO 2012, and the 2010 World Cup, while wearing this incorrect crest.
Starting from their 2014 World Cup kit, RFEF corrected the detail to match the official national coat of arms. Since then, they have mostly used simplified, monochrome logos on their shirts (with the exception of the 2020-21 kit). This switch to monochrome helps the federation avoid any color mistakes on the pitch, as the traditional Spanish coat of arms is highly detailed and complex.
Along with Spain, other national teams around the world, such as Australia and Poland, also use stylized versions of their national coats of arms as their shirt crests.
