Will they change three lions on England badge to three domestic cats!?

There is a bit (big 🙄) of a furore about the Football Association (FA) deciding to alter the flag of England which is the St George's Cross by changing the red cross against a white background to a purple and blue cross against a dark blue background on the back of the collar of the new football shirt for England players.

High profile football professionals have criticised the move. A former British goalkeeper, the very well known David Seaman, asks "will they change three lions to three cats?" See below for the story behind the three lions on the badge.

Furore over change to St George's Cross on football shirts. Image: Nike/X.

He is very critical of the change to the England flag albeit for a bit of fun. It seems to be a reflection of woke Britain because the colours appear to be the usual colours of the LBGT movement.

The reference to the three lions being changed to three cats is a way of sarcastically belittling the change in the colours of the cross.

It's been revealed that Nike altered the St George's Cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in a playful update to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024.

A lot of people don't see it as playful but as disrespectful. I don't think you would see Nike changing the American flag which is afforded a lot of respect in the United States for playful fun reasons. 

We should have the same respect for the England flag in England. It's a very well-known flag which goes back probably thousands of years.

England fans have decided to boycott Nike. And another thing: the shirt costs a rip-off £125! For a polyester shirt for Christ's sake. The fans are consistently ripped off in the UK where prices are known to be too high. We are sick of being ripped off by big business. And often it is foreign countries which think the UK is 'Treasure Island'! 😒

Below is a section about England's three lions and how they became part of the badge worn by sportsmen and sportswomen playing for England.

Keir Starmer, the opposition leader, said the same thing by the way. That's the mood in the country.

The Three Lions

The three lions on the England badge have a historical significance that dates back almost a thousand years. The symbol originated with King Henry I, known as the Lion of England, who had a lion on his coat of arms. When he married Adeliza of Louvain, he added a second lion to honor her father, Godfrey I, Count of Louvain. The third lion was added by Henry II after marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine, as her family also had a lion on their crest.

Image in public domain.

The three lions became associated with the English monarchy and were later adopted by the Football Association when it was formed in 1863. The badge has been a symbol of the national side ever since and is even referenced in the famous song by Baddiel, Skinner, and the Lightning Seeds.

Additionally, the England badge features ten roses, which are Tudor roses representing the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England. These were introduced to the badge in 1948-49 to represent the ten divisions of Football Association members at the time

What is the meaning of the three lions on the England badge?

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.