SYDNEY — When the FIFA Women’s World Cup opened in Sydney/Wangal on Thursday, two flags flew alongside the Australian one as the Matildas played Ireland.
The striking black, red, and yellow flag represents Australia’s Aboriginal population, while the blue, green and white one is the flag of the Torres Strait Islander people, an Indigenous group from off Australia’s northeast coast. They will be given equal prominence with the national flag at matches played in Australia throughout the cup.
Across the sea in co-host New Zealand, its national flag was joined by a black, red and white one, representing the Maori people, at the first match in Auckland/Tamaki Makaurau.