Thu, June 11, 2026
Haiti forced to change kit just before the World Cup after FIFA deemed its jerseys to be too political
Haiti has been forced by FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) to wear new jerseys just before the start of the World Cup after the global governing body deemed its kit to be too political. Haiti is due to play against Scotland this Sunday, 14 June.
FIFA’s issue with the kit is the design on the shirt’s right hip which displays visuals inspired by the Battle of Vertières and the Haitian Revolution. The design appears on all 3 kits: home, away and third – an alternative kit used when both the home and away kits clash with an opponent’s colours.
The 1803 Battle of Vertières was the final and decisive military engagement of the Haitian Revolution and secured Haiti’s independence from France after enslaved people beat Napolean’s forces, creating the world’s first free Black republic. “Vertières is the site of the last battle leading to our independence, fought on November 18, 1803. Ironically, the team qualified for the 2026 World Cup on November 18, 2025, a spokesperson for the Haitian team expressed to The Athletic.
The Haiti kit designer, a Colombian sportswear company called Saeta, expressed surprise at FIFA’s demand. This is because the company claims to have worked with the governing body to ensure the design was admissible and even “successfully implemented the requested modifications” during a compulsory review.
Saeta elaborated:
“Working in close collaboration with the Haitian Football Federation, our objective throughout the process was to create a jersey that celebrated the pride, resilience and spirit of the Haitian people…
Several concepts were developed and refined over a number of months and submitted through FIFA’s standard approval process. The final design presented by Saeta was intended as a tribute to the men and women who contribute every day to Haiti’s future and was not intended as a political statement…
During the review process, FIFA determined that certain visual elements could be interpreted differently under its equipment regulations and ultimately requested modifications to the design. While this interpretation differed from our intention, Saeta respected the process and implemented the final requirements communicated by FIFA. We remain proud to have contributed, alongside the Haitian Football Federation, to this historic moment for Haitian football and wish the team every success at the FIFA World Cup.” Haiti’s only previous World Cup appearance before 2026 was in 1974.
On Saeta’s website, all 3 shirts are sold out, and Haitian players were able to wear the shirts, which have now been prohibited, during its friendlies against New Zealand and Peru last week.
Despite this, the Haitian players were spotted wearing Jerseys that do not feature the revolutionary iconography earlier this week and in the latest update, a spokesperson for the team told The Athletic that FIFA deeming the shirt as political was a “misinterpretation,” but that they had asked kit manufacturers Saeta to amend the jerseys, confirming that the kit has definitely been altered.
The FIFA website still only features 2 separate pieces of Haitian merch, a hat and scarf.
During the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also demanded Haiti to redesign its ski suits as they also depicted revolutionary iconography. This kit was designed by Stella James who was forced to hand sew over the design last minute.
Similarly, Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych was banned from competing at the Winter Olympics after a dispute with Olympic authorities over a helmet he wore in tribute to those killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
FIFA’s decision here indicates a commitment to neutrality, but it is apparent that politics remains deeply intertwined within the tournament - and sport in general - in numerous different ways. Some have also accused FIFA of hypocrisy as in December, the governing body awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, with the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, voicing: “I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think it’s looking pretty good.”
