FIFA forces Haiti to alter 2026 World Cup jerseys just days before kick-off; Here's what happened

The Haiti Football Federation was been forced to re-print their jerseys at the FIFA World Cup 2026 just days before the tournament kicks off on June 11, after the sport's global body found certain elements that they deem are too political in nature. Ranked 83 in the world, Haiti qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after topping Group C in the third round of CONCACAF qualifiers.

With this, Haiti made a comeback at football's grandest stage for the first time since 1974. What made Haiti's road to the final tournament more inspiring that they had to play all their home games abroad due to gang violence and political instability at home.

It is a norm in all the football competitions globally that the teams have to go through a mandatory FIFA check for their kits. Similarly, when Haiti went through a kit check, FIFA determined that certain elements could be interpreted in a different way and requested modifications.

Breaking silence on the issue, kit manufacturer Saeta said they are working closely with the Haitian Football Federation to resolve the matter. “Our objective throughout the process was to create a jersey that celebrated the pride, resilience and spirit of the Haitian People,” Saeta said in a statement.

"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,” it added.

“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,” the Colombian kit manufacturer Saeta's statement continued. “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,” it concluded.

The point that FIFA showed disagreement upon was on the shirt's right hip that had imageries from the Battle of Vertières and the Haitian revolution. The imagery appears on all of Haiti's shirts released by Saeta before the FIFA World Cup 2026.

In fact, Haiti played Peru and New Zealand in warm-up games wearing the same shirt. However, in the FIFA's official World Cup portraits on Tuesday, the players were seen in pictures without the iconography on their shirts.

Earlier, Haiti had to re-design their kits at the Winter Olympics in Milan after their ski suits suits, which had a revolutionary imagery, breached the International Olympic Committee rules about designs and athlete expression.

Haiti's schedule at FIFA World Cup 2026

Making their FIFA World Cup appearance after five decades, Haiti will have their task cut out against the likes of Brazil, Scotland and Morocco in Group C. They had lost all their games on debut in 1974 and conceded 14 goals.