FIFA Requires Haiti to Remove Revolutionary Silhouettes From World Cup Kits Ahead of Scotland Match

FIFA required Haiti to replace its national team jerseys hours before the squad’s opening 2026 World Cup qualifier because silhouettes on the right hip were deemed too political. The Concacaf group-stage match against Scotland is scheduled for Saturday.

Haiti wore the original shirts in friendlies against New Zealand and Peru last week and advanced from Concacaf qualifying for the first time since 1974.

The designs passed through FIFA’s standard approval process before the governing body requested modifications. “During the review process, FIFA determined that certain visual elements could be interpreted differently under its equipment regulations and requested modifications to the design,” Saeta stated.

The company added that it “respected the process and implemented the final requirements communicated by FIFA” even though the interpretation differed from its intention.

The contested element showed silhouettes inspired by the Battle of Vertières and the Haitian revolution. In 1803, revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines tore the white band from a French flag to create the banner of the world’s first free Black republic; the act is commemorated each 18 May as Haitian Flag Day. The same iconography appeared on all three Saeta shirts.

Photographs released Tuesday from FIFA’s official World Cup portrait sessions showed Haiti players wearing jerseys without the silhouettes. All three original versions are sold out on Saeta’s website, and the manufacturer has not indicated plans to produce replacements. FIFA’s online shop currently offers only two Haiti-specific items: a trucker hat and a scarf.