Haiti team’s redesigned jerseys ready for first World Cup match
Imagery tied to the Haitian Revolution will not appear on the Haitian national team’s official uniforms. But the debate surrounding the symbols removed has only elevated Haiti’s history further in conversations. The post Haiti team’s redesigned jerseys ready for first World Cup match appeared first on The Haitian Times.
Black News 
When Haiti takes the field against Scotland Saturday night in its first World Cup match in 52 years, Les Grenadiers will wear a jersey re-designed at the last minute after FIFA ordered the removal of artwork inspired by Haiti’s history of liberation. The redesign sparked yet another controversy in a debate that erupted last year over which cultural assets should represent Haiti and who gets to decide.
“Haiti’s team already has the uniforms with the requested changes,” a Saeta spokesperson told The Haitian Times in a WhatsApp message Thursday. “They will have all the FIFA-approved uniforms for the World Cup matches.”
The Colombia-based company, which has supplied Haiti’s national teams since 2014, said it worked with the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) throughout the design process and had submitted several concepts through FIFA’s approval system. Saeta said the design was never intended to make a political statement and respected FIFA’s request to modify it, even though the interpretation differed from its original intent.
“Our objective throughout the process was to create a jersey that celebrated the pride, resilience and spirit of the Haitian people,” Saeta further said in a statement via social media.
The revised jerseys — available in Haiti’s traditional blue for home games, white for away matches and red as a third option — were already worn by players for FIFA’s official portraits before the tournament.
An official with the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) told The Athletic that FIFA’s deeming the shirt political was “a misinterpretation,” without giving further details. The team’s spokesperson said the federation did not object to FIFA and had asked Saeta to amend the jerseys urgently.
Gone is the artwork on the lower right side of the kit depicting silhouettes inspired by the Battle of Vertières. The seminal event in the revolution against France by enslaved people led to the creation of Haiti as the world’s first Black republic. FIFA ruled the imagery could violate equipment regulations prohibiting political, religious, discriminatory or personal messages.
For many Haitians, the decision became more than a question of uniform rules. It reopened a broader conversation about who controls the interpretation of Haitian history and how the country’s symbols are viewed on the global stage.
Amesta Bélizaire, a resident of Port-au-Prince, questioned whether similar scrutiny on potential equipment violations is applied equally to all countries.
“FIFA applies the equipment standard’s rule on Haiti because it’s a small country,” she said.
“If [President] Donald Trump is overly politicizing and discriminating by refusing to issue visas to a certain category of people to participate in the World Cup, and FIFA does not say anything, they must leave us alone with our uniform.”
The post Haiti team’s redesigned jerseys ready for first World Cup match appeared first on The Haitian Times.
