The Haitian national team will be changing its kits for the World Cup after FIFA deemed a depiction representing the country’s independence as too political.
In a statement posted Tuesday, Colombian sports brand Saeta, which designed and made Haiti‘s jerseys, said that it had made “requested modifications” to the kits following a review from FIFA. Saeta added that the concepts were submitted to FIFA throughout the process, but that FIFA later ruled that “certain visual elements could be interpreted differently.”
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“Working in close collaboration with the Haitian Football Federation, our objective throughout the process was to create a jersey that celebrate the pride, resilience and spirit of the Haitian people,” Saeta said in the statement. “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.”
In a statement to The Athletic, a spokesperson for the Haitian team said FIFA asked the federation to remove the image.
“Following a misinterpretation, FIFA officials asked the federation to remove an image depicting Vertières and some independence heroes raising the Haitian flag,” the spokesperson said. “The federation has not issued any [further] statement on the matter; they simply asked Saeta to change it.”
The original jerseys depicted fighters raising a flag at the Battle of Vertières, the final stage of the Haitian Revolution, which led to the country’s independence in 1803. The image, located on the lower right part of the torso, were featured on Haiti’s blue home kits, white away kits and red third kits.
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Nearly all of the jerseys, in their original form, are sold out on Saeta’s website. The brand does not appear to be selling the altered versions of the jersey, at least for now.
It marks the second time this year that Haiti has been asked to remove imagery of its independence by an international sporting body. In February, the International Olympic Committee forced Haiti to remove an image of Toussaint Louverture from its uniform for the Opening Ceremony. Louverture, a former slave who helped spearhead the Revolution, has become a symbol of Haiti’s independence.
Haiti begins group play Saturday against Scotland in Boston.
