Haiti’s World Cup hopefuls have been forced to make an eleventh-hour kit alteration just days ahead of their opening fixture against Scotland. The Caribbean nation, who will also face Brazil and Morocco during the group stages, were found to have breached FIFA’s regulations with their original design. The original strip, manufactured by Saeta, depicted the Battle of Vertieres, which preceded the country’s eventual declaration of independence from France in the early 19th century.
However, FIFA prohibits political messaging of any nature and this is understood to be the regulation responsible for necessitating a change. “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,” a statement from Saeta read. “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.”
With the United States, Canada and Mexico securing automatic qualification as co-hosts, just three additional nations from the CONCACAF confederation (including teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean) were able to claim a place at the tournament. Haiti last featured at the World Cup finals in 1974, when they were eliminated at the group stage, so their involvement this time around brings to an end a 52-year wait.
The world’s 83rd-ranked team finished top of a qualifying group also including Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with fellow CONCACAF group winners Curacao and Panama also progressing to the group stage. A further two sides from the confederation reached the intercontinental play-offs, though neither Jamaica nor Suriname managed to secure their place at the finals.
Haiti, led by French manager Sebastien Migne, played two warm-up friendlies in Miami ahead of the tournament. They triumphed over New Zealand 4-0 but suffered a 2-1 defeat to Peru.
After taking on Scotland in Foxborough, Migne’s side will head to Philadelphia to take on Brazil before concluding their group stage campaign against Morocco in Atlanta.
Two members of their squad – Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor – featured in the Premier League last season and represented France at youth level before opting to represent Haiti at senior level.