Danley Jean Jacques shows Haiti's plainer World Cup shirt
danley jean jacques appeared in Haiti’s official 2026 World Cup portraits this week wearing a plain blue shirt with a red collar, replacing the dramatic design the team had unveiled a few months earlier. The shift came after the original kit, built around Haitian revolutionary imagery, had already sold out within hours.
The shirt change is not cosmetic for Haiti. The original design, made by Colombian manufacturer Saeta, covered the home, away and third shirts in blue, white and red, and tied the team to the Battle of Vertieres on November 18, 1803.
Saeta's original Haiti design
Saeta’s first version showed men raising a tattered blue and red flag at Vertieres, the battle that Marlene Daut called “This is kind of the symbolic end of the Haitian Revolution,” while also describing Haiti as a country that “They set up the first slavery-free state in all of the Americas and were the first nation anywhere in the world to permanently abolish slavery legally.” Saeta posted that “This is more than just a jersey; it’s a tribute to the Haiti people. Our history is not just told — it is worn, defended, and played with pride.”
Saeta later said on Instagram that “The final design presented by Saeta was intended as tribute to the men and women who contribute every day to Haiti’s future and was not intended as a political statement.” The company also said the design was presented during a review process.
Haiti's portraits and pre-tournament matches
Haiti had already worn the blue home shirt and the white away shirt in pre-tournament friendlies against Peru and New Zealand. That makes this week’s portrait change the clearest sign yet that the look attached to Haiti’s 2026 World Cup campaign has been pared back before the tournament begins.
The timing matters because Haiti reached the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, and the original shirts had already turned into scarce items once the initial production run sold out within hours. For supporters who bought one early, the altered portraits now create a split between the shirt they saw at launch and the shirt the team is actually using in official images.
Danley Jean Jacques and the sold-out shirt
Danley Jean Jacques is one of the players now shown in the plainer kit, making him a visible face of the change. The original shirt’s rapid sellout means the earlier design may end up mattering as much as a piece of merchandise as a team identity marker, while the new portraits settle the version Haiti will present publicly from here.
