Unbelievable violation, FIFA imposes a 6-point deduction on a national team

FIFA has prohibited the use of a home jersey that appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), because the uniform fails to meet the existing rules set by the global football federation.

Cameroon collaborated with Puma to design this kit, which was exclusively used for the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

A senior Puma official told BBC Sport that the jersey was submitted to both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and both organizations confirmed the kit was eligible for use. Additionally, the kit was presented to FIFA’s then Deputy Secretary-General Jerome Champagne.

The Cameroon national team wore this kit during the AFCON 2004 group stage matches and continued to use it in the quarter-final against Nigeria, where they lost and were eliminated. However, after an investigation, FIFA announced in April of the same year, three months post-tournament, that the kit actually violated their regulations.

As a result, the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) was fined $154,000, and the Cameroon national team was docked 6 points in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.

Fecafoot stated they had received permission from FIFA to continue using the kit in the quarter-final against Nigeria due to insufficient time to ship a replacement uniform.

Later, Fecafoot successfully appealed the 6-point deduction. Nevertheless, Cameroon still failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup after finishing behind Ivory Coast in the qualifying group.

The core issue with the kit was its one-piece design, where the shirt and shorts were sewn together, contrary to standard regulations that require them to be separate.

This was not Cameroon’s first controversy regarding their playing attire. Previously, they planned to wear sleeveless shirts at the 2002 World Cup, but FIFA banned that design and also opposed the one-piece kit. FIFA stated they had “received assurances that the team would wear approved kits during the AFCON 2004 knockout stages,” but that did not happen.

In another development, a German judge later ruled that the kit did not violate FIFA’s laws. Puma subsequently sought compensation from FIFA over the incident, and the two parties reached a confidential settlement with undisclosed terms.

FIFA said the dispute was resolved “in the interest of international football,” but did not provide further details about the agreement.

The partnership between Cameroon and the German sports brand lasted until 2018. Currently, the Cameroon national team works with the Swiss manufacturer FOURTEEN.