Why Olympic soccer teams don't have their official crests on the jerseys

Note: Article was originally published in 2021. It has been updated.

If you’ve watched any high-level international soccer competition, you’re probably going to notice a different look at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The signature badges from federations across the world have been replaced by generic placeholders. The United States Soccer Federation’s already-generic crest is replaced by a “USA” letter mark. Brazil’s legendary CBF badge is gone for a logo reflective of the nation’s flag.

It seems like an insignificant thing for the International Olympic Committee to take issue with, but in the eyes of the IOC, the badges and crests of the individual soccer federations conflict with Olympic guidelines.

Notice the “USA” print in place of the crest during the USMNT’s 3-0 loss to France:

And Neymar back in 2016:

The reason for the crest swap can be explained by IOC’s Rule 50:

“No form of publicity or propaganda, commercial or otherwise, may appear on persons, on sportswear, accessories or, more generally, on any article of clothing or equipment whatsoever worn or used by all competitors, team officials, other team personnel and all other participants in the Olympic Games…”

For the IOC, the federation badges represent a separate commercial interest rather than the individual nations. And we all know how the IOC feels about others making money.

Any team that uses a federation logo faces a fine from the IOC.