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There were just 88 spectators when Haiti’s journey to the World Cup began, against St Lucia two summers ago.
Scheduled to be a home game, instead it was played nearly 1,000 miles away, at a sports complex in Barbados. Haiti came from behind to win 2-1 that day, with little sign of the story about to unfold.
This summer, they’ll become the first Caribbean country ever to make a second appearance at the World Cup – even though their manager and some of their squad have never been to Haiti in their entire lives.
With 11.4 million people, the former French territory is the most populous nation in the Caribbean, and previously reached the 1974 World Cup – breaking Dino Zoff’s record run of 1,142 minutes without conceding an international goal when they took the lead against Italy, before losing 3-1, then being thrashed 7-0 by Poland and 4-1 by Argentina.
Haiti was under a dictatorship at the time – since then, what was already a historically poor country has been through seven attempted coups, four successful, and a 2010 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people and made over 1.5 million homeless. The Stade Sylvio Cator, where Haiti typically played home matches, was turned into a relief site, with hundreds living in tents on the pitch. Lionel Messi visited to offer support in his role as a UNICEF ambassador.
Haiti reached the penultimate round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, but Canada’s victory in Port-au-Prince in June 2021 would be the last time they played at home. Weeks later, president Jovenel Moise’s assassination threw the country back into chaos.
Haiti hasn’t had a permanent head of state since, with violent gangs taking over 85 per cent of the capital city, including the Stade Sylvio Cator. In the madness, at least 1.3 million people have been displaced, and the US has banned all flights to the country after planes were hit by gunfire.
The national team initially played their home games in the Dominican Republic, but their neighbours then banned all Haitians from visiting, due to migrants who had entered the country without documentation. The US also suspended visas for Haitians, with an exemption required to allow the country to play in last summer’s Gold Cup.
Haiti therefore opened qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in Barbados, lost 5-1 to Curacao in a ‘home’ match that took place in Aruba, then played the final round of qualifiers in Curacaoan capital Willemstad. Drawn in the same group as World Cup regulars Costa Rica and Honduras, the unfancied Grenadiers surged to qualification with consecutive wins over Costa Rica and Nicaragua, in front of only 1,500 people in Curacao.
French boss Sebastien Migne, who had spells with Boreham Wood and Leyton Orient as a teenager, has been in charge since 2024 but has never visited Haiti. “It’s impossible – it’s too dangerous,” he said. Instead, he relies on details from the federation about local stars.
Half the squad were raised in Haiti but play abroad, while others were born in France, the US and Canada – the player whose goal put them on the path to their victory over Nicaragua was Don Deedson Louicius, who lived through the Port-au-Prince earthquake at the age of eight, even if viral posts claiming he met Messi turned out to be untrue.
After starting qualifying in front of 88 people, there could be 65,000 present when they open their World Cup against Scotland. Haitians have been through a lot, but they never stopped dreaming.
