World Cup 2026: Haiti, a ravaged nation whose heart beats for football
Children playing football in a mini-stadium in the Jalousie neighborhood of Port-au-Prince (Clarens SIFFROY) On a street in a suburb of Port-au-Prince, a dozen teenagers using stones for goalposts are immersed in a Sunday game of football as traffic winds around them. Haiti has many problems, including political instability, poverty and crime. But through it all, the heart of the nation beats for football.
Haiti's qualification for this summer's World Cup has come like a breath of fresh air for the poorest nation in the Americas, whose nearly 12 million people have long grappled with gang violence that has caused a humanitarian crisis. "Football is hope and love. It inspires pride and passion," said Salome Sandler Tally, founder and coach of the women's section of Aigle Noir AC, a professional club based in the Haitian capital.
"Qualifying for the World Cup is something special for a country that loves football so deeply. " The Grenadiers, as Haiti's team is known, made their only previous appearance in West Germany in 1974. "It is incredible to have achieved this 52 years later," Tally told AFP.
- 'Pagan ceremonies' - In early April, the cash-strapped government allocated 264 million gourdes ($2 million) for the national football team as a qualification bonus and to help pay for World Cup preparations. Haiti will face Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland in Group C. Their games will be played in the United States, which is co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
In their World Cup qualifying campaign, Haiti did not play a single match on home soil. The nation's main venue -- the Sylvio Cator Stadium -- has been closed since February 2024 as it is located in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood controlled by gangs, as is about 90 percent of the capital. But the "beautiful game" is played everywhere by people who are barefoot, in flip-flops or in sneakers.