How football’s ultimate underdog Haiti returned to the World Cup

{"text":[[{"start":7.85,"text":"Haiti’s men’s football team have to play their home matches overseas as gun-toting gangs control the capital, the squad is made up almost entirely of players from the diaspora and the coach has never visited the country."}],[{"start":20.6,"text":"Yet on June 13, a nation plagued by violence and insecurity will find a moment of unity, as Haiti’s men play their first Fifa World Cup match for more than five decades."}],[{"start":32.85,"text":"“It gives Haiti a positive story at a time when the country is often only associated internationally with crisis and instability,” Monique André, president of the Haitian Football Federation, said of their first appearance at the World Cup since 1974, secured with a victory over Nicaragua late last year that sparked wild celebrations across the Caribbean country."}],[{"start":55.85,"text":"“It’s not only a sporting achievement, but a demonstration of resilience, discipline and collective belief,” she added."}],[{"start":63.800000000000004,"text":"Football loves an underdog story, and few sides at the 2026 tournament — which takes place across the US, Mexico and Canada in June and July — have overcome more obstacles than Les Grenadiers, whose nickname pays homage to the revolutionaries who overthrew French rule in 1804."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":82.25,"text":"Haiti has been without an elected government since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 plunged it even deeper into chaos. The country is nominally governed by a rotating transitional council, but it recently abandoned plans to hold elections this year amid the worsening security crisis."}],[{"start":101.4,"text":"Armed gangs operate across Port-au-Prince, the sprawling seaside capital now largely cut off from the rest of the country by thugs who control its main roads and terrorise the estimated 3mn residents, violently shaking down businesses and kidnapping for ransom."}],[{"start":116.7,"text":"Swaths of people have been displaced, poverty is rife and hospitals and schools have been turned into makeshift refugee shelters. Commercial carriers stopped flying to Haiti in 2024, after multiple aircraft took gunfire at the main airport."}],[{"start":133.95,"text":"Amid such unrest, the team led by French coach Sébastien Migné, who has never been to Haiti, were forced to play their home World Cup qualifiers on the island of Curaçao, about 800km away."}],[{"start":147.1,"text":"With the domestic league often suspended, Haiti’s football chiefs have assembled a squad from leagues across Europe, North America and elsewhere, including several players who had previously represented other countries at youth level."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":160.35,"text":"“Haiti has exceptional talent abroad, and we worked hard to rebuild trust so players would feel proud and confident representing the country,” said André. “But every camp, every trip, every preparation required additional logistical and financial efforts.”"}],[{"start":175.15,"text":"Among the recruits is Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, a midfielder born in France who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers, recently relegated from England’s Premier League. Despite playing for the country of his birth at youth level, he switched allegiance last year. "}],[{"start":190.5,"text":"He is joined by Wilson Isidor, a forward with Sunderland who was born in Rennes to Haitian and Malagasy parents."}],[{"start":198.6,"text":"“Wilson is very proud of Haiti’s World Cup participation and what it represents for the country,” said his agent Antoine Ettori. “Bringing joy and happiness is a very beautiful thing and, in a way, it’s the role of sport.”"}],[{"start":213,"text":"Diplomats at Haiti’s UK embassy, located above a London bookshop, worked as a go-between for the federation and footballers in England as it sought to attract players of Haitian descent."}],[{"start":224.15,"text":"“People are passionate about football here, and they’re excited about the story of Haiti,” said Anaïse Manuel, the country’s UK ambassador, adding that the profile of the World Cup had opened diplomatic doors just as Haiti sought international support to fight the gangs. "}],[{"start":241.35,"text":"“I’m ending up at meetings just because people want to hear about this story and they’re excited about our team and the Haitians playing in the Premier League,” Manuel said. “That’s sports diplomacy.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":252.79999999999998,"text":"The only Grenadier playing in Haiti is Woodensky Pierre, a midfielder with Port-au-Prince side Violette AC, and his US visa was only approved days before the tournament was due to begin."}],[{"start":264.7,"text":"Several Haitian officials are still awaiting permits to meet up with the squad in the US, underlining issues faced by Haitians who wish to travel to the tournament."}],[{"start":273.95,"text":"All of Haiti’s three group games will take place in the US, including the opening match against Scotland at Boston Stadium, at a time when Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up its crackdown on immigrants."}],[{"start":287.34999999999997,"text":"Yet despite the backdrop, Ariel Dominique, co-founder of the Haitian Ladies Network, a platform of women of Haitian descent, said the community was “extremely excited” about the World Cup, with mass watch parties planned for the Haitian hubs of Miami and Brooklyn as well as cities where Les Grenadiers will be playing."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":306.99999999999994,"text":"Inside football-obsessed Haiti, community leaders hope the World Cup can provide an opportunity to promote sport as an alternative to the gangs in a country where about half the population is under 25."}],[{"start":321.04999999999995,"text":"“When I grew up, everybody played street football. Now that’s non-existent,” said James Louis-Charles, a coach who runs youth club FC Juvenat. “What I’m hoping will happen from this World Cup is for people to also consider investing in Haiti.”"}],[{"start":335.24999999999994,"text":"André, the federation chief, also hoped Haiti’s participation in football’s showpiece event would not be a one-off occasion, but a “catalyst for long-term development and national cohesion” of the country."}],[{"start":348.3999999999999,"text":"For Louis-Charles, the pivotal game is on June 19, when his side take on five-time champions Brazil, the team many Haitians adopted during their half-century absence from the tournament. “There’s quite a few people . . . who still don’t fully believe we can beat Brazil,” he said."}],[{"start":367.7999999999999,"text":"He insisted the unfancied Grenadiers, buoyed by a 4-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers New Zealand on Tuesday, could spring a surprise and were not just going to make up the numbers."}],[{"start":380.5499999999999,"text":"“The team has spirit,” Louis-Charles said. “Haiti are a dark horse that people should take seriously.”"}],[{"start":395.0999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780802950_8250.mp3"}