'Gang leaders are soccer lovers' - Haiti play with hope for peace

"We have many players who have never been in Haiti, so before the game starts, sometimes I used to share with them the reality of the country, the responsibility we have on our shoulders," said Haiti's all-time top scorer Duckens Nazon.

"When we put the shirt on, it's more than a normal game. We are the first independent black nation in the world. We have a lot of history. We have to assume this role."

One player who knows the realities all too well is Woodensky Pierre, Haiti's only domestic-based player.

The defensive midfielder was raised in the slum of Cite Soleil and plays for one of Haiti's biggest clubs, Violette AC, whose home ground - the Stade Sylvio Cator - had hosted Haiti's home matches until it was taken over by gangs two years ago.

Violette became league champions a month before the World Cup, but in an illustration of what daily life is like in Haiti, the start of their final match was delayed by gunfire.

Woodensky, as he is known, was initially called up by Sebastien Migne purely on the basis of online videos because the Haiti coach could not see him play in the flesh.

"This player is from one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Haiti. He plays with instinct because he learned early that hesitation costs you everything," said Midy.

"He is precious for Haitian people because we think he's the one to say, 'we are not dead, we have talent here'. He always says, 'I'm not only carrying the ball, I'm carrying the hopes where I come from'."

Nazon hopes the example of Woodensky, and the team in general, can leave a legacy that inspires peace.

"This is what we try to share with the new generation," he said.

"You're not obligated to take weapons. You're not obligated to go with gangs or to deal or smoke drugs. There are so many ways to get out of the struggle."

In 2021, the country was thrown into chaos by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who has never been replaced, leaving Haiti's gangs to fill the void.

According to Amnesty International, 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti in 2024 alone. The population is estimated at about 11.5 million.

Image caption,

Haiti are the first Caribbean nation to qualify for more than one edition of the men's World Cup

Haiti have been playing their 'home' matches 500 miles away in Curacao.

Sixteen of Haiti's players were born abroad, across five countries. The 26-man squad represents 25 clubs from 15 countries.

The man who has woven these threads into a coherent outfit is Frenchman Migne, who was Cameroon's assistant coach at Qatar 2022.

"He's a magical coach," said Midy.

"When I'm watching the games of Haiti, I cannot explain how he does it. I asked him, he said, 'It's not me, it's the players. I don't have no secret. I just tell them put your heart in it.'"

And that is exactly what Nazon, who was born in France to Haitian parents, does.

His passion for the nation has earned him hero status, regardless of his 44 goals in 80 games, according to Midy.

"We call him the chuchu of Haiti," he says, referring to the French term of endearment.

"Haitian people always see in him, an example of someone who feels more Haitian than every person born and raised in Haiti."

His team-mate Hannes Delcroix, the former Burnley defender, was born there but was adopted by a Belgian family when he was two.

He has never returned and only in recent years has established contact with his mother and sisters.

"I have never seen them before in real life, but through the phone, we call now and then," he said. "It's a strange feeling in the beginning of course because you don't have any bond, any connection.

"I think I just wanted to know first if she is OK, she is healthy, if everyone is safe. If there's anything I can help, this kind of stuff."

Perhaps this reconnection with his biological family is what moved him to pledge his international allegiance to Haiti in 2025.

"You come to a point that you ask yourself, what do you want now and for which country do you want to play? And for me, that case was Haiti," said the 27-year-old, who played once for Belgium in 2020.

The cynical view is that Delcroix may only have picked Haiti because they were on the brink of World Cup qualification, but he says it has become a voyage of self-discovery.

"It was always in the back of my head that I could play for Haiti. The first time when we got together, I felt like I was not alone," he said.

"When I'm with the Haitian team, it helps a lot to understand more about the culture and the language. I don't speak Creole so that's something I really want to dig into."

Image caption,

Fans celebrated in the streets of Port-au-Prince when Haiti sealed World Cup qualification

Last year's qualification for the World Cup was achieved on an already significant day for Haiti, with 18 November also the date of the slave revolt that overthrew Napoleon's colonial rule at the Battle of Vertieres in 1803.

The team had planned to wear a shirt featuring an image of that battle but were forced to change the design just days before the World Cup after being told it failed to comply with Fifa rules that ban "political, religious, or personal messages or slogans" on kit.

Changing the kit design is not the only way they have had to adapt, with fans in Haiti having to improvise to even be able to watch the matches.

Midy explains that during previous World Cups young people have pooled resources to rent or buy a small generator or create their own fan zones, while families with independent energy systems opened their doors to friends and neighbours and turned their living rooms into vibrant football hubs.

"This year, however, the excitement has reached another level," he said. "Across popular neighbourhoods, organisations and local groups are distributing kits that include televisions and solar-powered inverter systems to help residents follow the tournament."

Image caption,

Haiti fans cheered on their team in a 2-1 defeat by Peru this month

While the players have not played at home since a 1-0 defeat by Canada in 2021, they have still enjoyed support at matches in various places on their travels, such is the scale of the Haitian diaspora, which is estimated to number nearly two million.

At last week's World Cup warm-up against Peru in Miami, where there is a Little Haiti neighbourhood, South Florida's Haitian diaspora helped sell out the Nu Stadium.

They will be hoping for similar support in Boston, where they play their opener against Scotland on Saturday (02:00 BST Sunday) and which is home to one of the largest Haitian diasporas in the United States.

That match is where the magnitude of being at a World Cup will sink in for Nazon.

"I think I still haven't realised yet, and I speak also with many of my team-mates, and they feel the same thing," said the striker, who counts St Mirren, Coventry City and Oldham Athletic among the 13 clubs for whom he has played.

"The point where we're going to really realise, I think it's going to be when the first game is going to start. Yo guys, we are in the World Cup now!"

Their second match is against Brazil. In the past, there might have been more Haitians supporting Brazil but Duckens Nazon says the national team deserves the country's full support.

"It's really crazy that in your country before, there was more supporting another country," he said.

"They had nothing to grab before and say, 'I'm proud' or 'I have my national team'. But now they have a national team who play the World Cup so they should be proud. They can like Brazil, they can like other teams, but only support us."

Image caption,

Will there be some split loyalties when Haiti take on Brazil?

And with that support comes the hope that football could once again be a circuit breaker in the violence back home.

"All the gang leaders are soccer lovers," Midy said.

"After the qualification [for the World Cup], I saw videos of the gang leaders celebrating like everyone on the streets, with music."

Duckens Nazon remembers similar scenes after Haiti reached the semi-finals of the regional Concacaf Gold Cup in 2019.

"They showed us some videos. It was crazy. I never see this in my life. So many people outside - gang people and civilians together - just enjoying the moment," he said.

"For sure during the World Cup, this is going to happen. But we want to bring this spirit and this environment forever, not only for one, two, three games."