Haitians celebrate in the dark streets the qualification of their team to the World Cup, despite the violence they exper
The team that had to play its home games away due to insecurity secured its direct ticket to the 2026 tournament, and there was a celebration in the country
Hundreds of Haitians took to the streets of Port-au-Prince to celebrate a historic moment: the national soccer team qualified for a World Cup for the second time, after defeating Nicaragua 2-0 in the last match of Group A C of the Concacaf qualifiers.
At the end of the match, the capital erupted in celebrations with shots fired into the air and shouts of joy that echoed through several areas, many of them plunged into darkness due to the lack of electricity.
In Petion-ville, in the heights above Port-au-Prince, people ran singing “Hey! Hey! Hey!”, some barefoot, others shirtless, enjoying a long-awaited victory.
Led by Frenchman Sebastien Migne, the Grenadiers will return to the World Cup after their only previous appearance in Germany 1974, where they were eliminated in the first round.
Due to the insecurity plaguing the country, Haiti has had to play its matches away from home. This time they did it in Curacao, since the Stade Sylvio Cator, their main stadium, has been under the control of armed gangs that dominate much of the capital since March 2024. Despite the crisis, the qualification was cause for celebration. The president of Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), Laurent Saint-Cyr, expressed his "most sincere congratulations" to the team. Saint-Cyr emphasized that "on this symbolic day of November 18, the date of the Battle of Vertieres, the Grenadiers have given the Haitian people a moment of profound pride and national unity." He also praised the team's "exceptional" performance in the qualifiers, noting that this qualification "rekindles hope, inspires the youth, strengthens national cohesion, and restores to an entire nation the conviction that, together, everything is possible." The statement added that the team's remarkable performance "reminds us that, despite the difficulties, Haiti is still standing,Resilient and ready to write a new chapter in their history,” reaffirming the authorities’ commitment to the sport.
For his part, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime described the qualification as “another victory and another page in history.”
“I congratulate the Grenadiers, who have put Haiti on the world football map after more than 50 years. This qualification is another flame of hope ignited, a seed of unity that grows,” he stated.
The French Embassy in Haiti also congratulated the team on its Facebook page: “Fifty-one years later, the Grenadiers, driven by the spirit of Vertieres, once again inscribed their name in football history this November 18.”
The United States joined in the congratulations, highlighting that this achievement reflects “the dedication, resilience, and talent of the team and the nation.”
“A proud moment for all Haitians,” the US embassy wrote in X.