Haiti’s World Cup run brings joy and relief: ‘For once, I’m not so stressed out’

CAP-HAÏTIEN — In a country weighed down by hunger, gang violence and political chaos, Haiti’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has sparked something rare: joy. For the first time in more than 50 years, the national football team’s berth on the world stage has pierced through daily fear and exhaustion, offering a breath of unity and pride Haitians haven’t felt in years.

​​At home, the qualification felt like a pain reliever.

Michelet Jerôme, 42, often worries when his 8-year-old son heads to school in Port-au-Prince, a city largely controlled by gangs, but that anxiety has eased for a moment.

“For once, I’m not so stressed out,” Jerôme said. “I was so happy, I spent the night tweeting and went to sleep at 3:00 a.m.” Jerôme told The Haitian Times. 

“The next morning, on my way to work, I talked about qualifying for the World Cup with the taxi-moto driver. He was so excited that he almost drove away without getting paid.”

Haiti has been starved for good news. Long battered by disasters, dysfunction and despair, Haitians have had few national wins to rally around. Even carnival, once a source of cultural joy and cohesion, has faded under the threat of violence. 

Now, after Les Grenadiers clinched a long-awaited World Cup berth, football is filling that cultural void—giving Haitians everywhere something to celebrate. On Nov. 18 in Willemstad, Curaçao, Haiti secured its spot with a 2-0 win over Nicaragua. Goals from wingers Louicius Don Deedson and Ruben Providence sealed the victory, sparking celebrations from Port-au-Prince to the diaspora.

“For the people stuck at home, it gives them value, makes them feel like they’re not cursed,” James Beltis, a sociologist based in Port-au-Prince, said. 

“Qualifying makes them feel like they’re here, things can get done, we’re not dead,” Beltis added. 

“It’s a breath of fresh air for the people. It makes them think about positive things instead of gangs, kidnappings, elections. People at home, in the streets, are talking less about the stressful things now. It’s more about something entertaining now, soccer, joy.”

It’s a similar sentiment in the diaspora, where people of Haitian descent often wake up to heartbreaking headlines from home — gang violence, natural disasters and political turmoil. This time, the news brought pride.

“We’re probably going through Haiti’s darkest moment in history politically,” said Oz’mosis Amadeus, a self-employed marketing specialist based in Palm Beach County, Florida. “We were still able to get this done. It feels like we can see Haiti now, feels like regardless of anything going on we’re going to be alright.”

When Haiti first shocked the world in 1974

The last time Haiti made it to the World Cup was in 1974, when the team stunned Trinidad and Tobago in qualifiers and earned its place on football’s biggest stage. That historic moment in West Germany marked Haiti’s brief emergence into the global spotlight. 

Haiti’s roster was mostly composed of homegrown talent playing in local clubs, a different profile from today’s squad, which draws heavily from the diaspora.

Many people did not even know Haiti existed then and often asked the players where the country is located, Serge Racine, a defender from the 1974 squad, told FIFA. Nevertheless, the Haiti National Football team left an impression. In their first game against Italy, fans cheered for them every time they touched the ball on June 15, 1974 at Olympiastadion in Munich.

Haiti stunned the world when striker Emmanuel ‘Manno’ Sannon dribbled past Italy’s world-class goalkeeper Dino Zoff in the 47th minute to score the opening goal — breaking Zoff’s famous 1,142-minute streak without conceding. However, the European giant quickly leveled the score in the 53rd minute and ended up winning the game 3-1.

In its following game, Haiti suffered an embarrassing 7-0 loss to Poland on June 19, 1974. But the national team turned heads again in their last game, scoring against another powerhouse, Argentina, in a 4-1 loss on June 23, 1974. They finished in 14th spot out of 16 teams.

“We were very happy with our World Cup,” former Haitian midfielder Philippe Vorbe told FIFA. “Especially for amateur players from a far away little country in the Caribbean. It was wonderful for us and the memories of this experience will live forever.”

Now, more than five decades later, the moment repeats itself—this time with a generation that has only known a country in crisis.

The 2026 World Cup, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and set to kick off in June, will give Les Grenadiers a rare opportunity to celebrate their resilience and their football talent. Haiti has yet to win a match across five World Cups (men’s, women’s and youth). However, Haitians worldwide are dreaming big.

“We made it to the World Cup against all odds, so why can’t we believe we can win it too?” Amadeus, 46, said. “Making it to the World Cup isn’t the end of the road. The work isn’t done. We need to beat Brazil. We need to beat Argentina.”

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