Where’s Djuny? Haitian soccer player flees World Cup to seek ‘better life’ abroad  

All around Aquin, a commune in Haiti’s South Department, anyone who needed to find Djuny Théodore, Jr., knew to look for the teen at the local soccer field — whether in the afternoon, at night or on weekends. The townsfolk began calling him tizè foutbol, Haitian Creole for ‘soccer obsessed,’ and soon enough, scouts for Haiti’s national under-17 soccer team came calling. 

But after helping Les Grenadiers earn their spot in the U-17 World Cup as a forward and heading to the tournament in Doha, Qatar, Théodore was not on the field for the kickoff against Egypt on Tuesday. Nor was he in Aquin. 

No one is sure where the 16-year-old is now after he snuck out of a training camp in Spain—reportedly to earn more money for his family.

“This is a big hit for Haiti. The whole country would’ve gotten so much pleasure watching him,” said Buissereth Begory, owner of a soccer club in Haiti that Théodore had joined for a while. 

“I won’t be seeing what he used to do in front of me in the World Cup,” he lamented. “That’s very unfortunate.”

With his disappearing act, Théodore joins a long list of youngsters and athletes who put promising futures at risk to better support their families financially. In Haiti, some boys leave school to work jobs in construction or as motorcycle taxi drivers. Others flee their groups during international, cultural or professional trips. However, few in recent memory were at such a premier, high-profile level when they chose to abscond.

While Théodore’s timing has left the team, fans, former colleagues and relatives reeling, Théodore explained in a voice note that went viral that his mother Ynise Zephyr is the reason he skipped out on the global tournament. 

“I didn’t leave soccer, but my mother needs me now,” he says in the message. “I have to find a better life for my family.”

Soccer as a means to an end

The sentiment does not surprise anyone who knew Théodore in Haiti, and that he took on the role of helping his family seriously. His parents were separated and his father’s painting work came too unsteadily to count on. Fortunately for Théodore, his talent on the field drew much interest – and cash – from teams across Haiti.

“I knew his talent, so I showered him with money. I valued him because I never wanted to lose him,” said Edmond Pierre Jr., owner of Ballon d’Or, an amateur club in Miragoane. “The leagues are only in the summer but I gave him money all year round. I gave him money every time I saw him.”

Théodore played for Bèl Kolòn in Fond-des-Blancs, a southern commune club. Buissereth Begory, the owner of the club, said in the summer of 2025 he paid Théodore for three games in advance and made him sign a contract stating Théodore would reimburse the club if he failed to show. 

Both Pierre and Begory declined to specify how much they paid the teenager. However, according to players, clubs at that level may pay $100 to $1,000 per game during the winter and summer vacation leagues, depending on their skills, experience and team budget.

Théodore was playing for Ballon d’Or in a game he tallied a goal and an assist this past summer when scouts with the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) spotted him. Soon after, FHF invited him to the under-17 team’s trials for the World Cup, which do not pay players to participate.

Pierre said Théodore told him back in July, when the teen was at the FHF training camp in Port-au-Prince, he wanted to return to his mother.

“Whenever he talked to me on the phone the first thing he said was, ‘My mom, my mom, my mom,’” Pierre recalls. “He loves his mother a lot.”

Despite his apparent homesickness, Théodore’s ability to score and his good ball control at camps in Haiti, Jamaica and Spain established him as a key player. A role that is also unpaid.

Fleeing toward ‘a better life’

While Théodore’s star rose, so did his ability to earn more, he apparently believed.

When the teenager got to Spain, an uncle in Europe helped him flee to France on Oct. 18 – supposedly to see if he could join a club there, according to multiple people in Aquin who know Théodore’s family. 

The people in Aquin who know the family told The Haitian Times Théodore’s parents condemned his decision when they found out. In town, many wondered why Théodore did not stick to playing the World Cup matches, where he could have impressed enough to earn a contract overseas.

“When I say he knows how to play, he knows how to play,” said one local, a media outlet worker who asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retribution. “Maybe his family doesn’t know what they have in their hands. He’s a gold mine.”

Neither Haitian football authorities nor Théodore responded to requests for comments on this story. Family members in Aquin could not be reached to be interviewed.

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