Haiti Qualified for the World Cup, But Just How Welcomed Will They Be? | OneFootball

One of the best stories from the World Cup qualifying cycle, Haiti will be returning to the biggest stage in all of sports. But with travel bans and visa restrictions in place, it may prove difficult for Haitians abroad to see their team in person next summer. 

It is a muggy November night in Willemstad, Curaçao. The final round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying looms, as it does every four years. But this time, it’s different. The three giants of the confederation, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, qualified automatically as hosts, leaving three automatic places up for grabs among the traditional Central American and Caribbean minnows.

Haiti are forced to play their final match not at home in Port-au-Prince, but instead some 500 miles to the south on an artificial pitch in Dutch-controlled Curaçao. This less-than-ideal situation owes to the political instability and gang violence that rocks the Haitian capital, symptoms of Haiti’s two centuries-long status as an international punching bag for the world’s great colonial powers.

A ticket to the World Cup Finals is on the line. Haiti must not only defeat the Nicaraguan side in front of them, but pray for Costa Rica to do them a favor and hold Group C rivals Honduras to less than a full three points in their match at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose.

The minuscule stadium is half-empty, but chants and drums echo through the tropical night in a cacophony of hope and Haitian spirit. FC Dallas winger Louicius Don Deedson breaks the deadlock after nine minutes with a sumptuous left-footed finish from the top of the box. The Haitian bench erupts in cheers and spills onto the pitch to celebrate with the goal-scoring hero, and maybe, just maybe, they allow themselves to dream of a return to the game’s biggest stage after a staggering 51-year absence.

Haiti sees out the victory, but is now left to wait on the result of Honduras versus Costa Rica. The excruciating minutes tick away. Haitian players gather around assistant coaches in huddles, watching the match on their phones. Honduras go agonizingly close in the 89th minute, but Costa Rican legend Keylor Navas somehow manages to keep them at bay. Finally, after nine minutes of injury time which must feel to the Haitians like nine decades, Canadian referee Drew Fischer blows for full time.

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The celebrations erupt, fireworks burst, and the traveling Haitian fans on the far side of the pitch erupt in a euphoria not known to the beleaguered nation for more than half a century. Talismanic striker Duckens Nazon, who saved Haiti’s bacon with a dramatic away hat trick in a 3-3 draw with Costa Rica in September, breaks down in tears of joy at finally reaching the summit of world football.

Les Grenadiers return to the World Cup for the first time since the 1974 edition held in West Germany. They took the only place allotted to CONCACAF, shocking defending continental champions Mexico by winning four out of five qualification matches to finish atop the six-team tournament.

The team was captained by a striker who some consider to be the Haitian GOAT: Emmanuel Sanon. He managed 37 goals for Haiti across 68 appearances, but his career highlight almost certainly came at Munich’s Olympiastadion in June of 1974. The Haitians were drawn into this tournament’s Group of Death, which featured powerhouses Italy and Argentina, as well as a solid Poland side which defeated both England and Wales en route to qualification.

Their first match began brightly as they held the Italians to 0-0 in the first half in Munich. Then, immediately after the restart, Sanon latched onto a hopeful through ball, expertly rounded Italian keeper Dino Zoff before finishing calmly to give Haiti a shock lead. The Italians would storm back to win 3-1, but for a brief moment, the Caribbeans signaled their intent to the rest of the world that they were here to do more than make up the numbers.

Sanon went on to score against Argentina in the final group match, but the Haitians had already been eliminated by a lopsided 7-0 defeat to Poland in the second match.

Sanon held the record for most international goals for Haiti until Nazon eclipsed his mark in 2024. The striker even went on to coach Haiti at the 2000 Gold Cup, where the team finished last in Group B behind the United States and Peru. Sanon died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, but was granted a state funeral by the Haitian government, which also awarded his family a perpetual pension in honor of his feats of greatness at the 1974 World Cup.

A Source of Pride

EPA/Mentor David Lorens

To say that the Haitians needed this win would be something of an understatement. The nation of 12 million has been rocked during recent years by political instability, gang violence, and natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. June of 2024 saw Kenyan soldiers deployed by the United Nations to quell the organized crime that had the levers of Haitian power wrapped around their fingers, but the mission was largely seen as a failure.

But Haiti has always been a soccer-obsessed nation. Knockoff Messi and Ronaldo jerseys are a common sight around the major cities of Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, and despite its tribulations, the nation has produced a plethora of international caliber players who ply their trade professionally across the leagues of Europe, mainly in France’s Ligue 1.

But when it comes to international soccer, the past few years have not been kind to Haiti. The 2010 earthquake wreaked havoc on the Haitian Football Federation, with reports of more than 30 members of the organization having been killed by the quake and its aftermath. After an arduous rebuild, Haiti reached the fourth round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, but managed only four points in the entire round to finish in last place. Les Grenadiers went on a shock run the following summer to the semifinals of the 2019 Gold Cup. They fell in extra time to a controversial Mexico penalty, when Haitian defender Hervé Bazile was adjudged to have felled Raul Jimenez in the penalty area in the 93rd minute.

But the squad that qualified for the 2025 World Cup is a tried-and-true blend of old and new, of experience and youthful exuberance. Each of the players is based internationally, with half native-born Haitians while the others are children of Haitian parents born in places like the United States and France. Head coach Sebastian Migne took the reins of the team in June 2024 after having served as an assistant for Cameroon during the 2022 World Cup. He managed to guide the team to qualification despite never having actually set foot in the nation of Haiti, due to its precarious safety situation.

Haiti’s qualification set off a wave of celebrations across the country and its diaspora alike. Some fans chanted: “We don’t even have a government, but we qualified!”

The victory was also symbolic as it occurred on November 18, the same day of the historic Battle of Vertiéres, in which Haitian General Jean-Jacques Dessalines defeated a French force of 2,000 soldiers in a bid to free the captured Haitian hero Toussaint Louverture from a French prison. It’s known as the final battle of Haitian independence.

American Political Climate

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While the Haitian national team celebrates its historic qualification, members of the Haitian diaspora in the United States find themselves in a tenuous situation.

Haitians have been something of a target for the immigration policy of the latest Trump Administration. From unfounded accusations of pet-eating during the 2024 presidential campaign cycle to President Donald Trump revoking Haitian nationals’ Temporary Protected Status in September of this year, those who have fled the Caribbean nation’s unstable political and economic climate will be feeling particularly aggrieved by the federal government’s draconian measures. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, upwards of 700,000 Haitian immigrants live in the United States, with the majority residing in major metropolitan areas like New York and Miami.

I spoke to Sauve Sonkey, principal attorney at The Law Office of S. Sonkey, PLLC, and a U.S.-based immigration attorney practicing nationwide, regarding the policy shifts for Haitians in the United States.

“The travel restrictions and the end of [Temporary Protected Status] have created serious instability for Haitians both inside the United States and abroad,” Sonkey said. “Clients who relied on TPS to maintain lawful presence and work authorization suddenly faced losing their status after building entire lives here. Many have U.S. citizen children, jobs, and deep community ties, and the policy shift pushed families into crisis. For Haitians abroad, the travel ban has made it extremely difficult to enter the United States, even for humanitarian reasons. I’ve seen cases where families cannot reunite during medical emergencies or funerals because the consulates are not issuing visas for Haitian nationals with any consistency.”

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What’s more, in June of 2025, President Trump issued an executive order, effectively banning the entry of citizens from 19 different countries in order, according to the proclamation, “to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

The language of this executive order does provide exceptions for athletes competing in high-level sporting competitions, so there has been little concern expressed that Haitian players themselves will not be allowed into the United States, but Haitian fans have been left at an uncertain crossroads.

The Trump Administration and FIFA President Gianni Infantino have been clamoring to present the United States as a welcoming environment for fans from around the globe. The U.S. Department of State website features the following saccharine quote, attributed to President Trump: “This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase the beauty and the greatness of America. And we can’t wait to welcome soccer fans from all over the globe.”

Their actions, however, serve as a counter-indication of this message of welcome. The administration has not considered lifting its travel ban on the 19 affected countries. Until recently, it had not sought to streamline the visa application process for foreign fans. Both the governments of Russia and Qatar, not exactly known for their forward thinking on the issue of human rights, employed a “Soccer Fan ID” visa system in which holding tickets for World Cup matches amounted to holding a visa to enter the country for the duration of the tournament.

The Trump administration, in a move that some describe as too-little-too-late, announced that foreign fans in possession of World Cup tickets would be allowed to jump to the front of the line in terms of booking visa interviews at American consulates around the world. But this isn’t a guarantee of entry. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House: “Your ticket is not a visa; it doesn’t guarantee admission to the U.S. We’re going to do the same vetting as anybody else would get. The only difference here is we’re moving them up in the queue.”

This leaves Haitian fans, as well as Iranians, who also find themselves on Trump’s list of banned countries, with little chance of traveling to the United States to see their team on the world’s biggest stage. While the State Department has invited citizens of banned countries to go ahead and apply for visas, it has been made clear that they have sparingly little chance of being approved.

“Every visitor visa applicant must prove they do not intend to immigrate,” Sonkey said. “That burden is already difficult for many travelers. For nationals of countries under travel restrictions, it becomes even harder to satisfy. A Haitian or Iranian fan must still overcome the presumption of immigrant intent, and under the current policy climate, that is extremely unlikely.”

What Now?

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Luckily for the Haitian national team, the diaspora living in the United States should be more than large and enthusiastic enough to fill out stadiums during the 2026 World Cup. There has been the suggestion that all of their games could be moved to Canada or Mexico to make it easier on traveling fans, but the group locations have been set, and the draw, as far as we are told, is made randomly.

The Trump Administration does not seem keen to back down on this fight. It remains to be seen if other nations will recommend against traveling to the United States, in light of heavy-handed treatment of visitors to the country in recent months.

Infantino does not appear to want to fight Trump on much of anything, recently backing up Trump’s claim that World Cup matches could theoretically be moved away from cities with mayors that Trump doesn’t personally like. It’s nothing new for FIFA to cozy up to strongmen, but it feels jarring when it’s done so out in the open.

I, for one, will be pulling for Les Grenadiers at next summer’s tournament. They’ve shown guile, a never-say-die attitude, and a positivity that shows us that anything is possible. Wait — aren’t those supposed to be American values?