Haiti Reaches the World Cup Despite Violence, Exile and a U.S. Travel Ban

Haiti has qualified for the World Cup for only the second time in its history, and for the first time since 1974, even though the country is in deep crisis and cannot host matches at home. The article says the team led by coach Frantzdy Pierrot will go to the tournament after an extraordinary campaign built amid instability, poverty and widespread gang rule.

The country has been one of the world’s most violent in recent years. After President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by foreign mercenaries in 2021, no elections were held. Protests over inflation and a collapsing power grid had already shaken his rule, and today gangs are estimated to control about 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. UN officials have described Haiti as a failed state and called the situation an “endless horror story.” A July 2025 UN report said more than 1.3 million people have been displaced and 85% of Port-au-Prince is under gang control.

The violence has directly affected football. In March 2024, gangs seized the national Sylvio Cator stadium, vandalized it, and the federation said it had lost control of the venue. Haiti has not played a home official match on its own soil since July 2021, when it hosted Canada in World Cup qualifying. Since then, home games have been moved to Curaçao, 800 kilometers away, after options in Canada, the United States and the Dominican Republic became difficult or impossible. Coach Sébastien Migné said, “It’s like a closed door for Haiti everywhere.”

The team’s story also includes a U.S. travel ban. In June last year, Donald Trump added Haiti to a list of countries whose citizens could not enter the United States, along with Iran and Afghanistan, making it hard for local fans to attend if the team plays there. The order claimed Haiti lacked reliable law enforcement and asserted, without evidence, that mass illegal migration from Haiti posed national security risks.

On the field, Haiti’s heroes include 38-year-old goalkeeper Johnny Placide, striker Duckens Nazon, who has 44 goals in 78 appearances, defender Ricardo Adé, and Ruben Providence. The squad also features players with links to France, Belgium and England, and many made their first qualifying appearances in this campaign. Haiti is now the third-longest overdue team to reach a World Cup, behind Indonesia and Cuba in 1938, and Israel in 1970. The team also added Poland’s flag to its kit, honoring a historic bond dating back to the early 19th century.