Haiti celebrates its second World Cup qualification in history despite the violence

Port-au-Prince (EFE).- Hundreds of people took to the streets in the Haitian capital, despite the high levels of violence it suffers, to celebrate the second qualification of their national soccer team to a World Cup, after defeating Nicaragua 2-0 on Tuesday in the last match of Group C of the qualifiers.

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At the end of the match, the Haitians celebrated the victory with shots and shouts of joy that resonated in several corners of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, mostly plunged into darkness due to the inability of the public company to produce and distribute energy to the entire capital.

In Pétion-ville, in the heights of Port-au-Prince, hundreds of people celebrated this long-awaited victory to the chorus of “hey! hey! hey!”, which they sang while running, some barefoot and others shirtless. The selection of Haiti, led by the Frenchman Sébastien Migné, will play in the World Cup for the second time in its history after its only participation, in Germany 1974, in which it was eliminated in the first round.

Historical Classification for Haiti

Due to the insecurity prevailing in the country, Haiti is forced to play its matches abroad; on this occasion, it was Curaçao, since March 2024, its main football stadium, the Stade Sylvio Cator, has fallen under the control of the armed gangs of the terrorist coalition Viv Ansanm (Live Together), which controls at least 90% of the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince. But despite this crisis, this was an occasion to celebrate.

The president of Haiti’s Presidential Transition Council (CPT), Laurent Saint-Cyr, expressed in a statement his “most sincere congratulations” to the selection. Saint-Cyr highlighted that “on this symbolic day of November 18, the date of the Battle of Vertières, the Grenadiers have given the Haitian people a moment of deep pride and national communion.”

Panama, Curacao and Haiti increase to 42 the teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup

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At the same time, he praised the “exceptional” performance of the team during these qualifiers. A classification that, according to him, “revives hope, inspires youth, reinforces national cohesion and restores to an entire people the conviction that, together, everything is possible.”

Haiti remains standing, resilient

The national team’s remarkable performance “reminds us that, despite the difficulties, Haiti is still standing, resilient and willing to write a new page in its history,” continued the press release, in which the authorities reaffirm their commitment to support sports in the country. For his part, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé called this classification “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 classification is another flame of hope that is lit, a seed of union that grows,” he affirmed.

The French embassy in Haiti, in a brief message on its Facebook page, congratulated the Haitian selection for its classification: “Fifty-one years later, the Grenadiers, driven by the spirit of Vertières, once again write their name in the history of football this November 18,” it highlighted. The United States had the same reaction, congratulating Haiti on its victory, “an achievement that reflects the dedication, resilience, and talent of the team and the nation.