Haiti’s footballers will end a wait of several generations this summer when they step out to compete at their first World Cup since 1974.
For the island nation of some 11m people in the Caribbean, it is a moment many thought they would never see again.
Sadly, it is a moment not many will actually get to see in person.
For while the footballers coached by Sébastien Migné prepare to play Brazil, Scotland and Morocco on US soil, back home the country is in the grip of an explosive gang crisis.
A presidential assassination left the nation in uncharted waters. It is a country under siege, with kidnappings, extortion and sexual violence forcing many to leave.
More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024. Armed gangs currently control about 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Coach Migne has never even stepped foot on the island. There have not been elections since 2016.
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Haiti while the United Nations say violence by armed groups has forced 1.4 million people, or 12% of the population, to flee their homes. Nearly six million people do not have enough to eat.
“It is very dangerous now in Haiti,” says forward Don Deedson Louicius, who left the island at the age of 14 for a new life in the US and scored four crucial goals in qualification.
“I still have friends and family there, they have had to leave their homes. The neighbourhood where I grew up, even my old house, has been burned a few months ago by gangs.
“Even after our qualification you expect to go home and celebrate with people and we haven’t had the chance to do that.”
Why is there a US travel ban on Haiti?
When Haiti qualified for the World Cup last November there was widespread elation, with many people taking to the streets late at night for the first time since 2021.
Sadly, the next day it was business as usual. The team have not even been able to play a match on the island since the armed gangs stepped into the power vacuum created by President Jovenel Moise's death in 2021.
US airlines stopped all flights to Haiti after planes were shot at by gangs in 2024.
Bullets hit a Spirit Airlines plane when it was about to land in the capital Port-au-Prince, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to shut down.
A current travel ban from President Trump looks likely to prevent Haitian nationals from attending the nation’s three group games, beginning against Scotland on 13 June.
“A lot of people worry about this, not every Haitian will be able to go to the US even if they wanted to,” said Louicius, whose parents moved to Orlando in 2021.
“It’s bigger than football. I am not a politician but everyone should have the choice to come and watch. After 52 years everyone wants to see the games, it’s a bad thing that not everyone will have the chance to see it.”
The national stadium, Stade Sylvio Cator, is located in a no man’s land, a red zone. The Haitian federation confirmed in 2024 that it had lost possession of the facility.
“We haven’t been able to play at home since 2021,” The Dallas FC forward says.
“We played some big games away, Curacao has become like a home to us. Haiti is a big soccer country, but for some of our games in Curacao we only had 500 people there. The away team had more fans than us. We managed to win that way but it wasn’t easy.”
Against the odds, Haiti finished top of their group to pip Honduras and Costa Rica for a place at the newly expanded tournament this summer.
Louicius, 24, will go down in history on the island when he faces Brazil in Philadelphia on 19 June.
He said: “It’s very exciting to be able to play at this level. The people in Haiti have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“Since I have been part of the squad the players from 1974 are always spoken about. That World Cup is talked about every day since it happened and now all the players of today are making history. To make it happen after 50 years is huge.
“Everyone in Haiti is excited, and everyone who loves soccer in Haiti loves Brazil.
“Normally when Haiti are not in the World Cup people support Brazil or Argentina so for us to play them is big, it’s very exciting.”
'The hope for us players is things will change'
Haiti’s third game will be played in Atlanta against Morocco on 24 June.
It completes a remarkable journey for Louicius and his family, after he moved to the city alone as a teenager chasing the dream of turning pro.
“I left at Haiti at 14 and went to live in Atlanta, now I am going to play there in the World Cup - I could never have imagined that,” he says.
“I will have a lot of people coming to see me play if they can get tickets, some friends from school, ex team-mates.
“My dad had a friend who used to play in the Haiti national team and he saw me play and he said I could go to the US.
“My dad supported me, my parents couldn’t come with me so my dad’s friend took me to stay with an American family.
“I didn’t know them, my parents didn’t know them so we were taking a chance but they have become like a family to me. I still see them and I owe them a lot.”
Louicius will be living his personal dream this summer. And hopes for more.
The hope that football can unite such a broken country as Haiti may seem trite. But it is one Louicius and his team-mates cling to.
“The hope for the players is that things will change, we hope we can help make a different country,” he said.
