History Made: A Gang-controlled Caribbean Nation Heads To 2026 World Cup

Haiti’s qualification for nan 2026 World Cup, sealed connected Tuesday night, is thing short of surreal, a fairy communicative calved retired of unimaginable chaos. 

It’s nan first clip nan Caribbean state has made it to nan finals since 1974, and they only sealed nan woody aft watching nan decorativeness of nan Honduras vs. Costa Rica lucifer connected someone’s phone. While they were beating Nicaragua, that 0‑0 tie crossed nan h2o meant nan magic happened.

The backstory: a squad successful exile, without a stadium, and a state successful axenic chaos

But here’s nan story: Haiti’s “home” run didn’t hap successful Haiti. Since July 2021, nan nationalist squad hasn’t played a azygous qualifier connected location soil. Why? Because equipped gangs now power almost each area of Port‑au‑Prince, nan country’s capital, making it excessively dangerous. So they played their expected location games successful Willemstad, Curaçao, astir 800 kilometres away. 

And it gets moreover darker. Their biggest stadium, Stade Sylvio Cator, was stormed by pack members successful early March 2024. The Haitian Football Federation admitted that equipped criminals “invaded and occupied” nan site. The spot was vandalised and moreover group connected fire.

Meanwhile, nan superior of Port-au-Prince lives successful a near-permanent authorities of terror. Gangs person carved up Port‑au‑Prince into criminal fiefdoms, moving nan show much than immoderate government. They artifact roads, hoard food, and terrorise full neighbourhoods. The UN has warned that pack unit has displaced complete a cardinal Haitians. 

The French coach ne'er went to Haiti

Amid that, nan team’s French coach, Sébastien Migné, has ne'er moreover been to nan country. He told France Football: “It’s impossible. Too dangerous, and location are nary world flights landing successful Haiti anymore.”

At 52, Migné runs nan full run from abroad, relying connected off‑site scans and federation bulletins. 

And nan squad? It’s not made up of locals kicking it astir Port-au-Prince, but it’s mostly diaspora Haitians. Players calved successful France, nan US, Canada, moreover Switzerland are pulling connected nan nationalist shirt. Some haven’t moreover group ft successful Haiti, conscionable for illustration nan coach.

After all, this is much than a sports story. Haiti is battered by violence, but successful nan madness, its squad conscionable built a uncommon infinitesimal of unity, qualifying for nan World Cup. From exile, ever connected nan road, nether threat, and against each odds.

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