Read 6 minutes21 Jun 2026 06:59 PM IST
The Haiti was defeatedBut they shed no tears in the Philadelphia arena. They danced and chanted, uttering the most powerful phrase in their history, ‘grenadi, alasso’. Or march the grenadiers, a tribute to the revolutionaries who ousted Napoleon’s French army. “We lost, but we fought. We’re proud of it, and that’s our tradition,” says Thomas Ihiogene, an ardent fan in his 30s.
“Just to qualify for the tournament is a huge achievement and it brings a nation together,” he says. He does not resort to the usual Mino-speak, but from his own harrowing personal experience. “Most of us here, the fans and the team, have one thing in common. We don’t have a home,” he says with a lump in his throat. Now that football has brought them under one roof, families who left Haiti decades ago, all torn apart by war, now sing, dance and pray for their team.
He fled Haiti in 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home and wild gangs fled each other. “It is not livable. They will knock on doors and demand money. Otherwise, they shoot us or kidnap women and children. We fled Port-au-Prince (the capital) a few weeks after the president was killed,” he said of fleeing to the US.
A UN report said about 1.4 million were displaced, nearly 20,000 people were killed and twice as many went missing. Some fled to the Dominican Republic, the only country they share a border with. The more ambitious tried to take a ferry from the port of Mole Saint-Nicolas across the Caribbean to Cuba and from there to America. “But many of them were caught and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. Fortunately, we had documents and we reached Jamaica. Within a few years we produced our documents and we were able to come to the USA as refugees,” he says. He and most of his family settled in Miami, where he runs a restaurant with his two brothers.
The Haitians were defeated, but they shed no tears on the field in Philadelphia. They danced and chanted, uttering the most powerful phrase in their history, ‘grenadi, alasso’. (Express Photo)
Similarly, Haitian footballers could not play a single World Cup qualifying game in their country, but had to play all their matches in Curaçao. Gangs ransacked Haiti’s old stadium, the Stade Silvio Cater, and destroyed its facilities, making it impossible to play. Johnson, who left his country decades ago, recalls Charles: “I went to the stadium, a beautiful stadium with lots of palm trees. I heard from relatives, the whole building was also demolished. It’s sad that they can’t play, but how can you play with such fear?”
Two years before the gangs took over the stadium, the visiting team was almost held hostage at gunpoint. When Belize visited Port-au-Prince for a match, a group of armed men held up the team bus for an hour. They left them vulnerable and the Belize players did not come out to practice. A month later they played Canada and never again did the players have the pleasure of playing at home.
Surprisingly, only 10 of the 26 members were born in the country. The rest came from expat communities scattered around the world. Twelve were born in France of Haitian parents, one in Canada, one in Switzerland, and two in the United States.
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Haiti and the US have a long soccer relationship—the USA’s first major upset against England in 1950 was a goal by Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens, who worked as a dishwasher. Only one of them, Woodensky Pierre, plays for the Haitian club. He is from the seaside slum of Cite Soleil, home to powerful gang leaders. “There was a moment when I thought I would never get to this point because things were so hard, I had no support, nothing,” he told CNN. “I didn’t grow up in a rich family, my mother was a street vendor and my father always had a side job. All I had was football.”
The 21-year-old defensive midfielder was the last member of his team to get a visa, because under the USA Donald Trump Ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. The District of Columbia Court granted review on appeal, remanding the Supreme Court to rule. “Where shall we go? India?” Charles says with a smile.
But centuries of violence and living in exile have created an unyielding resistance. “We are the first country to abolish slavery and drive out the Europeans. So we are a small but strong nation, not afraid of tomorrow, always partying and enjoying the moment. If we are asked to leave America, we will find a new place. Once you live away from home, it doesn’t matter where you live,” adds Fan.
Fans didn’t burden themselves with expectations. An emotional Thomas says: “Strong teams dream of winning the World Cup. But we are happy to see it because you never know when we will play in another World Cup or where we will be.” The festivities resumed and will begin with their last game.