At the invitation of the Brazilian government, Haiti’s under-17 football team is expected to prepare for the World Cup in Qatar, between November and December, at a Navy sports center in Rio de Janeiro.
The invitation was also made to the main Haitian team, Brazil’s opponent in the 2026 World Cup, but was refused because the country’s federation had already arranged its training bases in the United States, one of the hosts of the competition.
Of the squad that will face Brazil in Philadelphia this Friday (19), only one of the 26 called up from Haiti (midfielder Woodensky Pierre) plays in local football – whose championship is active, in fits and starts, given the chaotic situation in the country.
Terrified by gang violence, Haiti is experiencing a serious institutional crisis, worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in July 2021.
The rest of the Haitian team plays in Europe (mainly France), the Americas (mainly the USA) and even in Iran. And the majority (16) were not even born in the country.
Very close to the south of the USA, the Caribbean country prepared for the World Cup first in Florida, and then at Stockton University, in New Jersey, its official base during the tournament.
According to the report, the invitation to train in Rio was made via the Brazilian Embassy in Port-au-Prince and has the support of the Guimarães Rosa Institute, of Itamaraty, with help from the NGO Viva Rio – which works on social projects in Haiti.
One of the 48 classified for the under-17 World Cup, Haiti will prepare for the tournament in Qatar between September and October at the Almirante Adalberto Nunes Physical Education Center (Cefan), of the Brazilian Navy, in the Penha neighborhood, in Rio.
The U17 Cup will take place from November 19th to December 13th. The Haitians are in Group D, along with France, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
Brazil and Haiti have maintained diplomatic relations for 98 years, which were reinforced by MINUSTAH – the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti led militarily by Brazilians for 13 years, from 2004 to 2017 – and by the migratory wave of Haitians to Brazil after the 2010 earthquake. It is estimated that 150,000 Haitians currently live in the country.
For Ricardo Seitenfus, former special representative of the OAS in Haiti (2009-2011) and author of books about the Caribbean country, the invitation reinforces ties between the two nations.
“Haiti has long become a brotherly country. We can draw a parallel between this invitation and what Brazil did when welcoming thousands of Haitians without much delay or bureaucracy after the 2010 earthquake. Of the countries in which I have lived, Haiti is by far the one that welcomed me best”, says Seitenfus, retired professor from the Federal University of Santa Maria (RS) and doctor in international relations from the University of Geneva.
Haitians are passionate about Brazilian football and usually support the team in World Cups.
This is Haiti’s second participation in the World Cup. The first was in 1974, in Germany, when they fell in the first phase, with three defeats in three games.
