Haiti’s FIFA World Cup players get a hero’s welcome on the island
Three members of Haiti’s FIFA World Cup squad finally stepped foot in the Caribbean nation on Sunday, where they were welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd at Cap-Haïtien International Airport.
Haiti was eliminated from the World Cup after losing its three group-stage matches to Scotland, Brazil and Morocco. But the team’s first World Cup qualification in 52 years has inspired a wave of national pride and unity across the country and throughout its diaspora.
On Sunday, players Duckens Nazon, Martin Expérience and Josué Duverger arrived to show their gratitude. They were greeted at the airport by scores of supporters, along with officials from the Ministry of Tourism and the Cap-Haïtien City Hall. Social media personality Ariana Lafond was also in attendance.
During their weeklong visit, the players will tour several popular landmarks and locations including the Citadelle Henry in the northern city of Milot and travel to parts of southern Haiti, including Île-à-Vache, Camp-Perrin and Jacmel.
On Tuesday the group is also expected to visit Port-au-Prince, the capital.
Haiti-based Sunrise Airways transported the players as part of a collaboration between the airline and Nomad Travel to have them tour the southern and northern regions of the country.
The Haitian Football Federation had hoped to organize the players’ visit before the tournament, but those plans did not materialize due to a lack of government coordination.
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The three players had traveled from Paris on Saturday to Miami, where they were received by the local Haitian consul general at Miami International Airport before boarding their flight to Cap-Haïtien.
As the players continued to be feted in Haiti’s second-largest city, across the Caribbean in St. Lucia where Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is attending the 51st regular meeting of the Caribbean Community, Les Grenadiers’ achievement was also saluted. The only Caribbean country to qualify twice for the World Cup, Haiti joined the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao as the only territories that had teams qualify for this year’s 48-nation tournament.
The national soccer teams’ “dynamic representation in FIFA World Cup 2026 has proudly showcased the energy and spirit of the Caribbean people,” Carla Barnett, secretary general of CARICOM said to a round of applause.
This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 3:23 PM.
