From its first staging in Uruguay in 1930, the magic of the World Cup has endured through a simple principle.
Irrespective of their status in the club game, individuals play for a country and a cause, seeking to bring hope and joy to the people they represent.
It’s the most powerful dynamic in sport. It will be felt this month in Buenos Aires and Benbecula. It’s hard to imagine it will resonate more anywhere on the planet than in Haiti.
Two years ago, a BBC documentary brought home the realities of everyday life in the Caribbean country.
Having dodged gunfire and driven past burning bodies in the streets of Port-au-Prince, the intrepid film crew secured an interview with a leader of one of the 100-plus gangs who control vast swathes of the capital city.
Haitian forward Ruben Providence celebrates a goal against New Zealand in a warm-up clash
‘Haiti is a failed state,’ he bluntly offered.
Ruled for 30 years from the mid 50s by Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier then his son Jean-Claude — known as ‘Baby Doc’ — around 50,000 Haitians were estimated to have been killed by a private militia known as Tontons Macoutes (Bogeymen).
Much of the educated and professional class left the country in those times as corruption became widespread.
Even when their murderous regimes ended in 1986, Haiti knew nothing but organisational chaos and natural disasters.
A hurricane in 1994 claimed over 2,000 lives, with 3,000 perishing when the island was battered again a decade later.
In January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck — the most severe in over 200 years. Some estimates claimed over 300,000 were killed and up to 1.6 million were left homeless. The situation was exacerbated by a massive cholera outbreak.
Politically, the country has rarely known stability. There have been multiple coups this century.
Five years ago, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his private residence. Ariel Henry was installed as acting prime minister but was unable to return from a visit to Africa due to threats from gangs and resigned in exile, thus creating a power vacuum.
Haiti has been riven by political unrest, public disorder and natural disasters in recent years
With its parliament defunct since 2019, Haiti currently has an interim, unelected government. Kidnappings by gangs are prevalent and the nation is perpetually gripped by an economic crisis. The average monthly wage is $45. There are few commercial flights in or out.
The national side’s very presence at the 2026 World Cup, then, defies all logic. It’s a human triumph forged through adversity, sacrifice and resilience.
Unable to stage games on its own soil due to the lawlessness, home for the side during the qualifiers was Curacao, situated 500 miles south in the Caribbean.
Incredibly, manager Sebastien Migne managed to take the team back to the global stage for the first since 1974 despite never setting foot on the island.
‘Even my wife said to me: “What are you doing, Seb?” the Frenchman recalled of the day he accepted the job two years ago.
Evidently a man who enjoys a challenge, Migne previously managed Congo and Kenya and was Cameroon’s assistant at the 2022 World Cup.
Haiti’s 4-0 aggregate defeat to Canada in the second round of qualification for Qatar underscored the scale of the job he was signing up for.
Poverty is rife in Haiti towns and cities with many people struggling to make ends meet
The 53-year-old is renowned as a shrewd tactician, but it’s been his ability to turn the Grenadiers’ unique situation on its head which has been the key to one of the great football stories of our time.
At every turn, Migne reminded his players that it was in their gift to put smiles on the faces of their people. In exile, there’s a warrior-like spirit to the side.
Second behind Curacao in Group C, another island nation busy writing its own fairytale, Haiti were then pitted against Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
On the final day, it came down to them needing to beat Nicaragua in Curacao and hope that Honduras didn’t defeat Costa Rica.
Before leaving the dressing room, veteran forward Duckens Nazon gathered the players in a huddle and spoke.
‘Yesterday, I was talking to someone who told me, “Here in Haiti, some people have 1,000 Gourdes ($7) in their pockets. They have nothing else. They only have us”.
‘Today, we have a chance to make them smile. Please don’t let them down.’
Having waited 52 years to deliver the 2-0 win which took them to the brink of the finals, Migne’s players had to wait a little longer.
French coach Sebastien Migne admits his wife thought he was crazy to take the Haiti job
With their game finishing before the Honduras match, they nervously gathered around mobile phones for confirmation of a goalless draw.
The scenes of joy at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao were nothing compared to those witnessed that night across Haiti.
It wasn’t unusual to hear gunshots. This time, though, they were fired into the night sky in celebration.
‘I saw some images on social media, it was madness in Haiti,’ Migne said. ‘Everyone was out on the streets.
‘My players will be wonderful ambassadors for a country that sorely needs them. Haiti is not an easy place, with a people who are suffering and don’t have many opportunities to celebrate.’
Migne’s achievement to this point has been forged on augmenting the core of the squad he inherited with players who qualify through a bloodline.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, the French-born Wolves midfielder, was called up for the first time last year. Likewise Ruben Providence, a fleet-footed winger who plays for Dutch side Almere City. He scored against Nicaragua.
Fans are eager to see their heroes shine on the big stage to bring a bit of joy to the country
Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, who was born in Rennes, only committed in March. Former Burnley centre-half and former Belgian youth international Hannes Delcroix, now of Lugano, was also talked round.
Most of the clubs who provide Migne’s players are familiar, but hardly from the elite bracket. Veteran goalkeeper Johny Placide is with Bastia. Experienced defender Carlens Arcus plays for Angers. Key midfielder Danley Jean Jacques is signed with Philadelphia Union.
Of the 26-man squad, only one player, midfielder Woodensky Pierre, plays his football in Haiti with Violette AC.
‘I tried to convince them,’ Migne said of his exhaustive recruitment drive. ‘Sometimes I travelled, sometimes used video calls. I often had the families, sometimes the brother who acts as an agent, it was a long process.
‘I also tried to shake up the old guard, pushing them into a corner, and I moved some of them on. I felt there was something to be done.’
The upshot has been the creation of a side which Scotland will underestimate at their peril. As they showed in their 4-0 win over New Zealand, Haiti are disciplined and organised, but they are technically sound and have the capacity to break in numbers at speed.
Nazon, a one-time St Mirren loan player who now plays with Esteghlal in Iran, has lost none of his pace at 32.
They are a dangerous opponent if Scotland aren’t wise to their strengths.
‘In one match anything can happen,’ said the manager. ‘The idea is to write a new story with these players.
Haiti will line up against Scotland in Boston determined to spring a shock for a global audience
‘We’ve been handed a tough group. But, looking on the bright side, we’ll certainly be in the limelight, which is a tremendous reward for the boys.
‘We’ll now have to go out there and prove that we’re up to the challenge.’
With their country on its knees and gaining entry to the US nigh impossible, it’s unlikely that any Haitians will travel to Boston, Philadelphia or Atlanta, where their three games are played.
But many of the diaspora will be out in force, decked out in blue and red, banging their drums and chanting passionately.
They will fervently represent those who cannot be there. Migne’s players will strive to do the same. It’s truly a cause like no other. Scotland have been warned.
‘Today, we are a people who suffer — life in Haiti isn’t easy,’ said Placide. ‘When I decided to join the national team, my goal was to bring joy to people who suffer daily through football. That’s an extraordinary power.
‘These are the kinds of messages we try to convey. And also to build a united group, because the most important thing is shared experience, objectives, and moving in the same direction together.’
