Miami Haitian community celebrates Haiti's first World Cup appearance in 52 years

Members of Miami’s large Haitian diaspora gathered at a North Miami art museum on a rainy Saturday to cheer Haiti’s national soccer team, which qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974. Players such as forward Duckens Nazon and defender Martin Experience addressed fans, with Nazon saying in Creole, “We will show that we are united, no matter what,” and expressing hope that the tournament will mark “a new Haiti.”

The celebration featured Haitian flags, compas music and a meet‑and‑greet where community members, like 49‑year‑old Odeline Paul, shared their pride and the challenges of attending matches. Organizers emphasized the symbolic importance of the qualification amid Haiti’s ongoing crisis of gang violence, hunger and homelessness, which has forced the team to play “home” qualifiers on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao and delayed US visa processing for a Haiti‑based player.