Haiti at the World Cup is more than an underdog tale – it is the story of global migration

Laurent Dubois, University of Virginia

When Haiti’s soccer team lines up against Scotland on June 13, 2026, its players will be representing the Caribbean nation at a World Cup for the first time since 1974. They will also embody the complexities and possibilities of Haiti and its diaspora.

Of the 26 players selected for the squad, only 10 were born in Haiti. And just one, Woodensky Pierre, plays for a Haitian club. Twelve were born in France of Haitian parents, one in Canada, one in Switzerland and two in the United States.

The team is both a symbol of national pride and a condensation of battles Haitians have long fought for dignity and self-determination. Soccer commentator Nico Cantor captured this powerfully when he effused about the deep meaning of Haiti’s qualification for the World Cup on Nov. 18, 2025, exactly 222 years after revolutionary leader JeanJacques Dessalines fought a famous battle against the French on the way to independence. “Their national team has given Haiti something to be proud of,” Cantor said. “It is historic for many reasons.”

The life histories brought together for the 2026 tournament capture the broader story of Haitian migration, but they also illustrate the different kinds of opportunities young athletes have in different countries.

Some of Haiti’s players, like Hannes Delcroix, have had access to the most elite and well-resourced structures in global soccer. He was born in the Artibonite Valley in Haiti but as a child moved with his parents to Belgium. There, he trained at the youth academy of the Belgium professional team Anderlecht and also played on Belgium’s international youth teams.

He now plays professionally in Switzerland.

But it is France’s soccer infrastructure that has in many ways most deeply shaped the trajectories of Haiti’s team. The Haitian diaspora in France is much smaller than in the U.S. – it is estimated at around 100,000 – but its children have had access to one of the most successful systems for soccer training in the world.

Facing many social and economic barriers, children of immigrants, many of whom live in the housing projects in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, often see an athletic career as their best chance for success. And the country invests heavily in sporting infrastructure with high level of state investment at the local and national level.

As a result, immigrant communities in France have become some of the most remarkable generators of soccer talent in the world. Two of the standouts of the French national team – Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappé – are products of the French soccer system. and both are sons of African immigrants. Meanwhile, 75 players born in France will be playing on non-French national teams.

Haiti’s talisman and top scorer, Duckens Nazon, was born in a Parisian suburb and played with a series of French professional teams before being recruited to the English team Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017. His stint there was brief, and he has since moved a few times, playing professionally in Iran for Estaghlal this past year and having to make a harrowing escape from the war there in order to be able to play in the World Cup.

The strong representation of Franco-Haitian players, and the relatively small number of those born in the U.S., speaks volumes about the difference in the infrastructure and structure of opportunity around soccer in the two countries.

Whatever happens on the pitch for Haiti this tournament, their games are going to be an occasion for unity and celebration.

Haiti team’s fans are legendary for their passion.

And if, like Sanon in 1974, one of Haiti’s new generation of players breaks through and scores a goal, the celebration will be truly global.

[Abridged]