World Cup heroes are ‘ambassadors Haiti sorely needs’, says coach

PARIS – Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, is going to the 2026 World Cup – the culmination of an 19-month period of painstaking work by coach Sebastien Migne, who is yet to even visit the country.

“Even my wife said to me: ‘What are you doing, Seb’?” he told AFP on Nov 19, when recalling the moment he accepted the Haiti job in March 2024.

What the 52-year-old Frenchman has done subsequently is build a competitive team in the face of a major political, security and humanitarian crisis, and guide them to next summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, following the 2-0 win over Nicaragua on Nov 18.

“I saw some images on social media, it was madness in Haiti,” Migne said.

Fireworks and dancing erupted across the country in a reprieve from gang violence, as people came together to celebrate their national team punching their ticket to the global showpiece.

“We need a national holiday to celebrate it, with schools closed. We need pleasure and joy. Unlock the country and eradicate the gangs,” an ecstatic fan in Port-au-Prince told AFP.

These scenes of joy echoed those on the pitch at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao, where Haiti play for security reasons.

“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 added.

After the final whistle, the players and staff gathered in the centre of the pitch, eyes glued to their phones, waiting for the end of Costa Rica’s match with Honduras.

Haiti needed the sides to draw for them to qualify for just their second World Cup appearance, after their 1974 debut.

Once Costa Rica and Honduras finished goal-less, “everything exploded, with people running in all directions”, Migne said.

The coach himself struggled to contain his emotions after achieving “every footballer’s Holy Grail”.

He went to the 2022 World Cup as Rigobert Song’s assistant with Cameroon, but this time he will be the man in charge.

The Frenchman has so far been unable to set foot in Haiti as the capital Port-au-Prince is mostly under the control of gangs, who forced the then Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign in early 2024.

But he will get the chance to make the trip in early 2026 when the local championship restarts and he can scout local talent.

“The Haitian people are waiting for a sign, and we’re going to show them that we’re here,” Migne promised.

This achievement is the reward for nearly two years of graft in which he “took up his pilgrim’s staff to convince dual nationals to join the adventure” and worked to improve conditions for the team.

“Before signing, I scouted them, I established the potential of players such as Ruben Providence and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde,” Migne explained.

“I tried to convince them, 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.”

He brought on board left winger Providence, one of the goalscorers against Nicaragua, as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Bellegarde for this final qualifying phase.

Migne also coaxed Burnley centre-half and former Belgian youth international Hannes Delcroix into the fold, among others.

To persuade dual nationals, Migne “sometimes travelled, sometimes used video calls, I often had the families, sometimes the brother who acts as an agent, it was a long process,” he recounted.

But his recruitment drive is not over, with the chance to play in the World Cup a potential draw for players such as Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor or Odsonne Edouard, who has five goals and an assist in his first nine Ligue 1 games since moving to Lens in the summer. AFP