Haiti’s national football team provided some of the year’s rare moments of collective joy in 2019, with the Grenadiers’ performances in regional competition drawing passionate support from a country desperate for positive news. Football — soccer — is Haiti’s most popular sport, followed with an intensity that crosses all class and political lines, and the national team’s successes offered brief but genuine respites from the grinding anxiety of the political crisis.
Haitian football had been on an upward trajectory in recent years, with improved youth development programs and several Haitian-heritage players establishing themselves in major European leagues. The connection to the diaspora was particularly strong in football, with players of Haitian descent from Canada, France, and the United States representing the country alongside those born on the island.
Local club football also continued to function through much of the crisis, with matches in the national league providing entertainment and a sense of normalcy for communities that badly needed it. Stadium attendance was affected by security concerns and economic hardship, but the passion for the game remained undimmed.
For community organizations working with young Haitians, football programs served purposes beyond athletics — providing structure, mentorship, and safe spaces for young people in neighborhoods where the alternatives were increasingly dominated by gang activity. The ball, in difficult times, remained one of the most powerful tools of community development.