soccer - Haiti Observer Blog

The government of Haiti (GOH) is always looking for new ways to grow its economy. Of the sectors of tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing, most of its time and money has been spent on attracting tourist dollars. Now the question posed by the GOH is, can a newly-created sports sector revive the Haitian economy?

In response, GOH ministries and other government departments are holding the 1st Sport Business Forum at the Petion-Ville Royal Oasis Hotel. The forum will convene sports executives and former and current players in professional sports: National Basketball Association (NBA), National Basketball Retired Players (NBRPA), and Harlem Globetrotters.

Besides participating in the forum, the NBRPA are touring as Legends of Basketball. They will visit hospitals and healthcare clinics in the poverty-stricken Central Plateau Region. They are partnering with Medishare, which is committed to offering a full complement of healthcare services in the area.

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Do not let yourself fouled by the recent performance of the Haitian Soccer team, the days of great Haitian soccer seem to be well behind us. Haiti is unable to give birth to people like Emmanuel Sanon, Phillippe Vorbe, Ernst Jean-Joseph, Henry Francillon, Arsene Auguste, Pierre Bayonne, Roger Saint-Vil, just to name a few.

You may think that I am dreaming but the reality is that what we were so good at doing in the past just stays in the past.

We were the number one in soccer for the Caribbean

With sadness, I am announcing that this will never happen again. This position of being king in the Caribbean as far as soccer is concerned has slipped away from our hands.

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September 6th, 2013 saw a first in football history as the Grenadiers took on South Korea, a new frontier for the world's favorite sport. Played in Seoul, the match saw coach Antonio Israel Blake Cantero replaced by interim coach Pierre Roland Saint-Jean. Saint-Jean will coach until a newly appointed coach is selected by the FHF (Haitian Football Federation).

Recently placing 74th on the most current ranking from FIFA, the Haitian team looked to best their rivals, coming in at 56 on the same list, in a friendly match to honor their first meet on the green of the Incheon Football Stadium. The game was made possible by the pulling out of the team from Iran, which dropped their scheduled game with South Korea early in the month of August.

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The U.S. has been chosen for the fifth time to hold the 12th annual Gold Cup. Thirteen soccer fields will be filled with roaring fans over the three-week tournament in July. Soldier Field in Chicago will hold the final game.

Twelve teams will vie for the Gold Cup in the CONCACAF play-offs to challenge the 2015 Gold Cup winner in a one-match game. The winner will then play in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

The twelve teams are divided into three groups of four teams each, groups A, B, and C. Mexico heads group A, playing to retain the trophy. Its top player, Raúl Jiménez, in striker position, will play alongside Alfredo Talavera and six other teammates from the 2012 Olympics team: Darvin Chavez, Javier Cortes, Israel Jiménez, Marco Fabian, Miguel Ponce, and Jorge Enriquez. The Mexico team will be coached by Raúl Gutierrez.

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Sixty-third ranked Haiti's Les Grenadiers managed a tie-score game against soccer-world champions, Italy, at an exhibition game in Rio de Janeiro. The final score was 2-2. Italy took an early lead, scoring the first goal 19 seconds after the game had started. Made by mid-fielder, Emanuele Giaccherini, it set a record for the quickest goal in Italian soccer records. Italy's second goal was scored by Claudio Marchisio 18 minutes before half-time.

Italy vs Haiti 2-2 All Goals and Highlights Friendly - 11/06/2013

Haitian Soccer Pictures

During the third and fourth quarters, Haiti's Les Grenadiers managed to keep Italy from scoring any more points. It was expected that at best Les Grenadiers would lose by a small point-lead to Italy's Azzurris.

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Jean Philippe Peguero gives Haitian Soccer team a draw with the powerful Italian team

On Haiti side, it was pride, hope and a memory of the 1974 soccer team. On Italy side, shock, surprise, embarrassment are the feeling that best describe them on June 11, 2013 after Haiti soccer team has made a draw with the powerful Italian team.

Emanuele Giaccherini scored for Italy after only 19 seconds and substitute Claudio Marchisio added a second in the 72nd minute.

Italy vs Haiti 2-2 All Goals and Highlights:

For Haiti team, Olrish Saurel scored from a penalty with five minutes left. Then, Jean Philippe Peguero grabbed an equalizer deep into stoppage time.

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The Haitian soccer team made history this June 8, 2013 by keeping up with current World Cup Winner Spain. Spain was widely expected to cruise to win against the Haitian team, and took just eight minutes to assert their superiority. However, after 75 minutes of play, a real moment of history seems to be on the making. After bursting through the Spanish lines and rounding Pepe Reina, Donald Guerrier steered the football into the Spanish net from eight yards to spark pandemonium in the stands and trigger thoughts of a miraculous comeback.

Sports in Haiti

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The Haiti National Soccer Team (HNST) is preparing for a showcase game with the Spanish National Soccer Team (SNST) at Sun Life Stadium, Saturday June 8th. Following that event, HNST will travel to Rio de Janeiro for another non-competitive match against Italy at Maracana Stadium.

HNST's two most formidable players, Joseph Peterson and Jerome Mechack, at mid-field and right-back positions, have been training at soccer camp along with A-list players Jean-Jacque Pierre, Johnny Placide, Jean Alcenat, Jeff Louis, and Reginald Goreux. HNST expects to train more intensively because Spain's La Roja team has achieved the distinction of capturing two European titles and a World Cup in three years.

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In high-school sports, no one is more revered, respected, and loved than Paul Calixte. Born to a privileged family in Cap-Haitien, he studied at Les Freres de l'Instruction Chretienne Grade School and graduated from College Notre Dame High School. After his studies, he remained as an instructor at College Notre Dame. He won his first of five football championships in 1972 that encouraged him to form the Football Inter-Club Association.

As a coach Paul Calixte believes in developing well-rounded personalities. He places just as much emphasis on grades as he does on winning a game. For half-a-century he has taught in high schools in Haiti and mentored scores of students through the thorny teen years.

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Emmanuel Sanon, aka Manno, became a top-rated soccer player for Haiti's National Team (HNT). Born in Port-au-Prince in 1951, he was schooled at Lycee de Petion-Ville High School.

Four years after joining HNT in 1970, Manno and his teammates played for the FIFA World Cup in Europe. HNT had fought its way through the qualifying rounds of the World Cup play-offs, and successful, found themselves facing a trio of daunting competitors: Italy, Argentina, and Poland.

HNT lost to all three, yet Manno made a lasting impression on the soccer world. During the game against Italy, Manno surprised everyone by scoring the first goal of the game. What was so incredible about this achievement is Italy goalkeeper, Zoff, had not permitted any opposition players to score a goal in two-plus years.

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