soccer - Haiti Observer Blog

Charles Vorbe began life in Port-au-Prince in 1954, son and brother of soccer players. His older brother played for the Haitian National Team, and his father served as Haitian Soccer Federation President. Charles showed early promise as a soccer player. Just 17, he played first-string for Violette as a forward center, but could switch off to other positions also.

He finished his studies at Columbia University in the U.S. and played at the legendary finals between Haiti and Cuba. Many sports observers considered that event his crowning achievement as a professional soccer player. But Charles feels his performance with Violette in the game against the New York Cosmos was his personal best.

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Haitian Football Federation (HFF) is not satisfied with a sponsorship contract it signed with South American sporting goods manufacturer, SAETA, recently. HFF Vice President, Robert Jean-Bart, spoke with an online Haitian radio station about the $1 million, five-year contract running from 2013 through 2018. He said the annual payout was for $200,000 USD for HFF to equip and outfit its national teams. But he added SAETA has not paid HFF a dime.

In a breach of contract, SAETA has made excuses their inventory dried up and therefore it was unable to outfit Les Grenadiers for the two exposition games they played against Spain and Italy. But where is the money SAETA contracted to give HFF?

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International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) President, Joseph S. Blatter went on a 6-day tour from April 14 to April 20, 2013. The tour was themed as 'Football Development'. Blatter visited countries like Panama, Cuba, Haiti and Dominican Republic. Blatter said that these four countries are excellent examples of Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association (CONCACAF) region that can enjoy social development because of Football.

Joseph Blatter arrived at Haiti on Monday 15th April for the inauguration of built or rebuilt infrastructure. This infrastructure was the part of 'Solidarity with Haiti' project. This infrastructure will be the new home for football in Haiti. FIFA approved $4 million for this project after the island nation was devastated by the 2010 earthquake. FIFA has also invested funds in Sylvio Cator Stadium for artificial turf implementation and lighting systems. Money has also been channeled towards re-launching the national competitions.

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Haiti has a national soccer team, the Haiti National Football Team (HNFT). The Fédération Haïtienne de Football is the governing corpus responsible for ensuring HNFT follows CONCACAF rules to compete against other leagues in the Caribbean. The Haiti National Football Team plays all home games at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, coached by Israel Blake Cantero, an ex-soccer champ.

The HNFT has a history of longevity since the 60s, qualifying for the World Cup (WC) early on, playing in it in 1974. Although they did not win, they played an excellent game against very tough competitors, the Italians. The HNFT reached the qualifying rounds again in '78 and '82 but did not succeed in participating in the WC.

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Haiti's national soccer team, the Haiti National Football team (HNFT) has been competing since the 1960s in CONCACAF. Making the cut for the World Cup in 1974, they played against fierce competitors, the Italians.

Although they did not win, they made an impression with star player, Emmanuel Sanon, making the opening winning goal. In 1974 Antoine Tassy coached the HNFT with a roster of 22 players.

Here is the list of 1974 World Cup Haitian players in picture

Here is the list of players:

Henry Francillon, Goalkeeper - DOB: May 25, 1946 - Club: Victory Club Port-au-Prince

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There is no stopping the men's national football team from going up the FIFA World Rankings. According to the latest rankings, Haiti jumped a spot to 38th place, the highest position it has held in history. This improvement marked another feat for the national squad as it also rose by 18 places in the December rankings. It is now ahead of Zambia and one place behind Serbia.

FIFA attributed Haiti's improving record to its stellar performance at the Caribbean Cup. Though it did not take home the title, Haiti still qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Cuba won the Caribbean Cup but Les Grenadiers will continue to launch its campaign at the CONCACAF, which will kick off in July in the United States. Other teams that will figure in the tournament include Mexico, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada.

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The plans for a new national soccer stadium in Haiti, the Phoenix Stadium, is moving ahead and this is what the new stadium will look like when work is complete.

The project to build a new soccer stadium in Haiti has been in the making following the 2012 earthquake. Two principal actor in trying to give Haiti its first National soccer stadium are Boby Duval who is the founder and director of the Cité Soleil nonprofit L'Athlétique d'Haïti.

Based on the plan, the new Haiti National Soccer Stadium will include 12,000 seats. The Phoenix Stadium in Haiti will also include academy and community garden.

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Three years ago, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake pummeled Haiti. The reconstruction of a country with a perennial place on the index of failed states has been overwhelming to contemplate. But in spite of this, Haiti is about to receive its first-ever national soccer stadium.

Private investor Morad Fareed, once a player for the Palestinian soccer team and a New York property developer, has partnered with Boby Duval, also an ex-soccer player in Haiti. Duval established and runs L'Athlétique d'Haiti, a Cité Soleil not-for-profit organization. The partners have hired architect Carlos Zapata to design and build the 12,000-seat Phoenix Stadium. The stadium site will also house a private academy and public garden.

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At the age of 22, Robert 'Boby' Duval, a popular soccer player sat as Haiti's political prisoner in a jail cell. He knew one thing and that was, his country required a change soon. He was imprisoned for one and half years for playing a major role in the Democratic Movement which could affect Haiti positively.

He Paid a Price for Standing Up To His Belief
For standing up for whatever he believed, he had to pay the price of an illustrious career in soccer. He tried a lot to end the Haitian struggle and remained dedicated to athletics and his lifelong love for the soccer game. By providing a career in soccer he has plans to bring in a positive change in Haiti.

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Haiti hosts the U-17 FIFA Men's World Cup at the Sylvio Cator Stadium. The 7-day first phase tournament, which was scheduled to kick off last July 3, gathers several teams, including the young Grenadiers and squads from the Dominican Republic and St. Lucia. The qualifying tournament is where the teams would battle for a spot at the 2013 U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The prestigious FIFA competition will be held from October 17 to November 18, 2013.

Haiti is being bannered by talented Grenadiers aged under 17. They are led by coach Maximus Augustus, who played a key role in coming up with the national selection. Augustus receives coaching and training assistance from Chery Pierre and Rosemond Pierre. The U-17 Haiti team square off with squads from St. Lucia, the Dominican Republic and Curacao.

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