When gangs set fire to the FIFA Goal Center in Haiti’s capital this year, it wasn’t just a key sports ground that went up in flames. It was the center of Haitian youth sports, a training ground for talent and home to the dreams held by young athletes in a country battered by violence.
Months earlier, Louicius Deedson –– who used to be one of those budding athletes –– had helped make history with the Haitian national team in Curaçao. They beat Nicaragua in the World Cup qualifier and secured Haiti’s place in the world’s biggest single-sport event for the first time in over 50 years.
The streets of Port-au-Prince came alive with euphoric fans in a brief moment of respite that punctuated the turbulence and overlapping crises that have engulfed the country.
“It’s been a long time since you see Haitian people united like this,” said Deedson, 25, who scored one of the two winning goals for Haiti in the November match. It is a remarkable achievement for the national team that had to train abroad due to the country’s violent instability.
Gangs control an estimated 80 to 90% of the capital, according to the United Nations, including areas home to some of the country’s biggest stadiums. Sylvio Cator in downtown Port-au-Prince was where the national team trained for decades, even for its last and only World Cup stint in the 70s.
