🇭🇹🇨🇱 Haiti women's national team will be well-supported in special visit to Chile
Nearly 200,000 Haitian migrants live in the South American nation hosting Les Grenadières this week.
When the Europe-based contingent of the Haiti women’s national team passed through customs in Santiago, Chile this week, they got something they’re not used to: A welcome.
As Haiti continues to cope with gang violence, kidnappings and human-rights abuses, the country has been unable to safely host international soccer matches.
This month’s friendly matches against Chile will be the 36th and 37th consecutive matches the women’s team has played outside its home country since an October 2019 match against Suriname, with little hope of returning to Haiti before the streak is much longer.
But this pair of matches may give the Haitian players a small feeling of home. It is not only carefully suited diplomats and members of the media greeting Haiti at the airport but members of Haiti’s large diaspora community in Haiti.
Fans have supported Haiti at its neutral-site matches during its remarkable run to the 2023 World Cup, but the match tomorrow at the Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida could see more support for the Caribbean country than usual.
According to a Chilean government report, an estimated 183,131 Haitians lived in Chile in 2023 - the fourth-largest foreign population, representing nearly 10% of all immigrants living in the country.
Many of them hope to be at Friday’s game - a doubleheader with Chile’s U-17 women who are playing Ecuador.
One TikToker bemoaned getting the late shift despite her plans to turn up to support Haiti, while other accounts have posted videos in Haitian Creole explaining where and how to buy tickets - though the “Pacifico” and “Andes” sections already have sold out.
There will be home fans, of course, but many are expecting a distinctive Haitian presence in the stands - even though they may have to trek from northern Santiago, where most Haitians live, to the south of the city. The second match of the window will be Tuesday morning at the federation headquarters.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
In addition to representing Haiti in a country many Haitians now call home, there also is a revenge factor to the contests. Haiti qualified for the 2023 World Cup by beating Chile in a playoff 2-1, thanks to a double from superstar Melchie Dumornay.
The elements swirl to create one of the most interesting series of friendly matches during a women’s international window without much on the line in the Americas.
It is natural to see two soccer-obsessed countries come together over soccer, but even the beautiful game has not always served as a salve. Many Haitian migrants who had made their home in Chile began to consider leaving after the pandemic, saying they faced a rise in racism and struggled to find work.