Haiti’s World Cup return is already shadowed by fear in the United States, where many Haitian supporters say they are too scared to travel to the opening match against Scotland. The game is due to be played in just over a month at Boston’s 65,000-capacity Gillette Stadium, but Haitian leaders fear hardly any of their own fans will turn up because they worry they could be grabbed by ICE agents.
The anxiety comes after President Donald Trump’s administration decided to block Haitian supporters from getting visas for the tournament, a move that has already cut off one route for fans hoping to attend. Haiti are heading to only their second World Cup finals and their first in 52 years, but the build-up has been shaped less by football than by immigration policy and fear of enforcement action.
There are estimated to be around one million Haitians in the United States, and leaders say that should have made the country a natural base of support for the team. Instead, Wanda Tima said the uncertainty has made it hard for fans in America to get excited about the World Cup, warning that Haitian supporters are afraid to gather in large groups because Haitians are petrified of ICE. She said: “Being a Haitian in America right now is pretty frightening.”
Tima said the fallout goes beyond the stands. “Sadly, a lot of us won’t be able to celebrate in the way we would like and the team won’t be able to feel our presence in the way that we know,” she said, adding that the atmosphere around the tournament is being clouded by the threat of raids and arrests. Her warning lands while a Supreme Court hearing is ongoing over whether a Trump-proposed bill to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians is lawful.
That legal fight matters because it feeds directly into the fears around the World Cup, with Haitians saying they are worried games could be raided by ICE agents. The concern has also reached city hall in Boston, where councillor Ruthzee Louijeune said fans will stay away because of xenophobic immigration policies. She said: “Fans won’t go to the games because of xenophobic immigration policies,” and added: “I have personally called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to speak with Trump and allow our supporters to be at the games and feel safe attending.”
Haiti’s football authorities say they are still trying to find a way to get at least some supporters into the matches. Yvon Severe said: “We continue to look for a way that would allow at least some of our supporters to go to the World Cup matches.” He said the issue is tied to the politics in Washington, adding: “The question of visas is up to the political orientation of the president and the administration in the USA.”
Severe said the wider point remains bigger than immigration policy. “But football unites the world and it’s a party that matters to all the whole world,” he said. For Haiti, though, the return to the World Cup may be coming at a moment when one of the sport’s most loyal diasporas is least able to show up for it.
