Haiti head coach Sebastien Migne has said the attendance of his side’s fans at the 2026 World Cup finals was dependent on U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Caribbean nation are in the tournament for the first time since 1974, but the U.S. government currently do not allow the entry of nationals of Haiti as both immigrants and non-immigrants.
Haiti was one of the 12 countries against which Trump signed a travel ban in June, a step he described as being essential to “protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.”
When Haiti head coach Migne was asked about any improvement politically ahead of next summer’s tournament, the 53-year-old reiterated it was in the hands of the U.S. President.
“It depends on Mr. Trump,” Migne told The Athletic after Friday’s World Cup draw, when his side were drawn into Group C alongside Brazil, Morocco and Scotland.
When put to him that Trump is a peace prize winner now (Trump won the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize ahead of Friday’s draw), Migne said: “Yeah, maybe he will continue with that (spirit) and he will open the possibility for the fans to come here.
“I know we have a lot of Haitians in the States. So if we play in the Eastern part, maybe it would be interesting for us. We will find a solution and adaptation. My players are used to playing for a few years now and we qualified the playing our game all away from our home.”
Migne added: “It will be a fantastic opportunity and visibility for Haitian people to play with the cream of the cream against Brazil. For my players it is fantastic, not only now but also for the future. You cannot have more visibility with the World Cup against a big team.”
What was the reason for the travel ban?
The executive order, announced on June 4, was titled: “RESTRICTING THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN NATIONALS TO PROTECT THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN TERRORISTS AND OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS.”
The document said that Haiti had been targeted because a report by the Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2023 had stated that Haitians who entered the U.S. on a B-1 or B-2 visa (for business or pleasure) had an overstay rate of 31.38 per cent while the overstay rate for nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors was 25.05 per cent.
The executive order also claimed: “Hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration. This influx harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats. As is widely known, Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States.”
Haiti has been embroiled in political crises ever since its previously elected president Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. The United Nations have said that gang control 90 per cent of the territory in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
The dangerous conditions in Haiti have meant the national team played its home games outside of the country during its Concacaf qualification for the tournament, with World Cup qualification matches played in Nicaragua.
Haiti’s team should have no issues in competing at the World Cup. This is because the order contained an exemption for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
However, there are no such exemptions for supporters.