The United States has approved travel authorization for Woodensky Pierre, allowing the sole member of Haiti’s national soccer squad who remains in the Caribbean nation to join his team for World Cup preparations, according to an official announcement Tuesday.
Pierre was set to depart for Florida on Tuesday, confirmed Thecieux Jeanty, who serves as spokesperson for Haiti’s soccer federation, in comments to The Associated Press.
“It was a great moment for him, a moment of happiness,” he said.
The rest of the squad arrived in Florida the previous week to begin World Cup preparations. This marks Haiti’s second qualification for the tournament, with their previous appearance occurring more than fifty years ago.
While waiting for his travel documents, Pierre had been practicing with local athletes in an affluent section of Port-au-Prince. Security concerns at the team’s regular stadium in Haiti’s capital forced the national team to conduct their “home” qualifying matches in Curaçao instead.
Pierre hails from Cite Soleil, a coastal community that has faced ongoing challenges with food insecurity and criminal gang activity.
The team is set to face New Zealand in a preparation match on Tuesday, followed by Peru on Friday.
Haiti’s World Cup campaign begins June 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where they will face Scotland. Their schedule continues with a match against five-time champion Brazil on June 19 in Philadelphia, and concludes group play against Morocco on June 24 in Atlanta.
