Haitians Dream Of International Glory

Soccer is a passion and a stimulant that brings joy and hope to all Haitians, regardless of age, gender, or economic and social status. Women’s football is the most critical growth opportunity in football today, and it is FIFA’s top priority. 

Although the game has grown exponentially at all levels, the sport’s passion and rising popularity offer vast untapped potential. FIFA is investing in dedicated funding, human resources, and innovative, tailored development programs to help women’s football enter the mainstream, where it belongs.

The Haiti women’s national football team competes in several tournaments, including the CONCACAF Women’s Championship. The team also competes in qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics, though they have yet to qualify for either tournament. 

The Fédération Hatienne de Football is in charge of the team. Along with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, they are one of the top women’s national football teams in the Caribbean. Shek Borkowski currently coaches the Haiti women’s national football team, as well as the under 17 and 20 teams.

Nobody knew when the Georges brothers (Garry and Phèdre) dared to defy the current trend by organizing a women’s football match between the girls of the Sacred Heart and those of Canada Haitien at Parc Sainte-Thérèse in Pétion-Ville in 1971. I had dared to believe that we were witnessing a tipping point in the emancipation of Haitian women from a practice “reputedly reserved exclusively for men.”

This movement, which began on the historic date of December 19, 1971, would see the birth of a slew of women’s football clubs in less than a year, thanks to a sustained media campaign.

From the Amazons to the Tigresses, Gladiatrice, the Excelsior, and so many more came after.

Here are a few lines from Haitian women’s football’s journey to becoming an activity that has imposed itself on national territory:

• 1972: Establishment of the Women’s Football Commission 
• 1973: The first match of Haitian women’s football played at the Sylvio Cator stadium 
• 1975: First match of Haitian women’s football internationally and affiliation of women’s football to the FHF 
• 1987: Approval of the Haitian Women’s Football League by the FHF and organization of the first national women’s football championship
• 1991: Women’s Concacaf organization at the Sylvio Cator stadium; 
• 2018: Participation of the U-20s in France’s FIFA World Cup (U-20).

Women’s football progressed, eventually becoming a national sport in its own right, attracting practitioners and exporting talent abroad.

On December 19, 2021, the FHF will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Haitian women’s football match, which was held on December 19, 1971.

It subsequently designated 2022 as the “Fiftieth Anniversary of Haitian Women’s Football.”