BOSTON, USA – Haitians are looking forward to their national team’s first World Cup appearance since 1974, but soaring ticket and transportation costs, as well as travel bans, are preventing many from attending the games.
Haiti, drawn in Group C, will face Scotland on June 13 in Foxboro, near Boston. They will then face Brazil in Philadelphia on June 19th and Morocco in Atlanta on June 24th.
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“We are happy that Haiti is returning to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years,” Julio Midi, founder of Boston-based Radio Concorde, which serves the local Haitian community, told Al Jazeera. “But tickets are very expensive and unfortunately we can’t afford them.”
Massachusetts has one of the largest Haitian populations in the United States, approximately 87,000 people, according to government statistics. But as Haitians celebrated Les Grenadier’s impending arrival on May 15 at the 5th Annual Haitian Flag Day at Boston City Hall, an unofficial search failed to find anyone with tickets to the game.
“For a long time, my office has advocated for issuing community tickets at low or no cost, but each time we have hit a wall,” Boston City Councilor Lousie Louiseune, a Haitian-American, told Al Jazeera.
“I know there are Haitians who are planning to go and who have purchased their tickets at face value or at the prices they are sold online, but the cost is prohibitive for many people in our community.”
On May 13, a single ticket to the game against Scotland was listed on the FIFA website for $2,100.
Parking at the 68,000-capacity stadium in Foxborough will be $150, limited to 7,500 spaces, and satellite parking 1 to 2 miles away will cost at least $50. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority charges $80 for a round-trip train ticket from Boston’s South Station, a 48-kilometer (30-mile) ride followed by a half-mile walk each way.
“Haitians are crazy about soccer,” Midi says. “Unfortunately, $1,000 for a ticket is too expensive for our community. Even for me. I don’t have a ticket yet, but I’m optimistic that a solution will be found.”
He added, “I expected the tickets to be expensive. Of course, $200 to support the team, but this is four times (more than) our budget. Also, a lot of people my age don’t know how to get tickets online.”
Stevenson Chanson, a center defender on Boston International High School’s Division 5 state championship team, told Al Jazeera in an interview at the Flag Day ceremony that it would be a “dream” to watch Haiti play in the World Cup, but he can’t afford tickets.
“Of course I want to go. I’m looking forward to watching my home country play,” he said. “This is my dream. To watch over my homeland.”
Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey, who was one of the Flag Day presenters, told Al Jazeera: “There’s something fundamentally wrong that families in the Haitian community in Massachusetts can’t afford tickets to a historic World Cup game. I just think it’s important that we correct that.”
The American diaspora fans are even more important given that most Haitians abroad, including fans from Ivory Coast, Iran and Senegal, are currently unable to enter the United States due to the Trump administration’s travel ban.
“We know soccer fans will be here from all over the world, and the Tartan Army will be here as well. They come in strong from Scotland,” Louiseune said.
“But because of this federal government action, Haitians can’t come as easily as other countries can. We, as a diaspora, are doing our best to make our team feel proud…Maybe they can put tickets on sale or work with sponsors to make that happen.”
“Great opportunity”
This is the fourth time Haiti has appeared in Foxboro. From 2000 to 2015, the national team played in the CONCACAF Gold Cup three times in front of an average crowd of over 30,000 people (including a 2-2 draw and a 1-0 loss to the United States).
In 2011, the Haitian Olympic team drew a crowd of 11,513 to an Earthquake Relief Fund benefit game at Harvard Stadium. That was at least 3,000 more fans than attended the MLS New England Revolution game at Gillette Stadium the night before.
Moses Jean-Pierre, executive director of Hoops for Haiti, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, told Al Jazeera that watching a World Cup match is a “great opportunity” for the young people he works with.
“For some kids, this is the biggest event of their lifetime in terms of sports, and they want to see it firsthand, especially their country,” he said.
“So we want to know if we can get tickets for these kids. What we’re concerned about is transportation costs. We don’t have the funds to pay for tickets, bus trips, Ubers.”
Meanwhile, Haitian forward Franzdi Pierrot is scheduled to make his “return” public appearance on May 27th. Franzdi Pierro currently plays for Çaykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super League, but previously played locally for Melrose High School, Northeastern University and club team Seacoast United.
Midi emphasizes that the event is free and open to everyone.
“It’s frustrating when you’re trying to help your country and then you read about[FIFA]making millions of dollars,” Midi said.
“(Higher prices) feel like a way to officially kick you out, but they’re not saying they’re going to kick you out.”
