Concacaf announced Thursday that it had approved Haiti’s request to move its Nations League quarterfinal first leg against the United States on Nov. 14 from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami as part of an “exceptional accommodation arrangement.” Haiti has been unable to play “home” matches within its borders since July 2021, with the United Nations estimating that 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince – including the national stadium – is controlled by violent gangs.
The Haiti match, the first leg of a home-and-home series against the United States, had been booked for Kingston. The Grenadiers played their 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Curaçao, Aruba and Barbados. However, the Nations League format called for Curaçao and Jamaica to host their matches on the same night as Haiti, moving Haiti to Sabina Park, home of the Jamaica national team until their current venue opened in 1962. Now a cricket ground, Sabina Park hosted two of Haiti’s Nations League qualifiers.
Even if this reshuffle sends Haiti back within its adversaries’ borders, they could not have found a more hospitable home away from home. Miami is home to by far the largest population of Haitians and their descendants in the United States, with nearly half a million concentrated primarily in South Florida. They will play at Nu Stadium, where they played the venue’s first international friendly – a pre-World Cup match against Peru – in June in front of a sellout crowd of 26,700. That support overshadowed the crowds they drew at Sabina Park, where their two matches averaged 297 fans.
The United States has won four of its six clashes against Haiti this century, with the other two matches ending in draws.
It will be Haiti’s first return to the United States since this summer’s World Cup, a hero’s moment for the Caribbean nation in its first tournament appearance since 1974. The Grenadiers found themselves in a tough group, losing all three of their matches against Morocco, Scotland and Brazil. Nonetheless, they enjoyed fantastic fan support during their matches in Massachusetts, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
The quarterfinal second leg will take place on November 17 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
Concacaf added that “this flexibility will remain in place as long as the security situation in Haiti persists.” Haiti, as well as clubs based in the country, will have to seek approval from Concacaf for each match they plan to play in “their opponents’ territory”, an arrangement separate from the neutral venues they have previously reserved. The confederation specifies that the measure “may be modified or withdrawn by the Concacaf Council at any time”.
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