Women's World Cup 2023: Haiti's team are 'bringing the light back' after qualifying

Haiti goalkeeper Kerly Theus reflects connected her side's World Cup play-off triumph implicit Chile

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Kerly Theus is simply a 5ft 4in goalkeeper who plays for the Haiti women's nationalist team.

For the past 40 minutes, we person talked astir her career, her country, her childhood. We person adjacent touched connected the friends she mislaid successful the 2010 earthquake.

But each this time, thing has been bubbling up wrong of her, a constituent she has been hopeless to get across.

In little than 2 weeks, Haiti look England, European Champions and 2nd favourites down the United States to triumph the tournament, astatine the Women's World Cup successful Brisbane, Australia.

It is Haiti's archetypal ever lucifer astatine the contention - and for Theus, it volition beryllium the biggest of her career.

She besides sees it arsenic an opportunity: the fixture that inspires the adjacent generation.

"Can you punctuation this successful your article, please?" she asks. "'This connection is specifically for the girls successful Haiti: 'Keep pushing, support driving and this moment, you'll person it excessively erstwhile it's your time'."

Theus, on with her team-mates, wants to propel her federation into the spotlight. It is her main motivator, each she tin deliberation about.

"I've been to tournaments wherever radical said 'Haiti? What's that?'" she adds.

"The World Cup is the biggest stage. Your country, your sanction is publicised everywhere.

"We privation the satellite to cognize astir Haiti and the endowment we have. Oh, and we privation to get past the radical stage."

Haiti were ranked 55th successful the satellite successful February, 17 places beneath Chile

Haiti were 1 of the past teams to scope the World Cup, upsetting Chile successful a play-off successful New Zealand successful February. successful New Zealand successful February.

The tense 2-1 triumph ebbed and flowed and was yet settled by midfielder Melchie Dumornay's 98th-minute strike.

"It didn't adjacent instrumentality until getting backmost to the locker country for the tears to start," adds right-back Chelsea Surpris, who spoke to BBC World Service successful February.

"Some of us, including myself, were perfectly bawling arsenic soon arsenic the whistle blew.

"Either you were crying, smiling oregon conscionable screaming arsenic a portion of a release. It each conscionable came unneurotic successful a beauteous form.

"All of america conscionable held each different unneurotic truthful tightly and truly conscionable embraced each other. All of us."

This Haitian squad looks guardant - determination is nary agelong shot legacy, nary past to thin connected oregon tally from.

In 1991, Haiti finished 4th astatine the Concacaf Championship. Since past they person won conscionable 4 matches crossed 5 large tournaments. They person ne'er played astatine an Olympic Games.

The team's basal is successful Croix-des-Bouquets, 1 of Port-au-Prince's poorest suburbs. It is officially called the Fifa Goal Center, but everybody knows it arsenic 'the Ranch'.

Back successful 2002, the archetypal signifier of the grooming analyzable opened, boasting an auditorium, administrative bureau and dormitories for players.

Today, up to 200 boys and girls aged 14 and supra live, bid and spell to schoolhouse astatine the erstwhile state mansion.

On the pitch, the nationalist squad has intelligibly made important progress. In 2018, Haiti's women reached their archetypal Under-20 World Cup.

Five years later, the halfway squad remains and saw disconnected Mexico and Senegal successful qualifiers with comfortable, free-flowing wins.

Within the squad, the mindset has changed: Haiti are not conscionable present to marque up the numbers.

"Yes, qualifying for the World Cup was different infinitesimal of past but we're expected to beryllium here," says midfielder Danielle Etienne.

"People whitethorn accidental that it was an mishap but, my gosh, I deliberation this was our destiny. From under-14s we were connected this travel to the World Cup.

"We made definite successful February we didn't person different accidental to say, 'dang, we were truthful adjacent but we didn't marque it'."

Theus astatine the Ranch successful May 2020

Theus joined the Ranch successful 2013, astatine the property of 14.

Initially, it was her sister who was spotted and she tagged on due to the fact that it was easier than separating them.

"There was nary goalkeeper successful my property group," she says. "I didn't privation to play successful extremity but I learned the mechanics - however to clasp the ball, knowing erstwhile to dive, however to dive, things similar that.

"It was wholly antithetic to playing connected the streets. We trained each day, doubly a day, nary substance what.

"We had signifier matches with the boys' team, it made america stronger and faster."

The players astatine the Ranch grew up together. In caller months, emotionally, they person drawn ever closer.

In November 2020, Yves Jean-Bart, the president of the Haitian Football Federation, was handed a beingness prohibition by Fifa for alleged harassment and intersexual maltreatment of aggregate underage pistillate footballers astatine the Ranch and elsewhere.

Fifa's probe concluded helium "threatened and prevented imaginable victims and witnesses from giving testimony" and "exercised an authoritarian regime".

Photographs from 2021 were besides followed by allegations that children astatine the Ranch were surviving successful unhygienic and unsafe conditions.

However, successful February, Jean-Bart's suspension was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport who recovered the grounds against him was "inconsistent, unclear and contradictory".

The 75-year-old has powerfully denied the allegations since they were archetypal made. Meanwhile, Fifa person filed a uncommon entreaty against Cas' ruling.

None of the 3 players interviewed for this portion wanted to talk straight astir the claims but each mentioned the squad's unity successful the look of adversity.

"We can't power what happened but we recognize we tin power our absorption to it," says Etienne.

"We're not shaken by this, we're choosing not to linger connected the past oregon negativity," adds Surpris.

Theus concludes: "We're tight-knit, astir of the squad deliberation the same.

"Hey, we're present to amusement disconnected our talent, amusement disconnected our skills. Let's fto that bash the talking."

Yves Jean-Bart (left) welcomed ex-Fifa president Sepp Blatter (right) to Haiti successful 2013

Football successful Haiti, connected the transportation astatine least, is rising.

The uncertainty and instability astatine the Ranch though, reflects the nation.

In July 2021, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. A period later, an earthquake killed implicit 2,000 people. In October 2022, the UN reported 4.7 cardinal Haitians were facing acute hunger.

Haiti is engulfed successful pack violence. In February, the past democratically elected officials near office.

All this is happening portion the Caribbean state continues to retrieve from an earthquake and consequent cholera outbreak in 2010 that killed implicit 100,000.

Goalkeeper Theus, 24, was 11 and surviving successful the superior Port-au-Prince astatine the time.

"Everybody mislaid their homes, we had to unrecorded successful a structure for a mates of months," she says.

"I was lucky, I didn't person immoderate nonstop household who passed away. But I retrieve losing friends successful the neighbourhood who I utilized to play shot with connected the streets.

"I miss those moments.

"It was a traumatic play astatine my age. That's what it is. I don't truly speech astir it much."

The World Cup and the media attraction which goes with it could beryllium important successful changing the conversation.

"Many deliberation we're resilient radical due to the fact that we person truthful overmuch struggle," adds Etienne. "I deliberation we're resilient due to the fact that we've had truthful galore successes.

"We had the archetypal and lone palmy enslaved revolt to pb to a escaped country. It's unfortunate that sometimes symptom is each that's seen.

"We're going to a World Cup, the men person conscionable played successful the Gold Cup - these small moments amusement determination is specified overmuch worth successful Haiti.

"Yeah, determination mightiness beryllium things going connected that are antagonistic but determination is adjacent much that is positive. Haiti is inactive afloat of gold."

About 1.3 cardinal radical were made stateless by the 2010 Haitian earthquake

This Haiti squad represents not conscionable a country, but a federation dispersed crossed the world.

Indeed, not each of the squad shares Theus' childhood. Some were calved successful Haiti, others successful the United States. Some lone talk English, others lone Creole.

Understandably, implicit the past 2 decades, a ample fig of Haitians person near the country. Over 1 cardinal radical with Haitian ancestry are surviving successful the USA.

That's reflected successful the squad too. Theus, Etienne and Surpris play their nine shot successful the United States.

Most of the squad unrecorded successful France, with prima midfielder Dumornay moving from Reims to eight-time Champions League winners Lyon connected July 1.

But, talk to Haiti's players and, contempt their disparate upbringings, you soon uncover their bond.

As Surpris, who played for the USA astatine younker level, puts it: "Haiti is successful the blood, it's my family, it's who I know."

Among the squad, determination is simply a communal tendency to springiness backmost to the federation that raised them.

"It doesn't substance if you were calved successful the United States oregon you were calved successful Haiti, we are each Haitians," says Etienne.

"In the camps, we marque definite it doesn't consciousness similar radical from antithetic places are outsiders.

"I didn't adjacent cognize Creole erstwhile I was 14 and archetypal with the team. Now I construe for my team-mates.

"Once we had that foundation, it was casual to integrate. I deliberation arsenic we got older and much mature, we started to spot each different arsenic sisters.

"We've been done a batch together."

Haiti person ne'er played successful a planetary large tourney though their men's broadside did scope the radical signifier of the 1974 World Cup

Our clip is astir up. Theus chuckles. Her wide grin is lukewarm and infectious.

"I've been precise excited to bash this interview. You are based successful the UK and everybody's afloat alert we play England successful our archetypal game," she says.

England are ranked 4th successful the world, Haiti are 53rd.

Back successful November, Haiti were thrashed 5-0 by Portugal. In a affable against Portugal astatine the commencement of July, England racked up 23 shots successful a 0-0 draw.

"England are the large dogs and that's granted," adds Etienne.

"We decidedly respect them and recognize their bequest but astatine the aforesaid time, we privation them connected their heels.

"We'll springiness them a fight, for sure."

Group D besides includes two-time quarter-finalists Denmark and one-time runners-up China.

In each lucifer astatine this summer's competition, Haiti volition beryllium the overwhelming underdogs.

But that suits them conscionable fine. Remember, cipher expected them to get past Chile.

After 7 failed qualification attempts, Haiti are here. They person a level to archer their ain story.

"To ideate yourself astatine a World Cup is insane," says Surpris.

"I deliberation astir singing the nationalist anthem, lasting broadside by broadside with my team-mates and proceeding a roaring crowd.

"To beryllium successful specified a surreal infinitesimal wherever you are conscionable speechless, it's going to beryllium incredible."

Etienne is arsenic zealous.

"I'm a ride-or-die Haitian," she adds. "You can't accidental thing antagonistic without maine pushing backmost with thing positive.

"These are the moments we unrecorded for. We're trying to bring backmost the airy to Haiti for sure."

The squad is connected an upward trajectory, a awesome for change.

Few things are much important than shot for this group, but bequest is surely one.

Theus repeats that connection for the adjacent procreation of Haitian girls who volition beryllium watching connected 22 July, anxious to physique connected the team's success:

"Keep pushing, support driving and this moment, you'll person it excessively erstwhile it's your time."

Training jerseys are hung up to adust against a obstruction astatine the Ranch

Additional reporting by BBC Sport's Isaac Fanin.