Haiti's Woodensky Pierre granted US visa to compete at 2025 World Cup

Woodensky Pierre, the sole Haiti national team player still residing in the Caribbean nation, has been granted a US visa and cleared to compete at this summer’s World Cup, a federation official confirmed on Tuesday.

Thecieux Jeanty, spokesperson for Haiti’s soccer federation, told The Associated Press that Pierre was scheduled to depart for Florida on Tuesday. “It was a great moment for him, a moment of happiness,” Jeanty said.

There had been genuine concern that Pierre would be forced to miss the tournament entirely. The Trump administration has continued to expand travel restrictions affecting a number of countries, including Haiti, leaving Pierre’s participation in doubt while his teammates had already arrived in Florida last week to begin their World Cup preparations.

While awaiting his visa, Pierre had been training with local players in an upscale district of Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s primary stadium in the capital was considered too dangerous to use, which had already forced the team to stage its home World Cup qualifying matches in Curaçao.

Pierre hails from Cite Soleil, a coastal slum that has endured prolonged gang violence and hunger. The area has seen multiple massacres, and recent unrest has displaced more than 5,300 people according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

This is only the second time Haiti has qualified for the World Cup — their previous appearance came more than 50 years ago. The team faces warmup matches against New Zealand on Tuesday and Peru on Friday before their tournament opener on June 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against Scotland.

Haiti’s group stage also includes a match against five-time champions Brazil on June 19 in Philadelphia and a fixture against Morocco on June 24 in Atlanta. With 32 teams advancing to the knockout rounds, Haiti will be hoping to make history by progressing beyond the group stage for the first time.