Woodensky pierre, haiti's only homegrown world cup participant, secures u.s. visa

A visa has been granted to Woodensky Pierre, the sole Haitian soccer player who resides in the Caribbean nation, allowing him to travel and participate in the World Cup, an official confirmed.

Woodensky pierre's journey to the world cup

Pierre, who hails from Port-au-Prince's troubled Cité Soleil neighborhood, had been training locally as he awaited the visa that would finally secure his spot on the Haitian team.

After receiving the visa, Pierre traveled to Florida on Tuesday, where he reunited with his teammates who had arrived a week prior to begin World Cup preparations.

This marks haiti's second appearance in the global tournament, with their last outing over half a century ago. The team's home stadium in Port-au-Prince was deemed too dangerous, prompting the Haitian federation to hold qualifying matches in Curaçao.

Haiti will face New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday and Peru on Friday before opening their tournament schedule on June 13 against Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts. They'll then face five-time champions Brazil on June 19 in Philadelphia and Morocco on June 24 in Atlanta.