Haiti midfielder Woodensky Pierre awaits US visa before World Cup camp

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Woodensky Pierre, the lone Haiti national team player currently living in Haiti, is still waiting on a United States visa so he can link up with the squad in Florida, with the World Cup now only weeks away.

Pierre, a defensive midfielder, represents Violette AC in Port-au-Prince. Roughly 70 per cent of Haiti's capital has been reported as being under pressure from armed gangs.

The remaining 25 players named to Haiti's World Cup roster are based overseas. They are drawn from clubs in countries including England, France, Portugal, Canada and the United States.

Haiti is preparing for just its second appearance at football's premier tournament. Its only previous World Cup campaign came in 1974.

Thecieux Jeanty, spokesman for the Haitian football federation, said nearly the entire 1974 team lived and played in Haiti at the time, with only one exception.

Pierre is not the only person connected to the federation still awaiting clearance. Jeanty said US visas have also not yet been issued for almost a dozen Haitian football officials, as US President Donald Trump's administration keeps widening travel restrictions affecting countries that include Haiti.

While he waits, Pierre has continued training on an artificial-turf field in Pétion-Ville, an affluent section of Port-au-Prince. Jeanty told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday that Pierre was working “in hopes of being with his team as soon as possible.”

“I hope he doesn’t have to live in (Haiti) after the World Cup,” Jeanty said. “It’s an opportunity to present himself to the world and await a contract.”

Security conditions have already affected Haiti's road to the tournament. The national stadium in Port-au-Prince, located not far from Pierre's community, was considered unsafe, so Haiti had to stage its home World Cup qualifiers in Curaçao.

Pierre comes from Cite Soleil, the coastal slum that has long faced hunger and violence and is known as a stronghold for major gang figures. The area has suffered several massacres and cases of gang rape. A recent report from the UN's International Organization for Migration said more than 5,300 people had lately been forced from their homes by violence there.

Jeanty said Pierre's selection has meaning beyond the player himself. “It’s a source of pride for him,” he said. “It’s satisfying for (soccer) officials and for the public, too. As you know, Haiti is in crisis.”

Pierre did not respond to requests for comment. The team's coach also did not reply to messages.

Haiti's officials reached Florida on Sunday, and the players opened training in Port St Lucie on Tuesday. Jeanty said three more players were expected to get in on Wednesday.

There remains a window for Pierre's visa matter to be settled. Haiti have two World Cup preparation games in South Florida, meeting New Zealand on Tuesday before facing Peru on June 5.

Their World Cup schedule begins on June 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against Scotland. Haiti then face five-time champions Brazil in Philadelphia on June 19, followed by Morocco in Atlanta on June 24.

Jeanty said his first contact with Pierre came in 2022, when they went to Honduras for an under-20 fixture.

“I saw him as a top-level player,” Jeanty said. He added that “everybody’s very happy” that Pierre is part of the squad.

“There is soccer in Haiti,” Jeanty said. “It’s a country that wants to live.”