PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) 鈥� Soccer fans in Haiti have for decades gathered in front of televisions and radios to support Brazil in every . But not this year.
Haiti has qualified for the global tournament for the first time since 1974, and the excitement is brimming. Spontaneous soccer games are erupting on dusty lots while shirts emblazoned with the country鈥檚 team players are sold at a growing number of street corners.
‘s national team 鈥� known as the 鈥楪renadiers鈥� 鈥� will start the tournament in Group C along with Morocco, Scotland and … It will face its longtime soccer idol at the Philadelphia Stadium on June 19.
鈥淢y favorite team is Brazil, but my country is in the World Cup. Brazil is on the sidelines,鈥� Guerier Lima, 16, said with a grin. He recently played soccer on a potholed street in the capital, Port-au-Prince, wearing a sneaker on one foot and a plastic slide on the other, eager to score between rocks serving as goalposts.
He wore a Brazilian jersey emblazoned with the number 10, a replica of the shirt worn by soccer greats including Pel茅, Neymar and Ronaldinho.
鈥淚 would like to be , representing Haiti in tournaments,鈥� Lima said referring to Haiti’s top scorer. 鈥淢y family can鈥檛 afford to send me to a club to pay for my training, but I鈥檓 working my way into a club somehow.鈥�
Lima said he likes Kak谩, , but his favorite player is Nazon, a forward with Iran鈥檚 Esteghlal Football Club.
鈥淏razil is good,鈥� Lima said, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 going to stand by my Haitian brothers.鈥�
鈥楪renadiers鈥� provide hope for the troubled nation
, grinding violence and concern about is being set aside, however fleetingly, as Haiti cheers on its team.
Proph猫te Ismeus, a 52-year-old broker, scanned the replica soccer shirts on sale on a dusty street corner in Port-au-Prince. Unable to afford a $13 shirt, he settled for a $1 plastic bracelet in Haiti鈥檚 red-and-blue flag colors.
鈥淚鈥檓 showing my support for Haiti in the best way I can,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping Haiti will beat Brazil.鈥�
Ismeus said he would return to the street stall when he has more money to buy a small flag 鈥渟o I can wave it in the air when Haiti scores against Brazil.鈥�
Fitho Joseph, a street vendor who sells replica soccer shirts, said he stopped supporting Brazil as soon as Haiti qualified.
鈥淓ven if a family has 10 people, everyone should wear a jersey,鈥� he said.
Wilkerson Daromain, 33, agreed.
鈥淲earing the jersey is a message of hope that I send to each of the Grenadiers who will fight for us and for Haiti 鈥� a message that there is still life here and that we must keep going,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are living in very difficult circumstances, but the Grenadiers have given us hope, and we, too, must give them hope.鈥�
The rallying cry of Haiti鈥檚 soccer fans is 鈥淕renadye, alaso!鈥� 鈥� meaning 鈥淭roops, attack!鈥� 鈥� which originated in the when Haiti became the world鈥檚 first Black republic.
Mario Etienne, 15, said it will be his first time witnessing his country at the World Cup, with Haiti last qualifying in 1974.
鈥淭his is a national gathering,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 no power, I will be somewhere on the street or at a friend鈥檚 house watching it.鈥�
Claudy Denis, 14, expects to do the same. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 be in the stadium where they are, but we will watch them on TV,鈥� he said with a wide smile. 鈥淥f the three games that they鈥檙e playing, I鈥檓 not going to miss a single one.鈥�
An enduring love for Brazil
Haitians have long revered Brazil鈥檚 team, with the love affair for many starting during the 1982 World Cup, where captain S贸crates led a team which included , Falc茫o and Toninho Cerezo.
Their support for the team only grew in 2004 when Brazil led a U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti. It organized a game to promote peace in the Caribbean country, which was still reeling from a violent rebellion that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Thousands of Haitians that ferried Brazilian greats including and to a stadium in Port-au-Prince.
鈥淚t was impressive how there were people the whole way from the airport to here, everybody chanting, 鈥楤razil! Brazil!鈥欌�� Roberto Carlos told The Associated Press that day.
Haiti lost 6-0, but no matter. Haitian fans waved Brazilian flags and celebrated the game.
It was only one of a handful of games between Haiti and Brazil, with the South American country pummeling the Caribbean team 7-1 during a 2016 Copa America match.
Yvenson Luxama, a 34-year-old street vendor, said he expects Haiti to attack Brazil 鈥渓ike a tiger.鈥�
鈥淚 will watch the game, definitely,鈥� he said, adding that he will still close his eyes whenever Brazil attacks Haiti.
But the World Cup and don鈥檛 mean much to Jean-Paul Jean Pierre, a 29-year-old street vendor who recently began selling team shirts and flags. 鈥淚鈥檓 here to make a living, not love any teams,鈥� he said.
Pierre is among the more than 1.4 million Haitians and lives in a cramped, makeshift shelter with his partner and two children, whom he struggles to feed.
鈥淢aking money, that鈥檚 what interests me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wish there was a World Cup every year, so that I can continue to survive.鈥�
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this report.
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