Haiti’s national six-a-side football team, the Socca Grenadiers, has officially secured its spot in the 2026 Socca World Cup, set to kick off in Essen, Germany from August 28 to September 6, the Haitian Socca Federation (FHS) has confirmed. This qualification marks the third time Haiti has earned a place in the final phase of the Socca World Cup, the 7th iteration of the international tournament, a milestone that FHS says highlights the steady growth of the sport within the country and the federation’s long-standing dedication to building a sustainable soccer development program for Haitian young people.
For FHS, this tournament participation goes far beyond competitive sport. It aligns with the organization’s core vision to position sport as a powerful catalyst for youth development, community social cohesion, and increased global recognition for Haiti on the international stage. The federation expressed its gratitude to all supporting partners for their ongoing trust, and called on the Haitian public to rally behind the national team as they carry Haiti’s national flag into global competition.
This year’s tournament, hosted at Essen’s central Kennedyplatz, will bring together 48 national teams from all six continents. The official group draw, held on June 18, 2026, placed Haiti in Group H alongside three challenging opponents: Kazakhstan, the defending 2023 Socca World Cup champion and group favorite; Turkey, a strong competitor expected to draw massive crowd support from Essen’s large local Turkish community; and Belgium, a rising European side that has built up its structure and competitive experience steadily in recent years.
Haiti will open its 2026 World Cup campaign on Friday, August 28 at 5:00 p.m. local time with a first group stage match against defending champion Kazakhstan. The two remaining group fixtures, against Belgium and Turkey, will be scheduled between August 29 and September 2, 2026, per the official match calendar released by the International Socca Federation (ISF).
For new fans unfamiliar with the sport, Socca – also widely known as six-a-side football – is an international small-sided football competition governed by the ISF for men’s national teams. Match durations range from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the competition level, with the standard ISF tournament format calling for 30-minute total match time split into two 15-minute halves. Teams can field 5, 6, or 7 players per side including the goalkeeper, with adjusted pitch dimensions for each format: a minimum 30m x 50m pitch for 5v5 play, 35m x 60m for 6v6, and 35m x 65m for 7v7. Goals are standardized at 4m x 2m, and 3G artificial turf is the recommended playing surface. Key rule differences from traditional 11-a-side football include no offside rule and unlimited substitutions that can be made at any point during play without stopping the match.