Haiti’s national football team, the Grenadiers, has received landmark financial backing from the country’s government to fuel their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, with a total of more than 520 million Haitian gourdes committed in a formal ceremony held Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The event took place at Port-au-Prince’s Villa d’Accueil, under the official patronage of Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who presided over the presentation of two separate 264 million gourde checks—equaling just over 2 million USD combined—to the Normalization Committee of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF).
The two tranches of funding serve distinct, critical purposes for the historic World Cup run. The first check is designated as a qualification bonus for the players, rewarding their achievement of earning a spot in the world’s most-watched sporting tournament. The second allocation is earmarked exclusively for pre-tournament preparation, designed to give the squad access to top-tier training resources, logistics, and support to compete at their best on the global stage. This dual investment reflects the Haitian government’s structured, ambitious commitment to elevating the national team’s performance this summer.
In his keynote remarks at the ceremony, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé extended warm congratulations to the Grenadiers for their historic qualification, noting that this milestone is more than a sporting win—it is a powerful representation of the courage and resilience that defines the Haitian nation. This appearance will mark only the second time Haiti has qualified for the FIFA World Cup in the country’s entire history, making the achievement all the more meaningful for fans across the nation. The Prime Minister emphasized that the public funding represents the government and the Haitian people’s unwavering confidence in both the national team and the broader cohort of young Haitian athletes. To ensure every Haitian can share in the excitement of the tournament, Fils-Aimé also announced plans to install public viewing screens across all regions of the country, giving all segments of the population access to watch the Grenadiers compete.
Monique André, president of the FHF Normalization Committee, delivered remarks on behalf of the federation, expressing profound gratitude to the Haitian government for the critical investment. André noted that the funding fills key gaps in the team’s preparation budget, removing financial barriers that would otherwise hinder the squad’s ability to train and compete at the highest level. As a gesture of appreciation, André officially presented the Prime Minister with the official game jersey the Grenadiers will wear during their 2026 World Cup matches, capping the celebratory ceremony.