The national football team could not have hoped for a better setting for its debut at the 2026 World Cup. A city with a large Haitian community. A city that, for the duration of the World Cup, seems to have adopted Haiti as one of its favorite teams. An organized diaspora that is multiplying initiatives to make the moment truly historic. Our players, staying in Quincy, are on friendly ground. They are at home.

For Ruthzee Louijeune, a member of the Boston City Council, history has worked out perfectly by allowing Haiti to return to the World Cup after 52 years and play its opening match in Boston. “As an immigrant and as a Haitian, I am truly proud of it,” she said.