Haiti’s U-17 women’s team triumphs over Barbados

Haiti’s Loudjina Etienne and Derline Saindate both scored three goals

Haiti’s under-17 (U-17) women’s soccer team overpowered Barbados 12-0 in its first game in the qualification stages of the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup at San Cristóbal Pan American Stadium in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

“Those ladies put the ball in the net,” Estephania Estime, a fan in Delmas, commented on the Haitian Football Federation’s Facebook post announcing the final score. “Bravo.”

Haiti’s Loudjina Etienne and Derline Saindate both scored three goals when Pierreline Nazon hit the net twice, while Nehemie Sainvilus, Aslie

Laguerre, Yvena Murat each scored one goal. Barbados’ C. Yearwood scored an own goal to make up the 12-0 scoreline.

The U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held in the Dominican Republic, making qualifying for the global tournament on that neighbor’s turf even more crucial, in November 2024.

Sunday’s match was Les Grenadières’ first game in the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship, which also serves as World Cup qualifiers. The team will now face Cuba in an anticipated battle for first place in Group B, also a qualification to the next stage of the tournament on Aug. 29.

Haiti won the match even though Camp Nous, a training dormitory center for youths in Croix-des-Bouquets, a western commune, has been shuttered due to gang violence. Many of the players who played in the 2023 Women’s World Cup were trained at Camp Nous. That same group of players also booked Haiti’s first ticket in a women’s World Cup, qualifying for the 2018 U-20 Women’s World Cup.

In the 2018 U-20 World Cup, Haiti lost to China, 2-1, Nigeria, 1-0, and Germany, 3-2. Five years later, in the senior World Cup Haiti fell to England, 1-0, China, 1-0 and Denmark, 2-0.

Haiti has never qualified for the U-17 Women’s World Cup and if they do so it will be Les Grenadières’ third participation in a World Cup in six years.