Port-au-Prince, Haiti – As Haiti’s U-17 national football team gears up for the 2025 FIFA World Cup, a notable financial contribution from the lottery company Paryaj Lakay has been announced, aiming to bolster the team’s preparations. Though, the transparency surrounding the allocation of these funds has sparked concern among fans and observers, given the Haitian football Federation’s (FHF) history of financial mismanagement and allegations of corruption.
The exact breakdown of how the $150,000 will be utilized remains undisclosed. Neither the FHF nor Paryaj Lakay provided comments to The Haitian Times when contacted for clarification.
This lack of transparency is particularly concerning in light of past incidents. In 2017, FIFA allocated $500,000 to the FHF for the rehabilitation of six football fields damaged by Hurricane Matthew. However, these funds reportedly failed to result in any visible improvements. Moreover, in 2019, Haiti’s senior men’s national team reached the gold Cup semifinals, a historic achievement. Despite receiving $200,000 from CONCACAF for the tournament, players did not receive their promised bonuses, as reported by AyiboPost. These recurring issues have fostered a climate of doubt regarding the effective use of financial contributions within Haitian football.
“Yes,Paryaj Lakay is trying to save the team,but people in the federation might not use all of it on the team. We must have doubts. We live in a corrupt country,” stated soccer fan Varona Jean-Charles, echoing sentiments shared by Facebook user Vilgard Charles.
World Cup preparation in three phases
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the Haitian U-17 team’s preparation for the World Cup is structured in three distinct phases. The initial phase is currently underway in Port-au-Prince, with 26 players participating in training. The team recently secured a victory against local club Abeilles FC in a friendly match on July 29. Subsequent training and additional warm-up games are scheduled in the southern and northern regions of Haiti this month.
The second phase of training will take place in Jamaica from August 31 to September 14. The final preparatory phase is slated for Spain, commencing on September 15 and concluding on October 31, before the team’s departure for Qatar.
At the 2025 U-17 FIFA World Cup,Haiti,known as Les Grenadiers,will compete in group Stage matches against Egypt on November 4,England on November 7,and Venezuela on November 10.
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