By: Yiran Liu

Haiti qualifying for its first Women’s World Cup should be the spark of the future for women’s soccer across nations. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere rose to the top for the sport, with their star, Melchie Dumornay, who scored both goals.

However, the architect of the program, Jean-Bart has been embroiled for many years in an abusive scandal. This scandal was about sexual assaults on underage players and overseeing a national training center. The sport’s global governing body, FIFA, found out that he was sexually abusing players so he was banned for life. That ban was temporary. A few days before, Haiti beat Chile in February and as a result could be sent to the World Cup so the arbitrators could review the situation. They ruled that FIFA had failed to prove its case.

Jean-Bart promised to return to the leadership of Haitian soccer. He said that FIFA would not be able to stop him. If Haiti’s rank in the World Cup was a symbol that represented FIFA’s progress, Jean-Bart’s victory exposed something else. For many years, the international soccer league has allowed more female athletes into the sport. It culminated in the 2023 World Cup.