Today marks one year since the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti -- one of the biggest natural
disasters to ever hit the Caribbean region. It will take many years for Haiti to rebuild its
country and its football infrastructure, but over the past 12 months Haitian football has shown
itself to be resilient through such vast destruction.
There have been some news out of Haitian football in the past week, which will require a couple of
posts. Here is the first one. The FHF has announced the return of the Haitian Cup (Coupe d'Haiti)
as a bridge between the current football season and the next one. The tournament starts 21 April
with 32 teams from the top two divisions in eight groups of four.
Sorry I've been so quiet for the last few days. I've been traveling and taking advantage of a lull
in the soccer world, at least in this region. The big news is Haiti, and will be for the
foreseeable future. It will take years and perhaps decades for Haitians -- both inside Haiti and
overseas -- to rebuild the country, with assistance from various countries and international
organizations.
Some of the victims of the massive earthquake in Haiti have been identified, and it is becoming
clear -- if it hasn't already -- that Haitian football has suffered an enormous blow. Just among
the coaching ranks, we know the following have died: Gerard Cineus, former Haitian senior national
team coach Jean Ives Labaze, Haitian U-17 national team coach (men's/women's) Alix Avin, manager of
Tempete SA If I'm reading this article correctly, it appears that there was a meeting among the
technical staff of the women's national team to plan the activities leading up to the CONCACAF
qualifiers for the.
The news from Haiti continues to be full of grimness and horror. Even after a week after the
earthquake, the extent of the losses continue to be revealed. Horace Burrell, head of the Jamaican
Football Federation, returned yesterday from a fact-finding mission in Haiti over the weekend and
wrote a report to CONCACAF head Jack Warner, which was published in several Caribbean newspapers.
While the rest of us are safely in our homes enjoying football this weekend, there are millions
who are injured, traumatized and in a state of pain from the Haiti earthquake.
Every day, new bodies are recovered but their suffering is beyond what many of us can fathom.
Futbolitas, we can do something to help nuestros semejantes.
The news story of the day -- which could become the news story of the year in the Caribbean -- is
the major earthquake that struck just off the coast of Haiti this afternoon. I don't know what to
say about the earthquake and its aftermath; to say that it's bad is a severe understatement. There
are charities and agencies that do really good work, and here's a list of others.
As I thought when I first saw the overhead photos, the field at Sylvio Cator stadium is indeed
being used as a refugee camp and a field hospital by the UN. Jeff Rusnak of the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel has more.
