A: To go and scout players – with the success we had last year with Jean Alexandre and then Ednerson Rayman and Vaniel Sirin, and speaking to people down there, it’s still a mostly untapped market. I wanted to go and see for myself first hand. I saw three games while I was there and it confirmed my initial thoughts. There is lots of raw talent and athleticism but tactically, the games left a lot to be desired.

 

 

A: I was surprised by the level of poverty on the island. I had heard it was bad but I hadn’t realized quite how difficult some of the living conditions were. The other thing that blew me away was it’s just a soccer crazy island. Everywhere you look, there are kids playing in the street. We were driving back from one of the games, it was 9 o’clock at night, pitch black because there is no street lighting or even electricity in most of the homes, and there was a game going on. I don’t know how they could see. There were about 15 a side, kids playing in bare feet on dirt. It was incredible. It’s the only sport on the island. They don’t play anything else. You just know that there is a lot of untapped talent there but most of the kids don’t get the opportunity to play in competitive, organized soccer. It’s just games in the street.

Q: Do you think we will see more players from Haiti over here in the USA?
A: There is certainly a talent base there. For a country of 10 million and with the athleticism on display, there certainly should be lots of players around the world but I think there are only about 35 at the moment, of which about 20 are in Europe. I can see that changing now because the players who have gone to the U.S. and to Europe have done really well and I’m sure there will be other coaches and scouts going to Haiti just like I did.