We all saw the scenes of devastation in Haiti earlier this year.  We saw the horrific photos and footage from the scene, we saw the struggle to maintain order.  The earthquake affected 3 million people leaving around 230,000 people dead.  The Haiti Football (Soccer) Federation (FHF) was no different, their headquarters collapsed in the earthquake and 32 of their back office staff died in the disaster, a number of their national team players were also among the deceased.  The FHF also gave use of their national team’s stadium for a refugee camp, which is still in use.

The outpouring of support for Haiti has been moving, millions of dollars have been donated from all over the world, and the Hope for Haiti concerts drew thousands.  Last night was San Antonio’s turn to help.

With the National Soccer Team stranded, without a home, lacking facilities (including balls & cleats) & needing a place to train, connections lead the FHF to contact San Antonio, who welcomed them with open arms.

The team has been staying in San Antonio since last week while training in New Braunfels.  The Haitians have a friendly against Argentina followed by the Caribbean Cup, an important tournament that doubles as a qualifier for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and needed some way to prepare for that.  San Antonio was able to offer facilities for training & lodging along with counseling.

When it comes to preparing for an important tournament it is important to get some match practice in, and that’s where Trinity University stepped in, offering to play a friendly match against the Haitians last night.

The soccer loving public of San Antonio responded, with short notice, over 2000 people crammed the sides of this tiny 400 seat field, largely driven to the game by the social media such as Facebook. The Crocketteers also attended, starting up chants to spur on the Haitian team.

This game had a different feel to it than the other fundraising events for Haiti, this wasn’t about mourning. This was a celebration of the Haitian’s recovery and the power of soccer for good. The Haitian’s arrival on the pitch was welcomed by a round of applause and donations were given before the kick off.

The Haitians won the match 2-0, although that wasn’t the most important thing last night. The support the San Antonio Soccer public gave this organization in deep need was immense.  We don’t know the figures but large buckets were being filled with money for donations, people were wearing the “I love Haiti” t-shirts that were on sale at the grounds, not to mention the number of equipment donations.

San Antonio Soccer shined last night in their support of a desperate Haitian National Team.  Imagine the amount of good that could be done by the San Antonio soccer community if we had our own pro team behind us, that 2000 was only the start of what we could do.  Last night, cheering for the Haitian National Team was like cheering for our very own team.

Tags: Haiti, Hatian National Team, Soccer, Trinity