From violence to visas Violette AC has overcoma lot to repre

At least once a week for the last 10 months, the members of Haitian club Violette AC, a soccer team based in Port-au-Prince, have gathered at a hotel or a players home to sit in a circle and listen.

Whats said isnt always loud, and very often has nothing to do with soccer. But the sound of conversation is enough to drown out the noise of gunfire and violence inside a country that is onthe brink of a humanitarian disaster.Haiti has been dealing with escalating violence, especially among gang-led organizations for some time. Tension has only elevated since the killing of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Doctors Without Borders has been forced to close a hospital in the capital due to the violence.

So far, the group of Violette players, mostly unknown to the soccer world, have found a way to lean on one another at least on the field. In one of the more shocking results in recent CONCACAF Champions League history, Violette began the regional tournament last week with a3-0 upset over Austin FC, who finished fourth in the MLS regular season standings last season and had a team salary of just over $15 million 12th-highest in the league.

The game, which should have been a home game for Violette, was played in the Dominican Republic due to the violence in Haiti.For the return leg, the club travels to the Texas state capital for a Tuesday night game in a very different setting at Q2 Stadium. It would take at least four goals from Austin to defeat Violette and keep the Haitian team from advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition.

Haitian players acknowledged that not every member of the team has been granted a visa for entry into the United States due to the ongoing issues in Haiti. It wouldnt be the first time similar issues impact a Haitian team in the competition last year, Logânes Cavaly FC had to withdraw from its matchup with the New England Revolution after failing to secure enough visas for a traveling party.

Its also not the first time an MLS side has been embarrassed at a Champions League away match. In 2022, the 2021 Western Conference champions Colorado Rapids lost the first leg of their Round of 16 match-up against Guatemalas Comunicaciones FC before winning in penalties at home. The 2019 Champions League Round of 16 saw Costa Ricas Herediano upset Atlanta United 3-1 and Panamas Independiente wallop Toronto FC 4-0 in the first legs. Atlanta would recover and win their series and Toronto would not. That last result could inspire Violette.

Though it is not clear exactly how many players will be available on Tuesday, a source with knowledge of the situation toldThe Athleticthat 15 players obtained visas, with several more still processing. The source was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Looks like confirmation of the reports out of Austin that visa problems have led Violette to call on temporary US signings to field a full squad tomorrow as they defend their 3-0 first-leg advantage.

Maybe someone some light at some point?

Charles Boehm (@cboehm)March 13, 2023

Meanwhile, CONCACAF said it received assurances from AC Violette that the club has obtained more than the required number of visas for first-team players to travel and compete.

Some of the players who didnt get visas arereallyimportant to us, midfielder Shad San Millan said. If we have to go with just 12 players, were still going to put our hearts into the game.

Any whispers about Haitian players defecting once they arrive in the United States should remain just as that, according to the team.

Were all in this together, captain Steeven Saba said. Were only here to play football.

On the Violette team, no one is immune to the devastation in Haiti. Friends and family being displaced is a common occurrence. So, instead of quickly making their way home once training obligations are finished, Violette players remain close to each other.

Saba is hesitant to call the team discussions therapy, but the floor is open for players to share whats on their minds.

To know how someone feels, do they have any pain in some way, we want to be there to help them, Saba toldThe Athletic.

Violette represents not just Haiti, but the entire Caribbean in the CONCACAF Champions League, as the only team from the region to qualify for the round of 16. They are supposed to be a family, said Saba. Their goal is not just to compete in makeshift fields that look nothing like pristine stadiums such as Austins Q2 Stadium, where theyll play on Tuesday. Their goal is to be here for one another.

Its true, there are a lot of problems in Haiti, and that doesnt give us any advantages, San Millan said. But weve always said we can compete with the best in the world.

This is the story of what it takes to do just that.

As Violette boarded a bus headed across the Haitian border for the Dominican Republic, players understood what kind of odds they were given to succeed against Austin FC. The civil unrest meant that they could not play the first leg of their home-and-away aggregate series in Haiti and instead were forced to host a game an eight-hour bus drive away at Estadio Cibao, which featured a large tree that hung over one of the goals.

I want to know everything there is to know about this giant tree behind Violettes goal at the Estadio Cibao in the Dominican /ttMwBEhn1Z

Joseph Lowery (@joeclowery)March 7, 2023

From the outset, it felt like the kind of game Austin, with experienced MLS players, should have won in a landslide.

But in the months leading up to the match, with no other competitive games on the schedule, the message from Violettes coaching staff was uniform: the teamhadto be aggressive. Opportunities like the one in front of them wouldnt come again, if at all. If they didnt try to impose their will upon Austin with consistent energy, they believed theyd be letting down family and friends across the border in Haiti.

Every time Haitian people hear good news about Haitian soccer, it makes them happy, said San Millan. Its a privilege for us to make them happy.

The violence plaguing Haiti means Ligue Haitienne has not had a full season since 2021. Violette was crowned champions that season, which qualified them for the 2022 Caribbean Club Championship. Throughout that nine-day tournament in May 2022, Violette completed multiple come-from-behind wins before winning the tournament on penalties.

The final took place on May 22, 2022. It was the last competitive match they played, making it 290 days between their last game and their win over Austin. Austin FC played 25 games in that same stretch.

Technically, Violettes players are professionals. But having second jobs is necessary in a country with a per capita GDP of $1,664, according to 2021 estimates from the United Nations. That number is the lowest of any country in the Americas. Saba, the captain, works in a hardware store that has been owned by his family for two generations. And when San Millan returns home from training, he hits the books. Champions League games or not, the 18-year-old is still a few credits shy of the requirements for a high school diploma.

My mom is a teacher, and shes pretty strict with school, San Millan said.

And so since qualifying in May 2022, through the nearly 300 days of waiting and not playing, and watching as their home falls deeper and deeper into uncertainty, the opportunity to change the perception of Haitian football was one they welcomed with eager anticipation.

Thats literally how life is for us, said Saba. You just never have to stop believing.

The team has learned that even in the muggy heat, its better to train in the morning and avoid training in the evening at all costs. Some players live hours away from Port-au-Prince and asking them to travel in the dark is a threat to their safety.

Training sessions have sometimes been cut short as riots broke out nearby.

There would be chaos in the streets and wed have to run back home, San Millan said. I always prayed for my teammates that wed be able to get back home after training.

As the game against Austin drew closer, the team meetings intensified. There were fears, at first from some corners of the dressing room, about the team being embarrassed.

Those feelings only lasted for so long. Theyd stayed positive throughout such turmoil over the past few years in Haiti, why would an upcoming match necessitate feelings of, well, anything but that same positivity?

San Millan acknowledged that while constant league games might have improved the team physically, it was the constant discussions the team had about their future that benefitted them mentally.

Everyone not only stayed positive, San Millan said, but everyone also pushed each other.

As a veteran member of the Haitian national team, Saba has seen what the power of positive self-belief can bring. Saba was on the field when Haiti came back from 2-0 down to upset a talented Canadian national team in the 2019 Gold Cup quarterfinals and was on the field just days later when Mexico, the titans of the region, needed a 93rd-minute penalty to finally beat Haiti.

So his message to his team, even minutes before they walked onto the field against Austin, was consistent: We have to be there for one another.

Whether youre experienced or not, the ball is round for everyone, Saba said.

On match day, Violettes players looked out into the stands as they took the field and saw, at best, dozens of people watching. But they thought of family and friends back home.

For the people that have been suffering, of course, theyre very proud of us, San Millan said.

When Violette striker Miche-Nader Chery leapt up above Austin center back Amro Tarek and headed home the opening goal of the tournament just 13 minutes in, they thought of their families.

They thought of their friends as they kept coming at Austin in waves, showing the kind of energy the visitors lacked with overlapping run after overlapping run. Just 26 minutes after their opening goal, when Chery again leapt inexplicably high to get a head on his second goal, the towering mountain in front of them seemed like it could be scaled.

Nearly 300 days of waiting meant they didnt slow down after half. Chery nearly completed the hat trick with a header in the 47thminute that was at first saved by Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver before Tarek bungled a clearing attempt and kicked the ball into his net.

Chery buried his head into the ground in disbelief. Violette had willed a more experienced and well-paid Austin team into submission. A few yards away, Saba shared in that disbelief, but only for a moment.

Somehow, some way, were always ready for whatever comes at us, Saba said.

Violette players hugged each other tight, smiled and laughed in the center of the pitch. When they returned to their dressing room, coach Rony Attimy swept the team into a swell of emotion with a single message that is still ringing in Sabas ears, days afterward: Youre proving what you believed in.

And thats what Violette players want those now paying attention to know when they journey across the Gulf of Mexico to play the return leg on Tuesday: There is more to Haiti than what the headlines dictate.

Ive been saying it for too long. Theres a lot of talent in Haiti, Saba said. But because of how the country is, we go unrecognized.

And so before the game kicks off, Violette will again meet in a circle to remind each other of what they, and perhaps an entire country, are capable of.

Its bigger than football for us, Saba said. Were fighting for a whole country.

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Joshua Klokeis a staff writer who has covered the Maple Leafs and Canadian soccer for The Athletic since 2016. Previously, he was a freelance writer for various publications, including Sports Illustrated.Follow Joshua on Twitter@joshuakloke