For the first time in more than fifty years, Haiti is headed to the FIFA World Cup.
And the remarkable road to get there has the team’s fans cheering around the world, including in Ohio where at least 30,000 Haitians are estimated to now live.
Fifty-two years. That's a long time to wait.
Back in Port-au-Prince, armed gangs control most of the capital. The national stadium, gone.
So Haiti's national team, Les Grenadiers, did what nobody else in World Cup history had ever done: they played every home game somewhere else, on the island of Curacao, 500 miles from home.
And they won anyway.
In Port-au-Prince, when the news hit, there were fireworks. Dancing. Flags in the streets.
And here in Ohio, Sophia Pierrelus of Columbus felt every bit of it.
She's part of the city's Haitian community, and she'll tell you, this moment is about so much more than soccer.
"It goes beyond soccer, it was beyond football. It is also about national pride. We feel like very now people can see us because Haitian are very prideful," Pierrelus said. "So we feel like, okay, now we are part of it; people can actually see Haiti playing with Brazil, Haiti playing with Argentine that really makes us feel like... We belong at the table."
Haiti is placed in a group with Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland. The team's first match is June 13.
For Haitians everywhere and right here in Ohio, they'll be watching every minute.
