Lessons from Curacao and Haiti’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifications

Curacao has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is the smallest nation to do so in the history of this premier soccer competition. It is more than a historic achievement; it is a testament to the power of the Curacao Diaspora.

The island joins Cape Verde, another small nation that qualified as the smallest African nation to ever do so. Both share more than their small size in common; they have strong historical and linguistic bonds that should make them speak Papiamento if they happen to meet in the same group or host country.

Similarly, Haiti also made the cut, playing and winning its last qualifying game in Curacao. Ayiti, nou nan mondyal!! After a more than 50-year wait!

Jamaica could still qualify if it defeats D.R. Congo in an intercontinental playoff next year. That would make it three Caribbean nations in the World Cup!! Something good is happening in soccer in the region that is forcing the world to take note of us.

But more importantly, what lessons can we learn from the monumental accomplishments of Curacao and Haiti?

First, that in football, size does not matter. China, the most populous nation in the world, did not qualify. They were eliminated after losing to Indonesia. India, the second largest country in the world with 1.4 billion people, did not qualify either. Neither did Nigeria, the largest country in Africa with a population of over 220 million people! Curacao has only 160,000 people; Cape Verde about 528,000 and Haiti around 12 million. It’s not the size of the nation that matters but the quality and focus of its sports program.

Secondly, Curacao counted on 24 of its sons in The Netherlands to come back home to represent their island. Talk of capacity!! Curacao tapped into the talent it has in the Diaspora. Some critics point to the fact that none of them were born on the island, but none could deny that they are of Curacaolenean heritage.

As a matter of fact, if we were to go down that path, I should point out that only three out of the 23 players in the French national team that won the 2018 World Cup were born in France! So much for the place of birth of the players. As long as the FIFA rules remain unchanged, it would be disingenuous to try to water down Curaçao’s achievement with such nonsensical arguments.

Thirdly, Haiti played its last qualifying match in Curacao due to the reigning instability in the country. Its triumph was a reminder that lack of security in one’s homeland is not necessarily an impediment to success in sports.

The celebrations in Curacao and Haiti were massive. People had something to rejoice about. National pride was boiling over in both countries. Surely, Sports brings a nation together, no matter the political or security situation there.

The power of Sports to unite people and make them forget - albeit temporarily - their differences and daily struggles, is what our world, which is full of armed conflicts, needs to harness more.

But though success is sweet and embraced by all and sundry, the road to victory is often much more difficult. It requires strategic planning. It needs purposeful training and above all, it requires a huge dose of discipline and self belief. Curacao checked all these boxes perfectly.

The island has invested wisely in Sports. It has built an infrastructure of international standards. It brought in Dick Advocaat, a legendary football manager, to handle its national team. And it called on its descendants who had the skills to honor their ancestry by representing the island of their heritage.

It also transferred its experience in other sports in which it has been successful to soccer. If it could be a powerhouse in baseball, (especially Little League) producing world class players, why not in soccer?

In fact, when we look at the wider region, we see that the Caribbean has been punching way above its weight class in Sports: Jamaica in Athletics (and bobsled); the Dominican Republic in baseball; Puerto Rico in basketball; and Cuba in Amateur boxing.

St. Kitts, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all produced Olympic medalists in Athletics.

So, what are all these islands doing right that we need to emulate? The example of Curacao is instructive. St. Martin has a pretty good pool of excellent talent too. But we cannot continue to depend on the occasional break out stars like Kearcy Carty in Cricket to revitalize our Sports.

We need a plan; a program. We need investments in infrastructure (currently we can’t even host CONCACAF/FIFA approved matches). Just as important, we need to believe that we can do it. There is no way we can wing this one. No serious nation does.

Curacao will continue to reap immense benefits from its qualification for the FIFA World Cup beyond the tournament itself. Its name will continue to make international headlines, which could translate into more tourists for the island, while the young players representing it on the world stage could now get lucrative offers to play for major clubs in Europe (including The Netherlands) and elsewhere.

Pabien, Korsou!!

Congratulations, Curaçao!!

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