Special report: The president of the Haiti FA was once feted by Fifa, but a Guardian investigation led to him being handed a life ban over allegations of the
Sexual Abuse of young female players
Everyone still calls it “the ranch”. Situated in Croix-des-Bouquets, one of Port-au-Prince’s poorest suburbs and where Wyclef Jean spent his formative years, the Centre Technique National was once a country mansion where Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier hosted his wedding reception in 1980 at a reported cost of $5m.
Having allegedly diverted money from US humanitarian aid to finance the development of the sport that helped Haiti qualify the 1974
World Cup, Duvalier was the first to build a
Football pitch at the site now known as the
FIFA Goal Centre. Nowadays the centre it houses up to 200 young players, most of them the best prospects in Haiti. It was a power base for Yves Jean-Bart, the man who ruled Haitian football for 20 years until, in November 2020, he was banned for life by Fifa following a Guardian investigation detailing allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of young female players.