\n<\/p>\n
Hundreds of supporters welcomed Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger in Les Cayes during the latest stop of the Grenadiers’ nationwide tour celebrating Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years.<\/p>\n
LES CAYES \u2014 Hundreds of residents lined the streets of Les Cayes on July 9 to welcome Grenadiers Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger as the pair continued a nationwide tour celebrating Haiti\u2019s return to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 52-year absence.<\/p>\n
After stops in Cap-Ha\u00eftien and Port-au-Prince, the two players arrived by helicopter at Antoine-Simon International Airport, where hundreds of supporters, local officials and musicians gathered to greet them before escorting them through the city.<\/p>\n
Arriving by helicopter at Les Cayes\u2019 Antoine-Simon International Airport, the pair of Haitian internationals were met by local dignitaries from the Southern Departmental Delegation, City Hall, and the regional Tourism Ministry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good. This is my mother\u2019s birth department, she is from the South,\u201d the Haitian striker confided in front of Antoine-Simon airport.<\/p>\n
Outside the airport, supporters waved flags, chanted the players\u2019 names and held handmade signs as a procession of motorcycles and vehicles escorted Nazon and Duverger through the streets of Les Cayes.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s mayor, Claire Daphn\u00e9e France, said the players\u2019 World Cup journey had given Haitians something to celebrate during a difficult period for the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 52 years, you allowed Haiti to return to the World Cup. You did not return with a trophy, but you returned with the pride of an entire people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In the city downtown, another crowd gathered with members of the Lob\u00e8y Rara group, turning the visit into a street celebration. Fans took photos, greeted the players and thanked them for representing Haiti on football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
Among the chants heard throughout the celebration was \u201cD\u00e9bloke peyi a\u201d \u2014 \u201c<\/em>Free the country\u201d \u2014<\/em> a slogan that has come to symbolize hope and national unity throughout Haiti\u2019s World Cup participation.<\/p>\n Nazon, who has built a close relationship with supporters, stepped into the crowd to greet fans along the route.<\/p>\n The visit continued beyond the celebrations in Les Cayes.<\/p>\n Nazon and Duverger traveled to Camp-Perrin, where they visited the Saut-Mathurine waterfall and met with residents. Nazon also visited some of the more than 40 homes he built for families displaced by the devastating August 2021 earthquake in the nearby town of Raymond as part of his ongoing charitable work.<\/p>\n As he did during his visit to Cap-Ha\u00eftien, Nazon ended the day on a football field, spending time with children and playing an informal match at Carrefour Bouette in Camp-Perrin.<\/p>\n Scenes from Les Cayes visit:\u00a0<\/p>\n Members of Les Grenadiers World Cup team greeted by cheering crowds in southern Haiti<\/p>\n Residents gather along the streets of Les Cayes to catch a glimpse of Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger during the latest stop of the national team\u2019s post-World Cup tour on Friday, July 9, 2026.<\/p>\n Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger ride through the streets of Les Cayes as supporters line the parade route to welcome the Grenadiers home on Friday, July 9, 2026, following Haiti\u2019s historic World Cup appearance.<\/p>\n Duckens Nazon with a fan in Les Cayes as supporters line the parade route to welcome the Grenadiers home on Friday, July 9, 2026, following Haiti\u2019s historic World Cup appearance<\/p>\n A street \u2018rara\u2019 band plays in the welcome parade in the streets of Les Cayes as Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger continue a nationwide tour thanking supporters across Haiti on Friday, July 9, 2026<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Overview: Hundreds of supporters welcomed Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger in Les Cayes during the latest stop of the Grenadiers’ nationwide tour celebrating Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years. LES CAYES \u2014 Hundreds of residents lined the streets of Les Cayes on July 9 to welcome Grenadiers Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11991],"tags":[25182,25183,952,25181,24054,34,12011,744,20340,919],"class_list":["post-35267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-haiti-news","tag-cheering","tag-crowds","tag-cup","tag-greeted","tag-grenadiers","tag-haiti","tag-latest-news","tag-southern","tag-wc2026","tag-world"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_4109-scaled.jpeg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Haiti News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Overview: Hundreds of supporters welcomed Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9 Duverger in Les Cayes during the latest stop of the Grenadiers’ nationwide tour celebrating Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years. LES CAYES \u2014 Hundreds of residents lined the streets of Les Cayes on July 9 to welcome Grenadiers Duckens Nazon and Josu\u00e9…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35269,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35267\/revisions\/35269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Related<\/em><\/h3><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"