The story is part of an interview published by FIFA on its official website. Pierrot was born on March 29, 1995 in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, and currently plays for Çaykur Rizespor in Turkey, a club he joined on loan from AEK Athens in Greece.
“We played barefoot because we didn’t have shoes or even a real ball. We used oranges or anything that rolled,” the forward recalled.
Those experiences marked the beginnings of a career that took him from Haiti to European soccer, passing through the United States, where he settled with his family in Massachusetts at the age of 11.
At 31 years old, Pierrot faces one of the most important moments of his sporting career. Haiti will play in the World Cup again after 52 years of absence and the striker will be one of the main figures of the team.
“This is bigger than football. We come from a land that knows struggle, but also full of courage. It is for every person who continues to believe, despite everything that is happening at home,” he said.
Pierrot arrives at the 2026 World Cup as one of the leaders of “Les Grenadiers” and a key piece of the team that achieved qualification.
Haiti’s debut will be in Group C against Scotland, at Gillette Stadium in Boston, a city with a special meaning for the forward, since he spent part of his childhood in Massachusetts after emigrating from Haiti.
The state of Massachusetts recently recognized his career with a commemorative day in his honor.
Pierrot’s story reflects the journey of a footballer who went from playing in precarious conditions during his childhood to representing his country on the most important stage in world football.
A reference for the Haitian team
Frantzdy Pierrot has played 50 games with the Haiti national team, in which he has accumulated 3,675 minutes of play. In addition, he has established himself as the all-time top scorer for “Les Grenadiers”, with 34 goals and seven assists.
The forward has started 34 games and has a record of 27 wins, six draws and five losses.
His contribution has been especially important in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, where he scored eight goals in 14 games and became one of the figures in Haiti’s qualification.
In addition, he has five goals in 10 Gold Cup games and six scores in different editions of the Concacaf Nations League.
Pierrot also has experience in Europe’s top club competition. During his time at Maccabi Haifa in Israel, in the 2022-2023 season, the Haitian striker played in the Champions League, both in the qualifying rounds and in the group stage.
In the previous stages of the tournament he stood out with several goals, including a decisive double for his team’s qualification. In total, he recorded eight appearances and five goals in the competition.
These numbers make him one of the few Haitian soccer players with participation and scoring in the main club competition in European soccer.