The Haitian women’s selection is playing Saturday against England, the first World Cup match in its history with the new football star Melchie Dumornay in its ranks. Portrait.
Two goals for a historic feat. On February 22, Melchie Dumornay let her joy burst. By scoring twice against Chile in the final of the play-off tournament (2-1 victory), the 19-year-old nugget has just offered Haiti its ticket to the World Cup, the second in the history of the island after that disputed by men in 1974. A historic achievement for this small nation, 53rd in the FIFA rankings, which will try to win its first victory in the final phase of a World Cup, Saturday, July 22, against England.
A story that begins in Mirebalais, in the center of the island, where “Corventina” (her nickname inherited from her big brother Max “Corventon”) took her first steps on the ball from the age of 5. “I started in my neighborhood. I played football barefoot, not with girls, because I grew up with boys”, she says at the Parisian .
Spotted at only ten years old, she quickly joined Camp Nou, a few kilometers from Port-au-Prince. Trained in this center for young football talents inaugurated in 2012 and at the origin of the success of the current generation, Melchie Dumornay is outclassed in each young team and sometimes plays with the boys.
The Stade de Reims as a springboard
Barely her majority obtained in 2021, it is at the Stade de Reims, that from the height of her 1.57 m, she puts down her suitcases to launch her professional career. “We spotted him in 2018 at the U20 World Cup in Brittany, remembers Reims coach Amandine Miquel. We were in preparation and in our free time, we went to see the Germany-Haiti match by chance. She had been upgraded and by the time she was 15 she was able to hold the Germans athletically.”
“I don’t see a position where she can’t play. With her speed and her power, she can play defender and even in goal because she has a huge leap”
Amandine Miquel, Stade de Reims coachat Franceinfo: sports
Followed by all the big clubs in Europe, she joined France where many Haitian players play. In Champagne, she finds her compatriot and roommate Kethna Louis who helps her acclimatize to France.
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In the city of Coronations, the queen of the Haitian selection conquered D1 Arkema with 23 goals scored in 39 games. Elected revelation of the season in D1, the 1.57m midfielder impresses with both her technical and physical qualities.
A local star forced into forced exile
With her jovial smile, the young talent is a celebrity on this football-loving island who carefully follows the development of her local star. While her teammate Kethna Louis, less publicized, can return home, the notoriety of Melchie Dumornay has prevented her from returning for two years, in a country plagued by violence. Since January, 1,000 people were kidnapped there and 2,000 were killed in firefights between armed gangs according the United Nations .
“Like any famous person, she could become a target for kidnappers, completes Jean-Marie Theodat, lecturer at the Sorbonne, specialist in issues relating to Haiti. It can also be seen as a political sign of disavowal of the government in place, which is illegitimate. If she came back now, the government could take advantage of her presence and that’s what she refuses.”
“It’s really hard not to be able to return easily to your country. After this qualification (for the World Cup), all Haitians wanted us to come back to celebrate and take pictures. I hope with all my heart to return there quickly.”
Melchie Dumornay, Haiti midfielderat the Parisian
If she still does not know when she will be able to make a triumphant return to Haiti, the young nugget will continue her sporting adventure, the World Cup finished, in Lyon next year, with the objective of winning everything. Even the Ballon d’Or? “No problem, I don’t see how it’s possible that she doesn’t have a Ballon d’Or, assures Amandine Miquel. She is a player who is far above the others.”