Following the announcement of the return leg, scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, between Violette AC (Haiti) and Portmore United (Jamaica) at the Cibao Fútbol Club stadium in Santiago as part of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Caribbean Cup semifinals (within the CONCACAF Champions League), Dominican Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz reiterated on Sunday the stance he had expressed on October 1st. This position, which followed incidents at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium during a match between the two Nations' national teams, entails a ban on Haiti’s national football team—and any other team from that country—from playing in Dominican stadiums. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-48578-haiti-flash-the-grenadiers-banned-from-playing-in-the-dominican-republic.html

It should be noted that the position taken by Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz was supported shortly thereafter by President Luis Abinader, thereby becoming the official policy of the Dominican government.

José Francisco Deschamps, President of the Dominican Football Federation (Fedofútbol), stated that he is complying with the Dominican government’s decision to prohibit Haitian national and club teams from playing matches in the country’s sports facilities. Deschamps affirmed that the federation respects the official position of the Ministry of Sports and that it is up to government authorities to take whatever measures they deem necessary. Consequently, the return leg of the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup semi-finals between Violette AC (Haiti) and Portmore United (Jamaica), originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at the Cibao FC Stadium (Dominican Republic), has been officially postponed by CONCACAF to the week of October 26, 2026. CONCACAF has indicated that the specific date, exact time, and confirmation of the venue will be announced in the coming days.

BF/ iciHaiti