Pierre’s possible move to a Ukrainian club underlines the need of Haitian players for agents

CAP-HAITIEN — Woodensky Pierre, the defensive midfielder for Violette Athletic Club, is one of the few players in the Haitian soccer league to have a professional agent. Thanks to the work of his agent Jérôme Salbert, Pierre is in the process of joining Ukrainian club FC Kryvbas Kryvyi. Salbert told Haiti-Tempo, however, that the talented Haitian midfielder must first obtain a visa before his transfer can be completed.

Meanwhile, numerous other talented young players are not receiving offers from abroad this summer, partly because they do not have professional agents to represent them. One of the most poignant examples is Real Hope Football Academy star winger Rapha Intervil.

Erick Dalusma, a former Haitian league coach, said the lack of agents in Haiti prevented players from taking their talent abroad.

“Many people in our championship have the talent but no one to sell it,” said Dalusma. “We need agents. That’s really important. If we don’t want to waste our talent, we need agents.”

Dalusma is a founding member, former player and ex-coach of the Ouanaminthe Football Club in 2011. He led the club to the final of the Haitian League last season before parting ways with the club to move to Orlando, Florida under the I-134A humanitarian parole program.

Pierre, 19, is a former Haiti U20 player. He was called up to the senior team for the World Cup qualifiers in June, but did not travel from Haiti to Barbados for administrative reasons.

The Cité Soleil native was loaned to Real Hope Football Academy last season and helped the club win the Haitian League.

The club interested in Pierre, FC Kryvbas, finished third in the Ukrainian league last season and will compete in the preliminary round of the Europa League.

Pierre’s agent also represents the head coach of the Haitian men’s team, Frenchman Sébastien Migné.

Because there are no professional agents in Haiti, players often rely on coaches, club presidents and friends to negotiate on their behalf when a club shows interest. For national team players, a representative of the Haitian Football Federation usually handles negotiations. However, these individuals lack formal training and do not understand all aspects of contract negotiations, potentially causing players to miss out on contract opportunities. In addition, they do not actively seek out teams for players, resulting in a lot of talent being wasted in Haiti.

When Dalusma played for Ouanaminthe, his coach was his contract negotiator and never gave him the green light to leave the club, despite other clubs being interested in him. Cavaly Association Sportive de Lèogâne, Violette and Real Hope were all very interested in Dalusma.

“The coach always says no (to local transfers),” Dalusma said. “I’ve never had an agent.”

In order for more players to have agents, former players who are still in Haiti would have to form an association to train people how to become professional agents, Dalusma said.

“Let’s find a way to make our players known on the international market,” said Dalusma. “Start an agent association.”

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