Real Hope Football Academy (white jersey) in action against the Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC in a Clásico de Campeones game on November 16, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Cibao FC)
COUVA, Trinidad & Tobago – Haiti’s Real Hope Football will be making its first-ever appearance in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship on Wednesday, when it meets host W Connection in the second game of a first-round, Group A doubleheader at Ato Boldon Stadium.
CONCACAF.com takes a look at one of the Caribbean’s fastest-rising football clubs:
REAL HOPE FOOTBALL ACADEMY
Founded: 2014
Home Field: Stade Parc Saint Victor / Cap-Haitien, Haiti
Titles: Division 2 champion-1 (2015); Division 1 champion-1 (2017 Série d'Ouverture)
Head Coach: Sonche Pierre (65-years-old, Haiti)
Key Players: FW Ronaldo Damus (18), MF Jackinto Jean (26), MF Johnson Jeudy (19), GK Louis Valendi Odelus (23), DF Fardyson Pierre (19), MF Wendy St. Felix (19), MF Nerlin Saint-Vil (22)
Scouting Report
Real Hope Football Academy is a very young and talented side that is buoyed by a high degree of physical conditioning. The midfield is a true strength, but with forward Ronaldo Damus and goalkeeper Louis Valendi Odelus – both Haiti internationals – Real du Cap has high-level players at the extreme ends of the pitch.
Points of Interest
- Real Hope Football Academy was founded in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, on March 15, 2014, and it climbed from Division 3 to Division 1 in just two years.
- Seven of the 20 players on the roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship were born in 1998 or later.
- FW Ronaldo Damus was second on the 2015 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship’s scoring chart with four goals. He netted eight goals in Caribbean qualifying for the 2017 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, where he struck once in a 5-1 win over St. Kitts & Nevis.
