MIAMI, Florida – The initiative set forth by Concacaf to increase competition within women’s football with the expansion of the Concacaf W Championship and the advent of a W Gold Cup in 2024 has reverberated around the Concacaf region, in particular in the Caribbean.
It all begins this November with 30 nations taking the field in the qualifiers for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, and for Caribbean women’s footballers like 20-year-old Haiti MF Danielle Etienne, it’s exciting to know that so many of her colleagues from around the Caribbean will have a chance to showcase their football on a big stage.
“It’s great to see. There was a time when there weren’t these opportunities and so I think it’s awesome to see the development of women’s sports in the Caribbean. My teammates are a great example of that and there is so much talent in the Caribbean. I’m just glad that now that talent is able to be exposed and there are opportunities that are being presented,” said Etienne in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
“Now is the time to seize the moment, take those opportunities and do what you can with them and see where it takes you. It’s a great thing to have so many different young women, young girls have a chance to showcase themselves in the women’s game. I think it’s incredible,” added Etienne.
The opportunity to represent Haiti in a W Gold Cup would also be quite special for Etienne, who has watched on in recent years as her brother, Derrick, starred for the Haitian Men’s National Team, including the team that reached the semifinals of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.
“It’s funny because my brother had just played in the Gold Cup recently and I’ve had chats with my brother and my parents and said, ‘You know, the women should have that. It would be great for the women’s side.’ I guess you could say that it could not have come at a better time. It’s exciting news to see that we’re progressing toward that and I was really happy to hear that there will be a lot more playing at the national team level for the women’s side.
“Playing in a Gold Cup would be amazing. Every time I step on the field with the national team it’s an honor. To be at a tournament for the women’s side is already a big deal in itself, so to be able to perform for my country at a Gold Cup would be a great feeling. I hope we do qualify and if we are there, I’ll be ready and excited to put everything I’ve got on the field,” said Etienne.
The upcoming games in November will also be a return to official competition for Haiti for the first time since the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in which Etienne started all three matches for her country.
In that tournament, Haiti went toe-to-toe with reigning world champions the United States for much of the 90 minutes and also downed Panama, 6-0. It was another sign of the improvement of a generation of Haitian women’s footballers who had qualified for the 2018 Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
Etienne feels like the qualifying matches for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship will mark another step forward.
“I think we performed really well at the CWOQ and put ourselves out there at that tournament. I think as U17s and U20s, we’ve been climbing the ladder and that in each tournament, we were getting better, and I think now we are in a really good place. I have played with these girls for some years now. We’ve grown up together from young teenagers to young women and I think in terms of chemistry, it’s all there. We’re getting better physically and mentally and I’m really excited to get us back together, have some more camps soon and get into tournaments,” said Etienne.
In the Concacaf W Championship qualifiers, Haiti find themselves in Group E along with Cuba, Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and British Virgin Islands.
Etienne cautioned against any kind of complacency in what should be a very competitive group.
“We respect every single team that we play and so we know that in each game we have to bring everything, that we’ve got to put our best foot forward. We never want to disrespect another team or underestimate another team because any team can be amazing on their day, so in every game we’ll put everything we’ve got on the field. We’ll perform the way we need to perform and we hope those performances produce the results that we need. I think it’s an exciting group for us and we’re just ready to do what we need to do to qualify to the next stage,” concluded Etienne.
