The life story of the Haitian soccer player, Melchie Dumornay, is one in a million. Coming from a country immersed in poverty and crime to be awarded as the best young player of the Women’s Champions League 2023/24 and become a reference for football in her country.
Haiti is a country mired in poverty and famine. According to the United Nations (UN), almost 50% of the population needs some type of food aid. Despite all the difficulties, Melchie managed to stand out in a sport that, until then, had no female reference. From a very young age she began to excel in soccer and at the age of 14 she had the opportunity to try herself in the old continent.
Olympique de Lyon was the team that took her to her first tests in France, but despite leaving a great impression, her signing could not be completed given her young age. After that, she had a great performance in the U-20 team, becoming a top scorer – with 14 conquests – in the Concacaf of that category. At the age of 16, it would be the Stade de Reims that definitively opened the doors to European football. In 2020 Melchie was recognized as the most promising footballer in the world by Goal magazine.
CRIME AND ‘NO’ PREPAREDNESS IN HAITI
It is not only poverty that invades the Haitian people, but also crime. It is estimated that up to 90% of Port-au-Prince (Haiti’s capital) is dominated by local gangs, a factor that did not allow the Haitian women’s team to prepare for the 2023 World Cup in their country. Despite this, Dumornay and company were present in the competition, marking a milestone in the sporting history of their country.
In 2023 and at only 20 years old, Melchie took the leap in his career by joining Olympique Lyon. The Haitian has had one of her best seasons in Europe. In the French league he played 13 games, scoring six goals and five assists. In the Women’s Champions League she played five games, scoring two goals and three assists, leading her team to the final of the tournament, which they ended up losing to FC Barcelona. Likewise, she was chosen as the best young player of the tournament.
Melchie Dumornay, the athlete who at her young age has already impregnated her name in the history of Haitian football and who despite the difficulties imposed on her by her country, has positioned herself as a reference in sport and a role model that He gives hope to his compatriots.