24043: Slavin: (News) Cuba beats Haiti in qualifier (AP011105) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JPS390@aol.com

http://www2.sbs.com.au/home/index.php3?id=53494

Cuba beats Haiti in qualifier
AP

Cuba beat Haiti 1-0 in the first competitive international football game in Port au Prince in three years in a CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying match.

The two will meet in a third-round, second-leg game in Havana next Sunday, with the winner advancing to the four-team Caribbean Cup finals in Barbados in February.

Three teams from the Caribbean Cup qualify for the Gold Cup in July.

Cuba forward Maikel Castaneda scored the only goal six minutes into the second half, following a pass from forward Alain Cervantes.

A handful of happy Cubans, part of a medical outreach program, were among a crowd of 8,000, including Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, at a stadium protected by 200 United Nations troops and scores of Haitian and international police.

Cuba played Haiti in Havana in 2002 but has not played in Haiti since 1996.

The absence of a functioning stadium and a general lack of security have prevented foreign teams from playing in Haiti since 2002, officials said.

Port-au-Prince's Sylvio Cator Stadium was renovated five months ago for a friendly 'match for peace' between Haiti and Brazil.

Brazil, which leads the mission with 1,200 troops, played as a gift to the Haitian people, who are largely Brazilian football fanatics.

In the aftermath of a rebellion that drove President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power last February, a 7,400-strong UN peacekeeping force is in Haiti to help restore stability.

Updated: Mon, Jan 10, 2005 01:07:33 PM AEST
All photos copyright AAP

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J.P. Slavin
New York
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