Former Sweden and USA coach Pia Sundhage has been tasked with guiding Haiti to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™ in an unexpected return to the international stage.
Sundhage, who replaces Malou Quignette in the role, was most recently in charge of Switzerland. The announcement came on her 66th birthday on Friday.
The veteran coach has a wealth of international experience, having led USA to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ final as well as Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012. At the Rio 2016 Games, she guided her native Sweden to a silver medal, famously knocking out the Stars and Stripes along the way.
Sundhage led hosts Switzerland team to the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2025, capturing the nation’s imagination, but she was relieved of her duties in November.
She takes over a Haiti team looking to qualify for their second Women’s World Cup after Les Grenadieres reached the group stage at Australia/New Zealand 2023.
Haiti are currently second in Group D qualifying for the Concacaf W Championship 2026, which serves as the preliminaries for Brazil 2027. They next face table-toppers Suriname on 3 March prior to fixtures with Anguilla and Dominican Republic in April. The winners of each group qualify for the regional finals later this year.
“A new chapter is ready to be written in the history of Haitian women’s football. A new vision. A new energy,” the Haitian Football Federation said in a statement.
