Caribbean Cup: Concacaf postpones the Haiti–Jamaica semifinal after Dominican ban

Concacaf postponed the second leg of the 2026 Concacaf Caribbean Cup semifinals between Violette AC of Haiti and Portmore United of Jamaica, which was to be played this Tuesday, October 20, at Cibao FC's stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. The decision followed the Dominican government's ratification of its ban on matches by Haitian teams at sports facilities in the country.

According to an official Concacaf statement published on October 18, the match is expected to be played during the week of October 26, although the new date, kickoff time and venue are pending confirmation. The confederation said it will provide further details in the coming days.

The ban was reiterated on Sunday by Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz, who stated that Haitian national teams and clubs cannot play on Dominican territory, a position backed by President Luis Abinader. The veto dates back to incidents on October 1 at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, where Haitian fans tore down a gate before a match between the Dominican Republic and Haiti national teams, which ended in a 4-1 Haitian win, according to Dominican press reports.

Violette AC had been using Cibao FC's stadium as its home venue earlier in the tournament. The club said that after Concacaf's notification it began preparations to return its delegation to Haiti, having received the ban about 48 hours before the match, with both teams already in the Dominican Republic.

Photo: Concacaf

Source: Concacaf.