Atlanta’s only World Cup player gets welcome homecoming with Haiti
Haiti’s run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended with a 4-2 loss to Morocco in their final group-stage match Wednesday, but for one player on Haiti’s team, the game was a dream come true.
Louicius Deedson — the only player from Atlanta competing in this World Cup — was coming home. The opportunity to play in front of his friends and family happened in the stadium his sights have been set on since it opened when he was 16 years old, in the most important tournament of his life.
It was more than just chance. It was serendipity.
After all, it was Deedson’s goal against Nicaragua in the World Cup qualifiers that secured Haiti’s first qualification in more than 50 years. In a country battered by gang violence and political instability, with nearly 1.5 million people internally displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the team has emerged as an extraordinary symbol of hope for the nation.
The humanitarian crisis engulfing Haiti forced Deedson to leave his homeland at just 13 years old. Arriving alone in Georgia as a refugee while his family remained behind, he began a journey marked by separation and uncertainty.
Through it all, one thing kept him connected to the life he had left behind: soccer.
The making of a professional
Deedson’s love for the game, paired with exceptional talent, gave him an unwavering belief in a better future. But talent alone was never enough. Succeeding in any sport demands resilience and sacrifice — qualities Deedson had forged from a young age by his upbringing in Tabarre, a densely populated district of Port-au-Prince.
The first mentor to help turn his dreams into reality was coach Bruno Kalonji, founder of Kalonji Soccer Academy (KSA) in Gwinnett County. For five years, Kalonji guided Deedson’s talent and ambition, making sure every decision and opportunity brought him one step closer to reaching his ultimate goal of playing in a World Cup.
“He wanted to play pro, he wanted to play for his country. He had this dream of playing in the World Cup,” Kalonji said. “So every time we trained, every morning session that we had, six o’clock in the morning when we got up to train, afternoon training, doubling the training … basically the main conversation was about the sacrifices that you’re making so that you can get to where you wanted to get to.”
Kalonji built his soccer club around helping underprivileged kids see a future through the game and progress to the next level. Working primarily with refugee and migrant players from Clarkston — widely regarded as one of the most diverse communities in the United States — he developed a curriculum focused on technical growth and skill, but even more on character and attitude.
In his words, Deedson had it all.
Kalonji realized how talented Deedson was after playing against him in a friendly match. “He was tremendous. His skill level was at a different level in terms of his ability to handle the ball, hold the players behind him, dribble. He’s a natural lefty, so he was very noticeable.”
“He is very consistent and (has) a lot of discipline in terms of his work habits.”
Despite Deedson’s exceptional abilities and work ethic, Kalonji said he faced many challenges to get to where he is now.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said of Deedson’s transition to life in the United States. “He was very sad not to have his parents here. He couldn’t see his parents while he was here struggling with the game, trying to understand himself, so he grew a bit sad, at times. But the game gave him motivation to continue. The game was a bit of an escape for him.”
The price and the payoff
Soccer gave Deedson an outlet and a brotherhood. His KSA team included guys from Mexico, El Salvador, Jamaica, Russia, Bosnia and a few others from Haiti.
Kymani Irving moved to Georgia from Kingston, Jamaica before high school and started playing with Deedson when he was 15. “We played on the same team. We were roommates pretty much every trip we went on; that’s my best friend.”
Irving smiled when asked to describe their friendship of 10 years.
“Deedson’s always been a joker on the outside, but when it comes to football, he’s always serious. He takes his training serious … it shows right now because he’s playing in the World Cup.”
Together with their teammates — Deedson at right wing and Irving at left center back — they were part of a dominant KSA side that captured multiple state cups and regional and national titles, according to Irving. “The only team in Georgia to do that,” he added.
Irving remembers Deedson constantly on the phone with his family while they were growing up, and while it may have been difficult to navigate those teen years without them, he said Deedson never showed it on the field. But distance would remain a constant in his life. His first professional contract took him to Denmark — one step closer to his goals, and roughly 3,500 miles farther from his family.
“It’s a hard process for him because he had to go to a place where he doesn’t know anyone,” Irving said, “but that’s his dream, to be a professional.”
A turning point
Deedson played for two clubs in Denmark, signing with Hobro IK in 2019 at the age of 18, before spending two seasons with Odense Boldklub, beginning in 2023, where he recorded 15 goals and 10 assists. His performances for both club and country — most notably a goal against the U.S. at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup — earned him a move to Major League Soccer a month later, where he signed a three-year contract with FC Dallas.
The transfer process was also supported by Kalonji, who said Deedson was ready to come home and the timing was right for his return to the U.S. to help his family build a better life.
Kalonji has been by his side every step of the way, since playing against him and recognizing his talent early on, to coaching him through his formative years and preparing him to achieve everything he set out to accomplish on the pitch and off.
Irving offers the clearest measure of his impact: “Coach believed in us, you know … As young men, a coach is not just a coach — he’s a mentor. He’s a leader. We all look at him when things are going bad. He makes decisions that we might not see then but eventually, it works out. Coach has always been there for me, Deedson … everyone on our team even to this day.”
Full-circle moment
Kalonji is sincere when talking about Deedson as a player, saying he “has tremendous talent and the ability to change moments and change the game … He is going to score a lot of goals.”
But his tone shifts to admiration when describing Deedson as a person.
“It’s Deedson; he has something unique, right? I always say that players like Deedson come around once every 100 years. He’s very humble with his gift.”
Kalonji was alongside Deedson’s family and roughly 68,000 fans who filled Atlanta Stadium to watch Haiti play Morocco Wednesday evening.
When Deedson entered the game in the 67th minute, the match was tied 2-2.
“Les Grenadiers,” as Haiti’s players are called, put up a valiant fight against Morocco, who are ranked No. 6 in the world according to FIFA.
Haiti, ranked 88th, didn’t have a chance to continue past their group stage regardless of the result, but the intensity and quality of the match suggested otherwise.
The Haitian team played their hearts out against a strong opponent, surrounded by the most energized and supportive crowd the Atlanta Stadium has seen so far in the tournament.
Though the result wasn’t what he wanted, Kalonji watched on as Deedson lived out one of his life goals. After more than a decade of dreaming together, the moment was full circle for both player and coach.
“He wanted to be in that stadium at some point playing, and he is going to be, so everything that he dreamed of he’s accomplishing.”