‘Frantzdy Pierrot Day’ declared in Massachusetts ahead of World Cup

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday would be a day of celebration for a former Melrose High School and Northeastern soccer player. Frantzdy Pierrot is a striker on the Haiti National Soccer Team who helped the small island national qualify for their second-ever World Cup appearance.

Gov. Healey and other lawmakers declared the day would be “Frantzdy Pierrot Day” in the state of Massachusetts and the City of Boston. A packed room was full of Pierrot’s family and friends, and many members of the Haitian community around Boston who are proud of how far he’s come since he was a child in Haiti.

“Like many kids’ football was everything to us but we didn’t have much. We played barefoot on the streets with whatever we could find. Sometimes we even used oranges. Football gave us happiness,” Pierrot said.

He’s come a long way since. The 31-year-old striker is a star for Haiti and is third all-time in goals for the small island nation. Pierrot has played for clubs all over Europe as a professional.

‘Frantzdy Pierrot Day’ declared in Massachusetts ahead of World Cup TORONTO, ON - MARCH 31: Frantzdy Pierrot #20 of Haiti runs during an International Friendly against Iceland on March 31, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The journey started in Haiti, but his development took off once in the U.S. Pierrot moved to the United States when he was eleven years old. He played two seasons at Melrose High School and went on to play one season at Northeastern University. He transferred to Coastal Carolina and was drafted into Major League soccer before he shifted to clubs overseas.

“Step by step the dream that started barefoot in Haiti brought me to the champions league and now the biggest stage in the world,” Pierrot said.

In the crowd of people eager to see Pierrot Tuesday were some of his Melrose teammates and Melrose High School Soccer Coach Dean Serino.

“He’s a player from Massachusetts playing in the World Cup. Just saying that sounds surreal,” Serino said. It’s in the U.S. It’s in Foxborough, it’s his home state. If you wrote it as a movie, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s too far-fetched."

Serino works as a math teacher in Stoneham and played a little hooky to make sure he could see and support his former athlete.

“I’m so proud of him because he is an example of if you believe in yourself and you work hard you can kind of do anything because he really puts his mind to it. He said we were the first in Melrose to believe in him that made me feel really good.”

Anthony McElligott was a senior at Melrose when Pierrot was a freshman. Pierrot made varsity at a young age and took off after that.

“Came back from college, he took a big jump,” McElligott said. “A totally different beast.”

McElligott said when Pierrot was playing for a club in Israel, the war impacted their games and training. He says Pierrot called Melrose to see if he could come back and train with them. They were thrilled to have him back and meet with the kids, who were excited to meet a guy with his skills.

While the on-the-field accomplishments were the talk of the celebration, Pierrot focused his speech on the journey and the community. He announced he created a foundation in his name to help kids in Haiti have access to soccer.

“I want to represent every child with a dream every parent making sacrifices every coach working with limited resources every community believing in a brighter future. I want to represent opportunity. Our greatest legacy is what we build for others,” Pierrot said.

We’ll see if Pierrot can add to his scoring totals this summer. Haiti opens up against Scotland for the first World Cup game in Foxborough on June 13th.