Melchie Dumornay
Do not sleep on Melchie Dumornay who is making waves in the football world, with many considering her the best player globally. The Haitian prodigy has been capturing hearts with her exceptional performances on the field, earning recognition and acclaim. She was born on August 17, 2003 the Haitian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Division 1 Feminine club Lyon, Haiti’s National team. Considered as one of the most promising talents of her generation, in 2022 Dumornay won Goal’s NXGN award as the best teenage player in the world.
Melchie Dumornay was born in Mirebalais a commune in the Centre department of Haiti. Raised by a single mother with her three brothers and two cousins. Shortly after she started playing football with older boys on the streets, she joined her first women’s football club as Mirebalais. Having been impressed by Dumornay’s talent at the age of 10, the club’s coach Jean-Claude Josaphat brought her to Camp Nous, the Federation owned training center for all Haitian youth’s.
A few years later, Dumornay joined fellow Haitian club AS Tigresses, where she came through the youth ranks. In the final of the 2018 Haitian Women’s Soccer Championship, she scored all five goals which helped Tigresses gain a 5–2 win over Anacaona SC and win the national title. Having scored 25 goals in nine matches, despite being just 15 years old, she also became the league’s top scorer and received the Best Player award. The same year, she was noticed by Reims manager, Amadine Miquel at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France. She was also offered a trial by fellow French club Lyon. However, neither of the two clubs were able to sign the player because of her non-EU and underage status. In the early phases of her career, Dumornay was nicknamed Piti due to her diminutive stature. She is also known as Corventina, nickname first given to her by her older brother.
After the 2016 CONCACAF Girl’s U-15 Championship, age 12, she took part in three different tournaments throughout 2018. She played in the 2018 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, where Haiti finished third and became the first-ever Caribbean national team to qualify for a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Secondly, she was called-up for the 2018 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship, where she helped the
Haitian team reach a fourth-place finish and received the Golden Ball. Finally, in August of the same year, she was included in the Haitian squad that took part in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup In 2020, she was involved once again in the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, where she eventually received the Golden Boot, 14 goals in six games, new record for the competition.
In May 2021, Dumornay reached another league final with Tigresses, although the team eventually lost the title to Exafoot she scored the only goal in a 2–1 defeat. After attracting the interest of several high-profile clubs around the world, on September 9, 2021, Dumornay officially joined Reims signing her first professional contract with the French club. She reunited with fellow Haitian footballer Kethna Louis in the process. On October 2nd that same year, she made her professional debut for Reims, coming in as a substitute at half-time of a Division 1 Feminine match against Issy: she provided two assists for Kessya Bussy thus helping her side gain a 3-1 win. One week later, on 9 October, she made her first start against Bordeaux, scoring a brace and serving an assist in a 5–2 victory. She was awarded Division 1 Feminine Player for December 2022.
With the desire to push feminine football to a superior level, she played. She was offered a 1.5 Million dollar contract in 2022. On January 2023, it was officially announced that Dumornay would join the club as Division 1 Feminine title holder Lyon on a permanent basis beginning, July 2023, to June 2026. Melchie Dumornay, is the one to watch.
Maginot St. Eloy
Contributing Writer, Rebelle Today