Fabrice Noël (born July 21, 1985) is a Haitian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker.

Club career

Early life and career in Haiti

Noël grew up poor in the village of Gressier, 12 miles west of

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

. He began playing soccer at a very young age, taught by his mother and brothers. By the time he was 12 years old he was playing for the national team for 15-year-olds, and at the age of 16 he was one of the star players of Racing Club Haïtien, one of the country's most successful club teams. However, his skills and success ultimately brought tragedy. In November 2002, while Noël was in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

taking part in an international tournament, he received a phone call from his mother, telling him that his two older brothers Luckner and Kenson had been shot to death. Their murders are thought to have been carried out by supporters of a rival club that he had refused to join. Noël was granted

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in the United States, but his parents and youngest brother were forced to go into hiding. After the ordeal, in late 2002, he went to live with a former coach in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, and enrolled in Palm Beach Lakes High School. He joined the soccer team and quickly became the star, scoring 58 goals his senior season.

Colorado Rapids

Noël received many offers from colleges, but turned them all down, instead choosing to turn professional in order to raise the money to bring his family to the United States. While playing in a local tournament in February 2005, he caught the eye of

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

head coach Fernando Clavijo, who offered him a contract after he graduated high school. On June 24, 2005, Noël signed with the Rapids; he made his debut less than a month later on July 20, against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

, and scored his first goal in the season finale against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

Puerto Rico Islanders

During the 2007 MLS pre-season, the Rapids waived Noël, who subsequently signed with the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. Noël scored the only goal in the two-legged 3rd place match in the CFU Club Championship 2007, enabling the Islanders to advance to the

CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Shanghai East Asia

In February 2010, Noël moved to China and signed a contract with

Shanghai East Asia Shanghai Port Football Club (), previously Shanghai SIPG (), is a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Port plays its home matches at the Pudong Football Stadium, located within ...

. On 4 April he made his league debut for Shanghai in the 2–0 victory over Guangdong Sunray Cave, replacing Jiang Zhipeng in the 55th minute.

San Antonio Scorpions

Noël returned to the United States in 2013, signing for the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadi ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Upon his signing, Noël declared that "I feel very lucky to be a part of the Scorpions. We have a lot of good players and I cannot wait to help the team. I'm looking forward to it."

ATM FA

In 2014, it was announced that Noël had signed with

ATM FA Armed Forces Football Club, commonly known as Armed Forces, is a Malaysian professional football club representing the Malaysian Armed Forces. The club's home ground is Mindef Stadium. The club currently plays in the 2nd division of the Malaysi ...

, a Malaysian club, for the 2014

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

Season. Noël was signed as a replacement for St-Vincent striker Marlon James who had retired from professional football.

Tampines Rovers

Following the appointment of V Sundramoorthy as head coach of S.League title contenders

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club (currently known as BG Tampines Rovers due to sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football, football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of t ...

for the

2015 S.League The 2015 S.League was the 20th season since the establishment of the S.League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs. The league was also known as the Great Eastern Life, Great Eastern Yeo Hiap Seng, Yeo's S ...

Season, Sundram signed filled all five of Tampines' foreign players roster with foreigners formerly plying their trade in Malaysia. Utilising his intimate knowledge of Malaysian football, Sundram signed Noël after the latter was released by

. Noël notched Tampines' first goal of the season, following a defensive mix up in the Albirex Niigata Singapore box, securing a 1-0 opening match victory for his new club. Noël left the club after just three months at the club, citing personal reasons.

Kuantan FA

On 8 April 2015 Fabrice Noel join Malaysian side Kuantan FA.

Kuala Lumpur FA

On 16 June 2016 Fabrice Noel join Malaysian side

Kuala Lumpur FA Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, known simply as KL City FC, is a Malaysian professional association football, football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Football in Malaysia, Malaysia ...

International career

Noël made his debut for the

Haiti national football team The Haiti national football team (, Haitian Creole: ''Ekip foutbòl Ayiti'') represents Haiti in international Association football, football. Haiti is administered by the Haitian Football Federation, Fédération Haïtienne de Football (FHF), ...

in an August 2006 friendly match against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He was a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

squad member at the 2007 & 2009 Gold Cup FinalsCONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2007 – Full Details
– RSSSF

Personal life

With the help of the Colorado Rapids organization, Noël set up a fund, known as the Fabrice Noël Fund in order to raise money for his parents and brothers transport to the United States.

Honours

Puerto Rico Islanders * USL First Division Championship runner-up:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Commissioner's Cup:

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

runner-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

Puerto Rico Islanders bio

MLS player profile

Fabrice's story in St. Petersburg Times

Fabrice Noël Fund
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Fabrice 1985 births Living people People from Ouest (department) Colorado Rapids players Puerto Rico Islanders players Shanghai Port F.C. players China League One players San Antonio Scorpions players Armed Forces F.C. players kuantan FA players Kuala Lumpur City F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Puerto Rico Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Men's association football forwards Haitian expatriate men's footballers Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Haitian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Haitian men's footballers 21st-century Haitian sportsmen Haiti men's international footballers 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Puerto Rico Ligue Haïtienne players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Malaysia Super League players Singapore Premier League players Tampines Rovers FC players Chittagong Abahani Limited players