Fabrice Jean-Ian "Fafà" Picault (born 23 February 1991) is a 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 plays as a winger for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club Inter Miami and the Haiti national team. Born in the United States, he was initially called up by Haiti in 2014 for a friendly against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

but did not make an appearance. Picault was then called up by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2016 before eventually switching back to represent Haiti in 2023.

Early life

Picault was born to

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 ...

an immigrants in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Picault comes from a multigenerational football lineage. His grandfather played for the Haiti national team, while his father Leslie played professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

with the Philadelphia Fever in the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

. He grew up on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, near

Riverbank State Park Riverbank State Park is a state park built on top of a sewage treatment facility on the Hudson River, in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It was opened in 1993. On September 5, 2017, it was renamed Denny Farrell ...

along the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, where he played his first game. At the age of nine, his parents moved with him to Miami for a change of life. When he was sixteen, he moved to Italy to begin his youth career, where he learned Italian and connected with the culture.

Club career

Picault started his career with the youth and reserve team of Italian club

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, but later parted ways with the club after five years. He has commented on being subjected to frequent racism during his time in Sardinia.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

He later attended the NASL player combine in 2012 and impressed scouts working for

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

, and later signed a one-year deal with the club. Picault is known for his quickness and pace combined with his vision and technical abilities. Prior to starting his career with the Rowdies, Picault suffered a broken foot bone causing him to be sidelined through the preseason and first month and a half of the regular season. He made his professional debut in a 3–2 victory against

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

on 19 May 2012. Making 18 appearances in league play, Picault helped the Rowdies win

Soccer Bowl 2012 Soccer Bowl (2011–2017), NASL Championship Series 2012 was the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 2012 North American Soccer League season, 2012 season. Also known ...

, but would register no goals. After the end of the 2012 NASL Season, the Rowdies declined the contract option for Picault.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

He returned for a second spell in the NASL with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

ahead of the 2014 season. He made his debut for the Strikers on 12 April in a 2–0 win over Ottawa Fury. He scored his first goal for Fort Lauderdale on 26 April to help the Strikers to a 3–2 win over

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

. Picault would experience a breakout season with the Strikers, hitting 12 goals in 24 appearances during the 2014 season, second best in the NASL that season. The Strikers reached Soccer Bowl 2014, but ultimately lost to 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 ...

Sparta Prague

In January 2015, Picault moved to Czech team

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

. He was released by Prague on 17 June 2015. He never made a league appearance for the club, but came on in the 84th minute in a

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 1961. The winner ...

match against Jablonec. During his stay with Sparta, Picault played mostly with the U21 side.

FC St. Pauli

In September 2015, Picault signed a one-year contract with German 2. Bundesliga club

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

with the option of a one-year extension. He made his debut for St. Pauli on September 14 in a 2–0 win over

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

, picking up an assist in the game. On 11 March 2016, Picault scored his first goal for St. Pauli in a 4–3 loss to

SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest success since the turn of the millenni ...

. He scored twice on 16 April to give St. Pauli a 2–0 win over

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

. He ended his first season in Germany with four goals and one assist from 16 appearances as he helped St. Pauli finish 4th in the table. In April 2016, his contract was extended until June 2018. In the 2016–17 Season, Picault made six appearances with one assists in league play as well as two appearances in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

before being sold in the winter.

Philadelphia Union

On 2 February 2017, Picault returned to the

and signed with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side,

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. He made his MLS debut as a substitute in the Union's home opener against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. In May 2017, Picault scored his first goal for the Union in a dominant 4–0 performance against D.C. United. In Philadelphia's next game, Picault scored again in a 2–0 win over the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. On 22 October, in the final game of the regular season, he scored twice and had an assist as the Union defeated

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

6–1, a performance that earned him a spot in the MLS Team of the Week. Picault ended the regular season with seven goals and three assists from 28 appearances, along with two appearances in U.S. Open Cup play. Despite a strong first season from Picault, the Union missed out on the playoffs after finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference. Ahead of the 2018 season, Picault received a three-match suspension for offensive language exchanged with

Pierre da Silva Pierre da Silva (born July 28, 1998) is an American association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Club Deportivo Universidad César Vallejo, Cesar Vallejo in the Peruvian Primera División. Caree ...

during a preseason, closed–door scrimmage with

. On 7 April, he made his first appearance of the season in Philly's 4th game, picking up an assist in a 1–1 draw with 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 ...

. After the game, Picault was named to the bench for the MLS Team of the Week. He scored his first goal of the season on 2 June in a 3–1 loss to

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

. On September 19, Picault scored three minutes into stoppage time to give the Union a 1–0 win against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. He scored two goals and had one assist on 6 October to help the Union defeat Minnesota United 5–1, a performance that saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week. Picault ended the regular season with ten goals and five assists from 29 appearances, helping the Union qualify for playoffs. In Philadelphia's first game of the playoffs, Picault played the full game in a 3–1 loss to NYCFC. Picault also made four appearances and recorded one assist in Open Cup Play, helping the Union reach the final, where they lost 3–0 to the Houston Dynamo. On 1 May 2019, Picault scored his first goal of the 2019 season in a 2–0 win over

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

. During the regular season, Picault made 32 appearances, scored four goals, and recorded four assists as the Union finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the playoffs again. Facing off with the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

in Philly's opening game of the playoffs, Picault came off the bench and scored in the 78th minute to level the score at 3. He then got the assist on

Marco Fabián Marco Jhonfai Fabián de la Mora (; born 21 July 1989) is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. He is an Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tou ...

goal in extra time as the Union won 4–3. In Philadelphia's next match, Picault got the start, but was unable to replicate his heroics as the Union lost 2–0 to Atlanta United.

FC Dallas

On 26 November 2019, Picault was traded to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

in exchange for $300,000 of 2020 General Allocation Money. He made his Dallas debut on 29 February in a 2–0 win over the

. On 29 August, Picault scored his first goal for Dallas in a 3–2 win against

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

. Two days later he was named to the MLS Team of the Week. On 31 October, Picault scored twice and picked up an assist to give Dallas a 3–0 win over the

, a performance that saw him named to the Team of the Week for the second time of the season. In a shortened season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Picault played in 18 of a possible 23 regular season games while scoring three goals and adding two assists. He helped Dallas finish 5th in the Western Conference and qualify for the playoffs. Picault started both of Dallas's playoff games as they reached the Conference Semifinals, where they lost 1–0 to

Houston Dynamo

On 17 December 2020, Picault was traded to the

, Dallas's

Texas Derby The Texas derby is a local derby, soccer rivalry (derby) between the Houston Dynamo FC and FC Dallas, recognizing the best club in the state for the season until 2021 when Austin FC joined MLS. The two squads play a series of games with the seri ...

rivals, in exchange for $275,000 of General Allocation Money, plus a potential $50,000 GAM in additional performance incentives. He made his Dynamo debut on 16 April, starting in a 2–1 win over the

to open the season. On 8 May, Picault scored his first goal for Houston in a 1–1 draw against his former club, FC Dallas. He scored two goals on 11 September in a 3–0 win against Austin FC. His performance against Austin saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week. Picault ended the season with 31 appearances, 11 goals, and five assists. He was named Dynamo MVP and Dynamo Players' Player of the Year. Despite a good season for Picault, it was a poor year for Houston, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs. Picault scored his first and second goals of the 2022 season on 2 April, helping Houston to a 3–1 win against

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...

. He was named to the Team of the Week following the match. He scored another brace on 13 September as the Dynamo beat the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

3–1, once again being included in the Team of the Week. Picault ended the regular season with 7 goals and 3 assists in 30 appearances as Houston finished 13th in the West, failing to qualify for the playoffs again.

Nashville SC

On 9 November 2022, Picault was traded to

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

in exchange for $50,000 of 2023 General Allocation Money, $50,000 of 2024 GAM, and up to a conditional $150,000 in 2024 GAM. He would make 29 appearances and scoring 5 goals. He left Nashville following the 2023 season.

Whitecaps FC

Picault joined the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

for the 2024 season. During the season he played 33 games for the club and scoring nine goals, before leaving at the end of the season as a free agent.

Inter Miami CF

Picault joined

as a free agent starting in the 2025 season.He would make his debut for Inter Miami in the clubs first match against

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

which ended in a 2-2 draw. Picault would get his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win against

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

along with a goal from

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

International career

Early Haiti call-up

On 9 September 2014, Picault, along with Fort Lauderdale Strikers teammate James Marcelin, was called up to the Haiti national team to face

in an international friendly at

Lockhart Stadium Lockhart Stadium was a stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. It was used in a variety of sports, particularly soccer and American football. Originally designed in 1959 for high school sports, the stadium's long-standing soccer co ...

. He did not make an appearance.

United States

Picault was called up to the

senior team for a 22 May 2016 friendly against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and made his debut in second half of that game. He won his second cap on 11 October 2018, in a friendly against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Haiti

On 19 June 2023, Picault was included in

's 23-man roster for the

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. Canada and the United ...

. Picault started and played 84 minutes in his debut in

's 2–1 win over

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Personal life

Picault has maintained a connection with his Haitian roots and holds passports from both the United States and Haiti. Picault is also very fond of Haitian

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

; he especially enjoys cooked plantain and his friends and cousin are even part of a Haitian band. He speaks seven languages, five in which he is fluent in: English, Creole, French, Italian and Spanish, while speaking a little Portuguese, and German. During his time in Italy, he maintained close relationships with players who now play in the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and has an Italian agent.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Haiti's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Picault goal.''

Honours

Tampa Bay Rowdies * NASL Soccer Bowl:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Vancouver Whitecaps *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual *Dynamo Team MVP:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

*Dynamo Players' Player of the Year:

References

External links

US soccer profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picault, Fafa 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Manhattan Soccer players from New York City American men's soccer players Haitian men's footballers United States men's international soccer players American sportspeople of Haitian descent Tampa Bay Rowdies players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players AC Sparta Prague players FC St. Pauli players Philadelphia Union players FC Dallas players Houston Dynamo FC players Nashville SC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Inter Miami CF players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players 2. Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Florida Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Men's association football forwards American expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany American expatriate men's soccer players Haitian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Italy Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Haitian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Haiti men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Haitian sportsmen