Melchie Dumornay, the Haitian teenage prodigy defying all the odds
The midfielder has just joined her dream side Lyon, playing alongside her idol Wendie Renard, Ada Hegerberg - the first Ballon d'Or Feminin winner in history in 2018 - and others. Her success is far from an accident and has been building up for a few years now. Dumornay was on the radar of many of the big clubs since the age of 14.
Despite her young age, she has collected a list of individual awards: Under-20 Golden Boot, CONCACAF Best Young Player award, Goal’s NXGN and most recently winning the “Revelation of the Season” award of France’s Division 1 Feminine.
Now this might seem like the beginning of her story considering her age, but her fairytale began long before arriving in France.
Dumornay was raised by a single mother, living with two brothers and three cousins. Nicknamed 'Pitti' meaning small one in her starting years for how far she was physically from the standard of players her age at the time.
Her love for the game was quite fierce as she was known as the young girl who plays football with the older boys in her commune, that kind of resilience took her places.
In the U20 World Cup, she starred for her side barely a 15-year-old and that’s when she caught the eye of Reims manager Amandine Miquel, who was there scouting for new talent to recruit. Despite playing against a German side filled with promise, Miquel’s eyes were fixed on the young Haitian.
“She was way above the other players,” Miquel said. “We immediately knew we needed that player.”
The interest grew more and more serious for the winner of the 2022 CWC Best Young Player Award, as she went in for a successful trial at Lyon but her underage and non-EU status prohibited her from joining the club.
This eventually worked out well as Dumornay eventually signed for Reims in September 2021, a club known for the development and nurturing of young players. Coming off the bench on her debut against Montpellier she provided two assists which got Miquel thinking: “Oh my God, imagine what she can do in a full game! If only in that short time, she can do so much good,”.
Dumornay went on to have an impressive spell with Reims, scoring 11 goals and creating six in 18 matches contributing almost to half of all goals scored by her team throughout the season, and the campaign before she was involved in 12 goals within 15 league games.
On club level the numbers and her recent move to seven-time European champions Lyon speak for themselves. But very importantly as well, Dumornay has been a massive part of recent Haitian football success - the midfielder led them to become the first-ever Caribbean nation to qualify for the U20 World Cup and is now starring in the side that will feature in their first-ever Women's World Cup.
She was decisive with a brace against Chile in the Intercontinental play-off final to lead her nation to their latest historic accomplishment.
“I knew I had a lot of responsibilities, even though I’m still only young,” said Dumornay, one of seven players under the age of 20 in the squad Haiti took to the play-offs.
“I had no problem in shouldering them and I made the difference on the pitch. I wanted to help my teammates when the going got tough and I stood up and did it.”
Dumornay’s maturity and importance to the squad does not go unnoticed by head coach Nicolas Delepine (44).
He explained: “Having Melchie is key. She gives us the X factor. When there’s not much at all between teams, you’re looking for her to do something.
"There are other stars in the side alongside her who can pop up and get her the ball, so that she can be the difference. It’s a pleasure (to work with Melchie), not just in matches but every day because she’s an outstanding person as well as a great player.
“We want her to go and enjoy herself because when she’s happy and fulfilled on the pitch, something always happens. She’s also one of those players who makes her teammates play better and that’s important. It’s an additional threat for our opponents too.”
At only 19, Dumornay has already been through a series of different experiences and with great talent supported by a unique work ethic proven in her performances, numbers and the analysis of her teammates and coaches, the midfielder is ready to extend her country’s history in women’s football.
Haiti are in Group D, playing their opening match against England before taking on China and Denmark.