Fabrice Noël (born July 21, 1985 in Gressier) is a former

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

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 ...

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 ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defin ...

. 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 Racing Club Haïtien is a professional football club based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is one of the most successful clubs in the country's history. History The club has won the most league championships in Haitian club history, 11, winning i ...

, 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 )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

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; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, 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. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intraco ...

, 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 soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, ...

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 soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchis ...

, and scored his first goal in the season finale against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

Puerto Rico Islanders

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

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

. 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.

Shanghai East Asia

In February 2010, Noël moved to China and signed a contract with Shanghai East Asia. On 4 April he made his league debut for Shanghai in the 2-0 victory over

Guangdong Sunray Cave Shaanxi Wuzhou Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Xi'an, Shaanxi which last played in the China League One division. The club was originally formed on February 5, 2007 as Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. and was once ow ...

, replacing

Jiang Zhipeng Jiang Zhipeng (; born 6 March 1989) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Shenzhen in the Chinese Super League. Club career Jiang Zhipeng started his football career when he joined the Genbao Football Academy in 2000 and was promote ...

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 stadium ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: * North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league * North American Soccer League (2011–2017), a former Division II league {{disambig ...

. 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, enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the Malaysian Armed Forces. The club's home stadium is the Mindef Stadium. The club currently plays in the 3rd division ...

, a Malaysian club, for the 2014

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malay ...

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 Varadaraju Sundramoorthy ( ta, வரதராஜு சுந்தரமூர்த்தி; born 6 October 1965) is a former Singaporean international footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, is widely touted as one of the country's m ...

as head coach of

S.League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which ...

title contenders

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league ...

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 Yeo's S.League due to sponsorship reason ...

Season, Sundram signed filled all 5 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 Albirex Niigata Singapore FC, abbreviated as Albirex Niigata (S), is a Singaporean football club that plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan. History Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellit ...

box, securing a 1-0 opening match victory for his new club. Noël left the club after just 3 months at the club, citing personal reasons.

Kuantan FA

On 8 April 2015 Fabrice Noel join Malaysian side

Kuantan FA Marcerra Kuantan Football Association ''( Malay: Persatuan Bolasepak Daerah Kuantan)'' is a defunct Malaysian football club based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The club was established in 1970 and began competing in the local league as 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 football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Malaysian football, and was founded in 1974 as Fede ...

International

Noël made his debut for the

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

in an August 2006 friendly match against Guatemala. He was a

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

Personal

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

Club

Puerto Rico Islanders

* USL First Division Championship ** Runners-up (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

* Commissioner's Cup ** Winners (1):

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). T ...

** Runner-up (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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 ATM FA players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Puerto Rico Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Association football forwards Haitian expatriate footballers Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Haitian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Haitian footballers Haiti 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 players Malaysia Super League players Singapore Premier League players Tampines Rovers FC players