The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer's Next Superstars
By Sebastian Abbot
On Sale March 2018
Published by W. W. Norton & Company
PRE-ORDER:
The Blind Side meets The Sports Gene in the gripping story of a group of boys discovered in what may be the largest talent search in sports history
Over the past decade, an audacious program called Football Dreams has held tryouts for millions of 13-year-old boys across Africa looking for soccer’s next superstars. Led by the Spanish scout who helped launch Lionel Messi’s career at Barcelona and funded by the desert kingdom of Qatar, the program has chosen a handful of boys each year to train to become professionals -- a process over a thousand times more selective than getting into Harvard.
In The Away Game, reporter Sebastian Abbot follows a small group of the boys as they are discovered on dirt fields across Africa, join the glittering academy in Doha where they train, and compete for the chance to gain fame and fortune at Europe’s top clubs. He masterfully weaves together the dramatic story of their journey with an exploration of the art and science of trying to spot talent at such a young age.
Richly reported and deeply moving, The Away Game is an unforgettable human-interest story of the joy and pain these talented African boys experience as they chase their dreams in a dizzying world of rich Arab sheikhs, money-hungry agents, and soccer-mad European fans.
Sebastian Abbot spent over a half dozen years working as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press in the Middle East and Asia. He served as AP bureau chief in Pakistan and covered stories ranging from the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan to the rebel uprising against Gaddafi in Libya.
Prior to joining the AP, Abbot worked in investment banking and private equity in New York and Boston. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Most importantly, though, Abbot is a lifelong soccer player and fan. He started at age five as a bulldozing defender for the Jacksonville Fireballs and played at Princeton under former U.S. national coach Bob Bradley. His legs have since slowed, but you’ll still find him huffing and puffing his way toward goal as often as possible.CONTACT INFORMATION
Publicist - William Scarlett, W. W. Norton & Company, wscarlett@wwnorton.com
Agent – Ethan Bassoff, Massie & McQuilkin, ethan@mmqlit.com
Foreign Rights – Maria Massie, Massie & McQuilkin, maria@mmqlit.com