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Past Event
Director Series

Belfer Center Director's Lunch with Sebastian Abbot

RSVP Required Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs host a Director's Lunch with Sebastian Abbot on his book “The Away Game:The Epic Search for Soccer's Next Superstars,” in the Belfer Center Library (L369). 

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.

Date: Time: - Location: Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369
"The Away Game" book cover.

about

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.