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Outlook: From small-town America to playing in the UK's Premier League

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30/05/2023 GMT

From small-town America to playing in the UK's Premier League

BBC World Service - Outlook, From small-town America to playing in the UK's Premier League

Aged 22, Jay DeMerit moved to the UK to try to make it as a professional footballer

Jay DeMerit left the US with just a backpack and a couple of hundred dollars to follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer in the UK.

Jay DeMerit from Green Bay, Wisconsin in the United States was always passionate about football and had his heart set on making it as a professional. But when he failed to make the draft for the US Major Soccer League, he faced a choice:  either give up football altogether or leave home in search of his dream. At the age of 22, Jay crossed continents, slept in an attic and earned 40 pounds a week playing non-league football in England....but two years later he was playing in the Premier League. A documentary called Rise and Shine: the Jay DeMerit story, has been made about Jay's extraordinary football journey. 

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Emily Naylor

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: Jay DeMerit. Credit: Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

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