From small-town America to playing in the UK's Premier League
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)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Tue 30 May 202311:06GMTBBC World Service
- Tue 30 May 202317:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Tue 30 May 202321:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Wed 31 May 202302:06GMTBBC World Service
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