Finding the Game Three Years, Twenty-five

Across two dozen countries - from back alleys to remote beaches to the roofs of skyscrapers - an intimate journey into the heart of soccer Every country has a different term for it: In the United States, it's "pickup." In Trinidad, it's "taking a sweat." In Brazil, it's "pelada" (literally "naked"). It's the other side of soccer, played away from the bright lights and manicured fields - the game for anyone, anywhere. Gwendolyn Oxenham was a former college soccer star with visions of going pro. But when the women's professional soccer league folded, her career was over before it began. So she embarked on a different kind of adventure. In Finding the Game, Oxenham, with her boyfriend and two friends, scour the globe in search of pickup soccer: they bribe their way into a Bolivian prison, compete against women in hijab in Tehran, and bet shillings on a game with moonshine brewers in Kenya. Along the way, she discovers that the game, stripped down to its core, is the same no matter where it's played. An entertaining, heartfelt look at the soul of a sport, this book is proof that on the field and in life, some things need no translation.

GWENDOLYN OXENHAM received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame, where she was awarded the Nicholas Sparks post-graduate fellowship. A Duke University soccer alum, she played professionally for Santos FC in Brazil in 2005. She teaches English and plays in pickup games in Southern California.

“It seems Oxenham excels at everything she does—soccer and writing included. More than just a book about the sport, Finding the Game transports you around the world with humor, wit, and excitement on every page. You don’t have to be a sports fan to devour this book.”

—Anson Dorrance, head coach, University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer, and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee

“They say music is the world’s language, but Oxenham will convince you that soccer now owns that distinction. An unparalleled journey that invokes more than just passion for soccer.”

—Rob Stone, ESPN commentator

“Finding the Game proves the reality of the phrase ‘Soccer is the world’s game’ and shows that the idea of playing a sport for the joy of it still exists. Gwendolyn and her friends used their passion for soccer to visit places and meet people that would have been unimaginable to most of us. Best of all, she allows the reader to become a part of the adventure.”

—Chuck Korr, coauthor of More Than Just a Game

“It’s not just an adventure that all of us would have liked to have had. Oxenham can write, too. A brave account of soccer as a universal language.”

—Simon Kuper, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Soccernomics

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Finding the Game Three Years, Twenty-five Countries, and the Search for Pickup Soccer

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials