From south London to the NFL: Traore waits on draft dream

LONDON, April 23 : If Seydou Traore hears his name called in this week's NFL Draft, it will cap an unlikely journey from the soccer pitches of south London to the sport's biggest stage.

The 23-year-old once dreamed of becoming a Premier League goalkeeper before changing path as a teenager. Now he is one of several hopefuls on the NFL's International Player Pathway waiting to discover whether they have earned a spot on the roster of one of the 32 franchises.

Waiting to hear if you are one of the 257 draftees can be an anxious time, but Traore said he has done all he can do.

"I'm excited, but I'm kind of just relaxed and looking forward to it, anticipating hearing my name," Traore told Reuters ahead of the three-day draft in Pittsburgh.

"Maybe some nerves might creep in, but as of right now, I'm chilling. There's nothing more I can do. The tape is out there, the numbers are out there. Now it's just what an organisation thinks of me."

Like many young players in London, soccer was Traore's first love and he spent time in Fulham's development scheme before playing for semi-pro club Carshalton. But after discovering the NFL on TV, he tried out for the London Warriors, where his athleticism and catching ability quickly stood out.

"The hand-eye coordination from shot stopping, ball-tracking skills, catching, the ability to dive out and stretch five yards, they all translate to American football," the 6ft 5in, 235 lb Traore said.

His breakthrough came in 2019 when he was selected in the first intake of the London-based NFL Academy, designed to fast-track international talent into the American college system.

Crossing the pond, he attended the Clearwater Academy International before committing to Arkansas State University in 2021 where in