AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The curious email slid unannounced into Seble Demissie’s inbox on her final weekend of innocence. She opened it on a Sunday morning in August 2014, with her soccer world still small and her daughter, Naomi Girma, still asleep. “Dear Athlete,” it began. “Congratulations! You are part of the initial group of players selected to the roster for the upcoming U.S. Soccer Under-14 Girls’ National Team training camp.” Demissie read it, and read it again, perplexed.
It was meant, of course, for Naomi, a teen destined for Women’s World Cup stardom.
But when Mom entered her bedroom early that morning, she didn’t come to celebrate the invitation; she came confused.