Football’s Dark Side: From Chelsea’s Youth System to Edinburgh’s Stage // Alfie Cain's Story

Alfie’s Edinburgh Fringe Show ‘Dropped’ intimately tells his very personal tale of being picked up by Chelsea Football Club’s prestigious academy, before being unceremoniously discarded after a routine medical uncovered a congenital heart defect. After then moving on to North West London side Barnet, he remarkably found himself in and around the first team at only 15 years old, and at one point playing in midfield with Champions League Winner Edgar Davids. 

Politics, personal dynamics and luck then begin to play their part, and suddenly the door is closed, and like thousands before and after him, Alfie finds himself on the periphery of a world that had once promised him so much.

The show is on at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and will be live at Easter Road Stadium from the second to the tenth of August - and this conversation is your own personal, intimate preview.

We talk about what it was like to train with Frank Lampard, Jose Mourinho and John Terry, and where some of his former teammates are now…, plus a funny and fascinating insight into the enigmatic Davids was like as a manager…

Alfie talks about the crisis of identity and feelings of suicidal ideation when the world seemed to be closing in, an experience I’ve had myself, and sadly one that former Manchester City player Jeremy Wisten followed through on in 2020…

And you’ll hear about the darker sides of football, predatory coaches being one of them; An intensely uncomfortable truth that Alfie handles with admirable strength and exemplary poise. 

Contact: [e-mail]

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