The World Cup begins in Frankfurt, Germany next June, but if you’re 7 or 8 years old, then the World Cup is every Saturday morning (and every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon).

Harvey, Darren, and the rest of the players on The Team compete in their local league, with the help of Professor Gertie, Harvey’s neighborhood absent-minded inventor, and Mark 1 the Soccer Machine – he has a metal body covered with Squidgy Skin, a top speed of 45 miles per hour – and he's programmed to win!

With short chapters, appropriate language and a robot (!!) it’s easy to see that author David Bedford is writing about what he knows well. In fact, David wasn’t always a writer, but the two soccer teams he played for, Appleton Football Club and Sankey Rangers, never won any games, so he thought a career change might be in order. Children who are reading independently will be glad he made the switch and will eagerly join The Team.

                              The Soccer Camp                                           Superteam
                    

            Top of the League