After Premier League side West Ham signs FIFA Interactive World Cup runner-up Sean “Dragonn” Allen to represent them in future eSports competitions, Lee Davy opines on how the two sports will have to work together in the future to find the games new fans.

As my son flew down the great gooey slide of life, I was waiting at the other end with a pair of football boots. There was only one problem. He wasn’t interested. My dreams of him becoming a professional footballer died a very early death.

A few years ago my son started to show an interest in the EA Sports franchise FIFA. His friends were playing the game online, and eager to ‘fit in’ he picked up the controller and learned that nutmeg wasn’t just spice that you put into rice pudding.

His involvement in FIFA soon escalated to the actual football pitch as his friends all played for teams on a Saturday morning. Although my dreams of seeing him become a professional footballer would never materialise given his age (14), it did give me an incredible opportunity to bond with him, particularly since I am divorced from his mother and no longer live with him.