Sean Allen speaks to Sky Sports about signing for West Ham
Thursday 20 October 2016 13:34, UK
Sean Allen became the first FIFA gamer to be signed by a Premier League club when he joined West Ham in May - we find out how he's getting on...
The 24-year-old was still coming to terms with his defeat in the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) Grand Final when the call came in.
For a Hammers fan, the opportunity to join his boyhood club was too good to pass up, as was the chance to join the likes of Mark Noble, Andy Carroll and Dimitri Payet with his own official squad number.
Live Nissan Super Sunday
Speaking to Sky Sports, Allen, who wears a number 50 West Ham shirt to FIFA tournaments, said the whole experience so far had been "surreal".
"A few years ago I got the basic stuff like, 'you're wasting your time playing Xbox all day every day'," Allen said.
"It started around FIFA 2007 when I was playing at my parents on the Xbox at the time. I was coming home from school and playing a bit of FIFA.
"At the end of that FIFA I got to talking to people online and they told me to enter tournaments because they thought I was good.
"So going into FIFA 2008, I was entering more tournaments and I won my first two I entered so I bought a PlayStation as well as an Xbox. It grew from there really.
"But once you start performing, and now I'm signed with West Ham, I have received great support from family and friends. It has been surreal."
West Ham got the ball rolling in the Premier League, and have since been joined by Man City, who signed teenage gamer Kieran Brown as their official eSports player in July.
West Ham and Man City, who go head-to-head live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Super Sunday, are trailblazers in England but the true pioneers in the football eSports world actually hail from the Bundesliga.
David Bytheway, a former FIWC vice champion from Wolverhampton, signed for Wolfsburg in February, opening the door for the likes of Allen.
"I have to wear Wolfsburg stuff if I do any events, any streaming online or play in any tournaments," Bytheway told Sky Sports.
"I have my own Wolfsburg shirt with my name and my squad number. It's my own squad number - 53 in the squad is mine. I'm pretty sure some of them are going to be thinking, hang on, I've never seen this guy in training."
Allen added: "Once Wolfsburg got involved, straight away that became the goal for every FIFA player. Everyone wants to sign for a football club and for it to be West Ham in the Premier League, it makes it even better.
"A lot of people would be jealous of me having my own squad number, especially for West Ham United. It's a big deal."
Signing for a Premier League club brings pressure for footballers, and Allen and Bytheway say it's similar in the virtual world.
"I go to tournaments wearing the West Ham shirt, which brings added pressure because you're the first guy everyone's looking at and talking about," Allen said. "I try to keep away from that, though."
Bytheway agreed: "I've been over in Wolfsburg doing a lot of work, but with it, comes a lot of pressure.
"Now I've gone from playing a game to being backed by a football club. It's not any old football club, it's a powerhouse club. So there's a lot of pressure, but I'm loving it."
Allen has mainly been playing online since joining the Hammers, but next month's release of FIFA 17 restarts the tournament cycle. There's big money at stake too, with millions up for grabs over the course of the season.
His West Ham side may be underdogs for their trip to the Etihad, but the eSports star says they match up well on FIFA 16.
"I would approach the City match as any other because West Ham are really good on the game," Allen continued.
"They have everything you need - they have a bit of pace, they have height and physique. Carroll up front, a skilful midfield and a really quick defence. In FIFA 16 especially, pace is really important.
"I would say there's three main players I really like. Payet, Carroll and Cheikhou Kouyate."
Watch Man City v West Ham, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, from 4pm
