Member Article

Premier League football club West Ham United in pioneering e-sports signing

Premier League football club West Ham United have become the first football team in the UK to sign up an e-sports player.

Professional FIFA player Sean ‘Dragonn’ Allen has signed a deal with the club which will see him wearing the club’s number 50 shirt at all official e-sports tournaments.

Sean was runner-up in the 2016 FIFA Interactive World Cup, and has also qualified for every FIFA e-ranking tournament this year.

While something of a marketing gimmick, today’s announcement attests to the increasing exposure and recognition of e-sports as a spectator sport, with an estimated 134m people tuning in to tournaments and competitions in 2015 driven by the popularity of online platforms such as Twitch.

According to some estimates, the industry could potentially be worth $1.1bn (approx. £761m) by 2019, and has already attracted sponsorship from the likes of Intel and Coca-Cola.

Karim Virani, Head of Digital Marketing at West Ham United, added: “Esports is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, so we are delighted to have signed one of the world’s leading players to represent us.

“We’ve been looking to sign an e-sports player for a while and Sean’s performance in the FIFA Interactive World Cup really impressed us. Sean will spearhead our efforts to becoming a leader in this field.

“The digital game is incredibly popular with our fans, so we are really excited about what we have in store for them.”

Commenting on his signing, 24-year-old Sean added: “I am delighted to be joining West Ham United as their official e-sports player. This is a massive move forward for me.

“I have been playing competitive FIFA for a very long time and this is the biggest thing ever to happen to me.

“West Ham have had an astonishing season in the Premier League with Europe looking very likely for next season. I will be doing my very best in FIFA tournaments all around the world to emulate their success.

“After finishing second in the recent FIFA interactive World Cup, I plan to keep moving forward and, hopefully, with West Ham’s help and support I will be doing exactly that!”