West Ham United sign competitive FIFA 16 player

West Ham United became the first Premier League team to sign a FIFA player.

Even though West Ham United are in a tight race to secure a berth in the top 6, they still found time to do something really cool. The Premier League club announced via their Twitter account that they have signed Sean Allen, aka Dragonn, who plays FIFA competitively. He will represent the club at their Play Like a Legend FIFA tournament, and even got a shirt number to go with the signing:

This is a cool moment for the Premier League, and the first time that any EPL team has signed a competitive FIFA player. They’re not the first soccer club to do it, though, as Wolfsburg did the same thing a while back. Signing young fans and making their dreams come true is also something the Seattle Sounders did with Xander Bailey, who even played a bit part in a friendly match against Arsenal.

Still, there’s untapped potential in the gaming market, and despite what more traditional fans might say, West Ham went and did it anyway. Dragonn isn’t afraid of the negative comments that have come his way either since, as a gamer, he’s used to that type of stuff anyway:

He also won $5,000 (h/t FIFA) as a runner-up in the last tournament he played, so there’s clearly good money to be made. But signing for the club that he grew up supporting is likely a moment that won’t be topped for some time. Now let’s see if he can make a good enough impression on the club’s training grounds to earn a playing contract.

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