Seydou Traore’s NFL journey began in a place few Americans ever imagine their careers starting: on the muddy battlefields that are football pitches in south London, writes Sports News Blitz’s Francesca O’Callaghan.

Like most British teenagers, Traore’s first sporting aspirations revolved around football. Yet, on April 25 in Pittsburgh, that all changed as the 23-year-old Londoner became the first graduate of the NFL Academy in the UK to be selected in the NFL Draft when the Miami Dolphins chose him with the 180th overall pick.