Late December and early January may be a time packed full of football, but the attention of the nation has instead been on a 16-year-old darts player.
Teenager Luke Littler captured the imagination of sports fans during his run to the final of the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, displaying incredible skill with the arrows while fuelled by ham and cheese omelettes, pizzas and kebabs.
As is the way when a new sports star appears out of nowhere, people quickly want to know absolutely everything about ‘The Nuke’. So, naturally, where do the darts sensation’s allegiances lie when it comes to football?
Being from Runcorn, he is in the catchment area of many teams, some of them being the biggest in the country.
While Littler enjoyed a wonderful end to 2023 by reaching the final of the World Darts Championship, he may not have enjoyed his time away from the dartboard as much as he would have liked.
Littler is a big Manchester United fan. Born in 2007, Littler may only have a handful of memories of Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge of the club. While following the Red Devils doesn’t bring much joy in this day and age, he hasn’t been starved of success, seeing Man Utd win the FA Cup in 2016, the Europa League under Jose Mourinho, and the Carabao Cup on two occasions.
Littler revealed after his defeat to Luke Humphries at Alexandra Palace he will soon go on a stadium tour of Old Trafford as he starts unwinding from an incredible passage in his life.
“[For Christmas] I got stuff for my Xbox, a controller, some gift cards and two tickets for the Manchester United stadium tour,” he said. “So I will do that after the Worlds. I’ve never done the tour before, just watched a few games there.”
In an interview with BBC Sport Manchester, Littler added: “Obviously, I’ve got a lot of followers now. I’ve had a message off Luke Shaw from United, Rio Ferdinand. I had a message off Gary Neville and Jonny Evans before my game against Barney [Raymond van Barneveld].
“So it’s just crazy. People who I’ve looked up to, especially my club, Manchester United, wishing me luck.”
Luke Littler 🎯 Madders pic.twitter.com/VHN67XXa5w
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 31, 2023
Throughout his run to the final of the World Darts Championship, Littler has had support shown to him by various figures in the footballing world.
Arsenal duo Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice were both seen taking a picture with Littler in December, and the same can be said for Tottenham’s James Maddison, who celebrates his goals by pretending to throw darts. Littler was spotted in north London as a guest for Spurs’ 3-1 win over Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.
Expectedly, Littler’s presence has grown exponentially on social media during the past month. He had 4,000 followers on Instagram before the World Championships but had reached 741,000 and counting the morning after the final.
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