Most aspiring athletes begin their journeys on the pitch, track, field, court or in the pool, depending on their sport – but for one young Londoner it began with a chance meeting.

“I was in a furniture shop in Orpington, south London, and the defensive line coach at the time approached me,” said Nana Agyemang.

“He liked my frame and thought I had potential to play the sport.”

The sport in question was American football, something Agyemang had never even played before.

The coach was from the NFL Academy, based in Loughborough, which scouts talent from all over Europe and Africa with a view to producing a generation of NFL stars from outside North America.

“At the time I was too young to apply for the academy, so he gave my mum his card and when I was 16 I came to the academy, applied to the trials, and then got in through that,” he said.

Now 18, Agyemang is in his final year with the academy and has established himself as a defensive lineman.

He has grown to a height of 6ft 4in and gone from weighing 13st 3lb (185lb, 84kg) to 16st 11lb (235lb, 107kg) – and he hopes to increase that to 17st 11lb-18st 5lb (250-260lb, 113-117kg).

If all goes to plan, the next step on his journey will be securing a place at a college or university in the United States next year.

After that, the best players become eligible for a spot in the NFL draft and a chance to join one of the biggest franchises in the country.

“Football’s football, as long as I’m still playing I’m still chasing the dream,” he said.