Children's author Dan Freedman is keenly awaiting the South Africa World Cup, with his fourth football novel due out mid-way through this summer's finals.

The 32-year-old has spent the past three years writing about fictional character Jamie Johnson's football pursuits, and hopes Man of the Match, his latest book in the series, will continue to capture his audience. Mr Freedman tells People: "It's about a young player announcing his talent and breaking into first-team football. It follows him as he deals with the ups and downs of trying to make it as a player. I suppose it is inspired by the success of Wayne Rooney."

Mr Freedman, who used to be the editor of the Football Association's website, was particularly happy to be chosen as a World Book Day author, which involved him writing short story Born To Play that was distributed for free across the country.