Video game football fans meet real-life team

A Basque grassroots football club which formed after spending hours playing as Reading on a video game have got to meet the real players and watch them play.

The founding friends had returned to playing the FIFA 07 video game two years ago and took an interest in the Berkshire club's history and even formed their own amateur football team inspired by the Royals.

EuskoReading, from Northern Spain, also wear blue and white hoops and has a club crest which looks similar to the Royals.

In a social media post after seeing Reading beat Barnsley they said: "We've been following the club for years and have finally achieved one of our biggest dreams to watch Reading play live."

Speaking on how he started playing on the video game as Reading Iñaki Ruiz said: "We decided to just create a tournament and to choose randomly the teams, and actually, in my case, I ended up with Reading.

"I had to go up against many good teams, one game was against Liverpool and I won 2-0."

Since that day, they made it their goal to come and watch Reading live and they did just that last Saturday against Barnsley.

Héctor del Corral said: "It was an unbelievable experience, all the attention that we have from the team, we have the opportunity to meet and talk some players."

Ruiz said that they were given a signed shirt home shirt and were able to give the Royals their EuskoReading flag.

Aside from the typical English weather, EuskoReading got to see Kyreece Lisbie strike twice in the second half as Reading fought back from a goal down.

The win moves the Royals into 5th in the table with promotion still a realistic target.

"We are sure that they are going to get promotion," said del Corral.

He hopes that they can come back again later in the season, and jokingly said they promised to some Reading fans that they will make it an annual tradition.