There are a dozen Apple computers on pristine desks, a few disposable Starbucks cups and a giant white-board covered in complicated equations and algorithms.

It's probably what you'd expect from the home of a new tech start-up in trendy serviced offices in Chiswick, west London.

As, in many ways, is one of the firm's founders who greets me in plain, dark jeans and a Steve Jobs-style black jumper.

But this is not your stereotypical tech entrepreneur. This is Welsh footballing hero Hal Robson-Kanu.

The 29-year-old Cruyff-turned his way into Welsh football folklore when he left the Belgium defence for dead and scored the most iconic goal in Welsh football history at Euro 2016.

(Image: Richard Williams)

Just five hours ago he was training in the West Midlands, where he is a footballer for West Bromwich Albion. He's actually sporting a slight limp as he walks back to his stylish leather office chair.

Many of his elite footballing colleagues might spend down-time after training playing Fifa on the Playstation or putting up an Instagram story.

Very few of them will jump in the car and drive 130 miles down the M40 to spend the afternoon and evening developing an app.

But Robson-Kanu, whose real first name is Thomas, is not your typical footballer.

“Growing up, a lot of my friends were developers and coders and they were in the technology space,” he said.

“They began talking about Bitcoin and Blockchain back in 2011 [Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency which uses Blockchain technology]. The narrative on it back then was negative in as much as there was no fundamental value to it. There was a lot of information around it being very secretive and a means for transactions on the black market.”

(Image: Propaganda)

Because of this negative press, Robson-Kanu didn’t give it much thought initially. But once Bitcoin started increasing in value he started doing some research. He is now convinced that so called “cryptocurrencies” could have as big an impact on future society as the internet.

You can hear the passion he has for the subject.

“The actual Bitcoin price now has increased over 100-fold and I was curious as to why it had done that,” he said.

“If this technology is such that it had no value, how can it have accrued that level of multiplication within that space of time?

“So I began looking at it deeper, I read the Bitcoin white paper , started using the forums, joined a lot of online communities and started understanding the fundamental technology of it.

“As soon as I did that I realised this is going to be the future. We are effectively in the 1993 of the internet but for Blockchain technology.”

So he and his co-founders launched their new company Sports Ledger and are currently developing an app. Asked what the app will actually do, and how Blockchain actually works, Robson-Kanu smiles and asks: “How long have you got?”

He goes on: “It is like saying to someone now 'How does the internet work? How does a Google algorithm work? How does Facebook track what you’re doing through pixels? How does PayPal work at the back end?'

“What we’re saying is that there are going to be so many applications of Blockchain that will change the shape of the whole world.

“The application is large... and those who begin to understand it at this stage will certainly have their lives enhanced by it.

“This is currently taking place and we need to consider how we as a civilisation adopt it.”

(Image: Richard Williams)

(Image: AP)

As he talks about his app you will come to realise that “Hal” is anything but a stereotypical footballer. He doesn’t apply generic football phrases typically seen after Match of the Day to the tech world.

He doesn’t say “the lads are all together” or “we are just taking it one algorithm at a time”.

Instead he patiently and thoroughly outlines five separate layers of the app, saying: “This could take a while.”

What is the app?

Condensing an hour and 15 minutes of explanation, the app will will bring together all sport-related data under one roof.

According to Hal, this will allow users to interact with their sports in new ways, like getting stats on their favourite player in minute detail.

“Say you like Gareth Bale,” he says.

“There would be tools where you can understand how good he is in the first 10 minutes compared to the last 10 minutes.”

It could also give people access to computer predictions potentially putting them on a level playing field with the bookies.

“Imagine a Google search engine dedicated to supporting outcomes,” Robson- Kanu explains.

“These predictive models are built by third party companies in the form of bookmakers and they deliver them in the form of odds. The problem with the odds is that they will always be weighted in favour of the bookmaker. We aim to deliver predictive outcomes on sport which are completely transparent so betters and bookmakers are now operating on an equal platform tapping into a $42 billion sports betting market.”

(Image: Richard Williams)

He says it could mean fans getting paid to view adverts.

“When we sign up to organisations like Facebook we tick that box for the terms and conditions but nobody reads them,” says Robson-Kanu, who scored five goals in 44 games for Wales.

“99% of these guys’ revenue comes from selling your data and access to you as a user.

“When you’re on Facebook, uploading pictures, conducting searches and communicating with friends that is your digital identity.

“It has value but you don’t realise it because you receive no value from it at all.”

He believes that can change.

“You might, for example, really like yellow Nike football boots and you might have posted about it.

“Advertisers and corporations like Nike are able to come into the application and see that you have posted that.

“So what they can do is instead of paying a third party company to communicate the advert they can come directly to you and pay you to show it.”

(Image: Propaganda)

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Another use, he explains, is enabling athletes to save and even sell their data from training and games.

“I trained today,” he says.

“I put my biometric data into a database but the way it is stored means if I wanted to go and get my data from when I was at Reading in 2007 there would be no way for me to do it. It will be on an analyst’s USB stick which they left on holiday!

“So it’s not stored anywhere which is permanent.

“The second issue is the data presented back is just an Excel spreadsheet meaning as a professional I can’t understand or interpret how my performance is improving or decreasing over a season.”

According to Robson-Kanu, the app will not just make this mountain of information easy to understand, it could also spot injuries before they happen.

“The wearable tech that you see will soon be able to fit in shorts.

“You’ll be able to calculate the velocity of each leg and say that it is usually 49% off one leg and 51% off the other.

“If that changes to 75% 25% that’s an injury flag and think about the applications that could have in the insurance industry.”

If you're wondering how this makes money and what it has to do with Blockchain and cyptocurrency, here goes: to use the app, fans, clubs, advertisers and athletes would use tokens to access the information or show an advert. These tokens are a type of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin which can be redeemed for cash.

The company makes money by putting a 0.0001% fee on all transactions.

'I would say 95% of the people who were around me as a kid are broken in one way or another'

If you went down to your local park, you would probably see kids playing football. Many will dream and fantasise about scoring a goal in an international game, with some probably inspired by Hal Robson-Kanu in 2016.

Not many will be dreaming about revolutionising the way consumers make financial gain from their data. But, Hal explains, if young footballers don’t have interests outside the beautiful game there can be severe, sometimes tragic, consequences.

He says: “As a 16-year-old when you are taken out of school and dumped into an industry which is ruthless and where you effectively have to sink or swim, you either live or die. How do you support these young kids as they grow through the life cycle of a career?

"I would say 95% of the people who were around me as a kid are broken in one way or another. And that is the nature of the industry and being a professional athlete.

“Personally, I have been able to always have passions away from sport which allow me to focus on other things. I have been fortunate enough to not really feel those levels of pressure but at this point in time I have made a decision where I had given everything that I can give at international level and it is for me to give more time to myself and to my family.”

'The biggest joy that I have had is representing my country'

The announcement of his international retirement two weeks ago was met with a mix of nostalgia, devastation and pride by the Welsh football fans.

“I think the time was right,” he said.

“It was a massive decision for me because, being a professional athlete, the biggest joy that I have had is representing my country, particularly with the success that we’ve had.

“But I think actually being able to commit fully to the club and allowing me time with my family as well as what I’m doing away from football [is needed].

(Image: Richard Williams)

“No one will ever see how demanding football is behind the scenes.

“We talk about sport and how mental health is becoming more prevalent. Ten years ago, it wasn’t a topic that was touched on. Now we have seen it be recognised along with the strains on athletes.

“A lot of athletes will have ways to deal with the stresses and demands of sport. It could be an addiction to drugs, gambling, alcohol or sex and all of these addictions are a way for athletes within this high pressure environment to deal with it.

“For me personally I have given as much as I can do to something that I’m so passionate about, but it is time to take a step back and to allow me to continue to develop myself.”

OK, but but can anything really give the pure joy of scoring a goal in front of a stadium full of ecstatic fans?

“It’s a different thing,” he said.

“Sport is a very physical activity. Scoring a goal is unbelievable but is there another way to challenge yourself mentally? How do you continue to develop personally?

“This whole tech space is moving at such a fast pace that it can challenge you.

“The challenges of it are the same in that you have to commit to it and understand what you’re trying to do.

“Being a professional footballer started for me age six. Until I scored in the Euros that was 20 years. That is a big commitment you have to give daily to have a level of success.

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“Within technology is no different. We are working on this now and it's a long-term project but once it’s executed it will bring value to people around the world and that is as exciting for me.”