Football's popularity is such that it will always win most battles for the hearts and bodies of young boys.
Asked to choose which sport they'd like to try out, most will opt for the 'Beautiful Game', regardless of whether their talents would be better suited for other sports.
That will always be the case no matter what. Where the story turns sad is when those kids are told that they aren't good enough to make it to the top, at which point most quit sports altogether rather than look elsewhere.
It is on attracting those drop-outs that sports like athletics have to focus and where much needs to be done. The potential rewards are huge. Just look at Michael Fraser, the 400m runner who will be joining the Maltese squad taking part in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India.
"I took up athletics at 14. I had been at Norwich City academy for six years before I was released. One of the Norwich players also did athletics so I decided to give it a go," he says of his fortuitous switch.
"I was always quite fast and my football background also gave me a certain amount of stamina. At one competition, I filled in the 400m slot and ran 58.8 in my first race, and began from there."
Since then he hasn't looked back, rising to fifth in the United Kingdom in his particular discipline and age category with a personal best of 49.16.
Ever since the turn of the year, however, his attention has been focused on Malta.
"My father was born at Mtarfa and his mother is Maltese," he said.
"Her maiden name was Theresa Grasso and originally came from Vittoriosa. She married my Scottish grandfather James Fraser and they both currently live in Marsascala.
"I asked my father about the possibility of running for Malta and he then approached his uncle, Lino Bugeja who had represented Malta at athletics. Tony Chircop, Athletics Malta president, eventually invited me to a meeting in April."
That first invitation quickly turned into a second one where Fraser joined up with the Maltese team for the FISEC Games.
"To pull on the international vest of Malta was a dream come true. Every athlete wants to run at an international level and not many achieve that ambition, so I will always wear the vest of Malta with pride and never take the opportunity offered to me for granted," Fraser said.
"Every athlete wants to wear the national vest and I am no different. When I put the vest of Malta on for the first time it was one of the proudest moments of my life. It is now important that I pick up experience and return the faith that Athletics Malta have put in me. I will always give my 100%."
Even so, the question remains: is running for Malta a choice borne out of love or pragmatism?
"I have to be honest if the chance to run for Great Britain had come along I would have probably taken it, but at this early stage in my career I have committed myself to Malta," he said.
"I do have family connections in the UK. I am currently the fastest 17-year-old at the 400m in Scotland and Wales so I could have chosen either of them, but I feel more Maltese than Scottish or Welsh so you have to believe me when I say my heart was with me when I chose Malta."
That decision should be further cemented when he competes in Pune between October 12 and 18.
"I am really looking forward to the Commonwealth Youth Games as it's a chance to race some of the best young athletes in the world.
Furthermore, it will give me experience of a big competition that I hope will help me in future Games if selected to represent Malta."
If all goes well, it should be the first step to fulfilling Michael's athletics ambitions.
"I would like to represent Malta as often as possible but my ultimate ambition is to emulate two of the great male Maltese athletes of late, Darren Gilford and Nikolai Portelli and represent the country at the Olympics."
Not a bad ambition and turn of events for someone who was on football's scrapheap not too long ago.