The Sun’s Dream Team fantasy football game broke the 1m player mark on Saturday as would-be managers rushed to sign up before the Premier League season kicked off.

The new figure is the biggest ever for the Dream Team fantasy premier league game, five times more than the 200,000 players signed-up at the same time last year, and proves the increasing popularity of the game and the continuing demand for The Sun’s football content.

News International and William Hill have also launched a new integrated digital betting product as part of the renewal of their Dream Team commercial partnership. The unique Dream Team betting market will allow customers to make bets on top performing players within specific categories, such as highest scoring striker and highest scoring midfielder, with odds stated for each player.

In addition, the popular Dream Team iPhone and Android smartphone app, downloaded over 600,000 times, will allow customers to tap-through and make bets on matches with William Hill without leaving the app. The integrated betting functionality will be live later in the season.

Martin Corke, Head of Digital Advertising Strategy & Business Development, News International, said: “Hitting 1m players is a great achievement and is a result of our commitment to bringing The Sun’s fantastic football products to our customers in engaging and innovative ways.

“Our longstanding partnership with William Hill also means we present players with the most integrated and bespoke betting offering, within the world’s greatest fantasy football game.”

Mike Dunn, Sun Sports Editor, said: "Reaching 1m players is an outstanding result and is even more proof, if any were needed, that The Sun's Dream Team is the best fantasy football game on the planet."

Henry Birch, William Hill Online CEO, said: "We’re really excited to be continuing our partnership with Dream Team. The opportunity to reach out to such a diverse and passionate fan base will help to continue our fantastic relationship with football punters across the UK and Ireland."

The Sun’s £1m Dream Team is now in its 17th season. William Hill is sponsoring Dream Team for the third season running in a multi-platform deal across digital, mobile and print.