Two-time darts world champion Michael van Gerwen admits he would prefer his daughter didn't follow in his footsteps by becoming a professional darts player.

Speaking to Off The Ball's Shane Hannon this week, the Dutchman talked about the state of the game, chasing Phil Taylor's 16 world titles and and his rivalry with Gary Anderson.

But when asked about his young family and the influence the sport has on his family life, van Gerwen insisted he would prefer to keep the two separate.

"No I'd rather her playing tennis or football or anything else," he said. 

"Whatever she's going to do I'm going to support her, if it's darts or tennis or football - that's just how it is. You have to do something that you like, that's the most important.

"If you're going to play sport you have to enjoy it."

He also insisted that the sport of darts was in rude health and that the spectacle has attracted huge numbers of fans around the world.

"Of course darts is heading in the right direction. It's getting more time on channels and there are more people playing darts.

"There's more money in the sport and with more money you can have a better team around you. That's good for darts globally.

"It's easy for people to watch and they can enjoy themselves.

"That's the key thing. People want to go out and have a good night. Where can they do that? The darts."

You can hear the full interview by clicking the link above.

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