Eddie Hearn says Matchroom move into football representation is 'inevitable'

Eddie Hearn has declared it “inevitable” that Matchroom will move into football representation, telling FourFourTwo in New York that the company is “very well placed” to make an impact in a transfer market he describes as the “Wild West”.

The Matchroom chairman and sports promoter launched the Matchroom Talent Agency earlier this year, making an immediate statement by signing England and Northampton Saints number eight Henry Pollock, Scotland fly-half Finn Russell, and British UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall. Football, Hearn says, is the logical next frontier.

“We talked about football and we have always talked about sports and athlete representation — that was my background before I started with Matchroom,” Hearn said. “So as a business I think we are very well placed to do that. I think we can be very effective in football.”

Hearn is not without football credentials. His father Barry Hearn owned Leyton Orient between 1995 and 2014, during which time Eddie served on the club’s board of directors as vice-chairman. He argues that combination of ownership experience and his years navigating boxing’s notoriously unregulated promotional landscape gives Matchroom a genuine edge.

“It is a little bit like the Wild West with representation in football, which is good for us because boxing is exactly the same,” he said. “But we will need to understand it and I am not naive enough to just think we can walk in and do it. But we have also owned a football club, so we have worked in many different areas. So I think it is inevitable to see us in football at some point. The numbers involved in transfer fees are just crazy, but the commission is nice.”

Hearn is best known for promoting Anthony Joshua since the heavyweight turned professional following his gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics. Matchroom also owns and operates the Professional Darts Corporation, giving the company a broad multi-sport portfolio from which to build its new representation arm.

No timeline or specific targets in football were disclosed, but Hearn’s comments represent the clearest public signal yet that one of sport’s most prominent promoters is eyeing a significant expansion into the game.