About Me

Matthew Briggs made his Premier League debut for Fulham FC on the 13th May 2007 aged just 16 years old.  He held the Guinness World Record for the youngest player in the Premier League for 12 years. 

Having been pushed into the first team for this amazing life changing moment he was then held back in the reserves after being signed for 4 years.  This really took a toll on his Mental Health being so young and with no support or explanation for this decision. During this time he went on loan and played for Leyton Orient, Bristol City, Peterborough United & Watford.  

After being released from Fulham FC 4 years later after making 40 appearances for them, Matthew went onto play for Millwall and scored in his debut match for them.  By this time though his Mental Health was at an all time low and he was really struggling with depression. Unfortunately life was on a downward turn, and with no support in place and with a run of bad injuries it was looking like the end of his football days. After 3 years at Colchester and 6 months at Chesterfield he just couldn’t carry on. This is when Matthew turned to Drugs & Alcohol and hit his rock bottom. 

A year later though, Matthew was determined to start playing again. He begged his Country Guyana to give him another chance and they did! In 2019 he was in the CONCACAF GOLD CUP where he was scouted to go and play professionally again in Denmark for HB Køge and then the following season he signed for Vejle Boldklub in the Danish Superliga. However after only playing a Season with them his old Hip Injury returned and he had to retire from football for good. 

Matthew now mentors young players at the Academy at Fulham FC and this has sparked a passion for helping young people with the sport and mental health in general. He has a lot to offer having been through so much at such a young age and turning his life back around. 

He has taken part in many documentaries including his most recent perspective about to be released in March 2024 for Rising Ballers which has a massive 1.7M following on Instagram. 

Matthew has given speeches and mentor sessions in Schools, Colleges and Uni’s across the UK. As well as giving talks in Companies & Organisations on topics including Mental Health, Diversity & Inclusion and Recovery from Drugs & Alcohol. 

Appearing also as a Guest Speaker for the Premier League and NFL, Matthew has also been interviewed and commentated on Radio Shows such as Talk Sport.  He has also been a guest on many Podcast’s and is in the process of starting his own. 

Matthew is determined to make a difference for young people in sport of all kinds and believes there needs to be allot more help and support available, which is why he is campaigning for just that.