Barry Hearn is most famously associated with the spectacular rise of snooker, darts and boxing into televised spectacles that dominate sports screens worldwide. Even at the age of 78, the founder of Matchroom remains one of the most instantly recognisable promoters in the global sporting arena. While his work in combat and cue sports is widely celebrated, his involvement in football—though less publicised—offers a compelling parallel story of passion, investment and community impact.
In March 1995, a young Hearn, who had first watched Leyton Orient play when he was just eleven, stepped in to rescue the club from the brink of bankruptcy. He purchased the struggling side for a symbolic £2.43, an act that would set the tone for his later football endeavours. Over the next decade, Hearn oversaw a substantial transformation of the Orient facilities: by 2007 three stands at Brisbane Road had been rebuilt, and by 2012 the club was debt‑free after an estimated £8 million of personal investment. The pinnacle of that era arrived in the 2013/14 season when Orient reached the League One play‑off final, edging within a whisker of promotion to the second tier of English football.
A dramatic penalty shoot‑out at Wembley saw them fall 4‑3 to Rotherham United. Merely two months later, Hearn sold the club to Italian entrepreneur Francesco Becchetti, stepping away from football for nine years while his other business ventures continued to flourish. The next chapter began in July 2023 when Matchroom, Hearn’s entertainment empire, agreed to sponsor the home shirt of Brentwood Town, a modest Isthmian League North Division side located only three miles from the Matchroom headquarters.
The partnership quickly deepened: in 2024 Hearn took a minority shareholding in the club, and that summer a five‑year strategic alliance, accompanied by a "significant investment," was formally announced. "The reason Barry came over initially was we were doing something for Saint Francis Hospice, which he is a patron of, and he sat next to me for a game," recalls Brentwood chairman Jez Dickinson. "It was an entertaining game and Barry said afterwards, 'I'm never going to sit next to you again, Jez!
Every time the ball went into the box, you were going up for a header and elbowing me in the side!' Barry is very much about passion and wearing his heart on his sleeve, so that's probably where we connected." Dickinson describes how a series of lunches cemented the partnership. "After about the third one, he asked me what I wanted.
I said obviously I wanted him to get involved, but I wanted him to get involved because he wanted to get involved, not because I was asking him – and he said he'd do it." While Hearn’s name naturally draws headlines, Dickinson has been the operational engine since assuming the chairmanship in May 2019. He arrived to find a club with no clear pathway for youth players to reach the first team, a bar that resembled a 1970s pub, and an ambition limited to simply staying in the league.
Under Dickinson’s stewardship, Brentwood Town has undergone a rapid renaissance. A brand‑new 3G pitch was installed in the summer of 2024, the side captured the Isthmian North Division title in the 2024/25 season, and they narrowly missed promotion after losing a play‑off final that would have secured a spot in the National League South.
The club now boasts a Centre of Excellence that nurtures 250 boys and girls aged six to twelve, a development pipeline Dickinson deems essential: "It's hollow if that isn't there," he says. The partnership with Hearn adds a new dimension to these achievements. Dickinson explains their communication rhythm: "I speak to him probably once a week, maybe twice, depending on what's happening. He's hands‑on in as much as he's available for anything we talk about.
We'll sit down every couple of months, look at the financials, how we're getting on. He loves his numbers!" Although Hearn holds a minority stake, he deliberately refrains from day‑to‑day management. "He looks at me and sees I'm stressed enough, he doesn't want any of that," Dickinson notes.
Instead, Hearn’s presence raises the club’s aspirations: "What he does is actually raise the bar, subconsciously, for what I want to achieve. We'll have a catch‑up at Matchroom and it is quite inspiring and you come away thinking, 'let's go for it'." Dickinson emphasises that Hearn’s influence extends far beyond the financial injection. "It's probably ten times as important as the money he puts in – not that I don’t want the financial support, that’s really important! He's a fantastic ambassador for the club as well as a sponsor and partner.
When I speak to potential partners they say they’re interested because if Barry commits for five years, he doesn’t do things by halves and won’t give up easily. It creates confidence with us and people looking to be partners." On the pitch, Brentwood Town currently sit 18th in the Isthmian Premier Division after eight games, drawing an average crowd of just under 700 spectators. The club’s ambition is to push that figure to 1,000 by season’s end, a goal that aligns with plans for a new 1,000‑seat stand. However, the construction of that stand hinges on the finalisation of the Brentwood Centre Arena purchase, a transaction that must be completed before any further infrastructure upgrades can proceed.
Looking ahead, Dickinson envisions the partnership propelling Brentwood to the highest level of the English football pyramid possible. "Barry decided on a five‑year partnership to drive the club to the highest level of the pyramid.
Hopefully after those five years, there’ll be another five years! Realistically, if we're playing National League football in five years, that will be pretty successful for us. That would be excellent.
It shows how much faith he and Matchroom have in us – it's down to us to deliver," he concludes. In summary, Barry Hearn’s involvement with Brentwood Town illustrates how a high‑profile promoter can leverage his brand, capital and enthusiasm to uplift a grassroots club.
By combining strategic investment with genuine community engagement, the partnership aims to transform a modest non‑league side into a competitive force capable of climbing the football ladder, while also fostering youth development and strengthening local ties. The next five years promise to be a pivotal period for Brentwood Town as they strive to translate ambition into tangible success on and off the field.