Il presidente di Matchroom Barry Hearn ha spiegato perché è tornato nel calcio attraverso il Brentwood Town FC, dove ha fissato un obiettivo quinquennale per raggiungere la English Football League e vuole contribuire a convincere il consiglio comunale della necessità di acquistare lo stadio del club.

Hearn ha detto di non aver sentito la mancanza del calcio da quando ha venduto il Leyton Orient più di dieci anni fa. “No, not at all. It’s a terrible business. I would never be involved in football. I always said I wouldn’t be involved in football other than Leyton Orient,” ha detto.

Nonostante questa valutazione, Hearn si è impegnato con il Brentwood Town per cinque anni e vuole che il club diventi una squadra di EFL entro il 2031. Ha detto che la scelta è guidata dal desiderio di lasciare qualcosa alla comunità che lui e l’attività di Matchroom considerano casa da anni.

“Because we’ve got our head office here, because as a family we lived there for 20-odd years, there’s an affinity towards the area, and I like the way they’re going about things. I like the fact that it’s community-driven,” ha detto Hearn a City AM.

“I'm 78 and I don't know how long I'm going to be here. I want to make sure I’m enjoying every hour I’ve got on God’s earth, simple as that. I saw six games at Brentwood Town last year and they were six very good experiences. We didn’t win them all. I enjoyed the experience. Sport’s been my life for over 50 years. It’s not going to change.

“The ideal plan for me would be that we eventually end up with a team made up of local players, kids that we’ve inspired that have gone on and developed their skills and become an asset to the team itself.

“Making money is great. It’s what you spend it on that really counts, and how you’ll be judged. We look after our family first, and then we look after the community that we came from.

“So, my family’s looked after, I move on to the community, and that puts a smile on my face. And I’m a very selfish person – I like to smile all the time – but that’s all I ask for.”

Hearn dice che il Brentwood Town può arrivare alla EFL in cinque anni

Questo non significa che uno degli operatori più astuti dello sport – un autodefinito “tight bastard” che continua a muovere i fili nella boxe, nei darts e nel snooker e che ha costruito un impero dal valore di £1bn – sia improvvisamente diventato tenero.

“I like winning – that’s an understatement; I absolutely insist on winning – and we’ll see where we go,” ha detto Hearn del Brentwood Town, che l’anno scorso è salito nella Isthmian Premier League e ora è a tre promozioni dalla EFL.

La posizione attuale del club mostra quanto sia ambizioso l’obiettivo: raggiungere la EFL richiederebbe al Brentwood Town di continuare a salire attraverso il sistema non-league e National League, con un lavoro costante dentro e fuori dal campo per più stagioni.

“The first phase is promotion from this division. We’re aiming at five years to be a Football League club. Do we achieve it? It’s very unlikely. But where do you set your dreams? Well, we set the bar high, and then we do our best.”

Hearn detiene una quota del 20 per cento del club e ha anche fornito una sponsorizzazione a sei cifre tramite Matchroom. Ha detto che il Brentwood Town avrà bisogno di altri “20-50” sostenitori provenienti dall’area locale benestante se il progetto dovrà andare avanti.

“Equity in non-league football is not something I spend too much time thinking about. Most important is: is the club sustainable? That’s going to require a certain amount of growth from within the club and the potential of other support from outside the club,” ha detto.

La proprietà dello stadio è vista come fondamentale per le ambizioni del club

Ha aggiunto che il sostegno delle autorità locali sarà importante, con Hearn e il Brentwood Town che considerano la proprietà del campo del club, circondato su tre lati da spazi verdi, essenziale per i loro piani.

“If we’re going to invest in the ground, which we have to do if we’re successful, it needs to be our property. So we’re going to go to the council, put some pressure on them, and say, ‘Well, are you with us on this journey? Because we’re on it’,” ha detto.

“People know Brentwood. They know Jez Dickinson, the chairman [and majority owner]. They know that Matchroom’s a major company within this area, and we don’t mess about. So we want to know straight up.

“It’s very early stages, and they don’t want to sell anything. But they’ve got to be educated on the proper way forward, and that may take some time. We’ve got the benefit of new councillors here that we think will understand a little bit more.

“Maybe Brentwood Council won’t understand the bigger picture, but we believe they will. We think they’re sensible, intelligent people, and they will understand that this is for the benefit of everybody.

“Money’s nowhere near a problem. The question is: is it worth the investment? Is it worth the journey? And for that, we need to be successful. I’m a tight bastard. I want value for my money, but I’m a believer if I believe.”