Matthew Briggs
Matthew Briggs is a former professional footballer known for being the youngest player in the Premier League, aged 16 years and 68 days. He held the Guinness World Record for the youngest player for 12 years for his Premier League debut for Fulham.
Despite being thrust into Premier League football’s limelight, Matthew was held back in the reserves. Being sidelined for the reserves and then going out on loan took its toll on his mental health at a time when he received no support or explanation for his treatment.
Four years after his debut, Matthew was released by Fulham. He went on to join Millwall, scoring on his debut. Despite life appearing good on the surface, his mental health was at an all-time low, and he was struggling with depression.
Matthew struggled with his mental health throughout the rest of his playing career, playing with teams in the UK and Denmark. He retired from playing in 2023.
Matthew Briggs has appeared in a number of documentaries, including a recent appearance in Rising Ballers, featured on the IG channel with 2.3 million followers.
He has also been a Premier League and NFL guest speaker and appeared on Talk Sport radio.
Talking about his journey through the world of Premier League football and his mental health challenges, Matthew has spoken to schools, colleges and universities, as well as businesses and organisations. He has also talked about recovery from drugs and alcohol, as well as diversity and inclusion. Matthew also mentors young players at the Academy at Fulham FC, and this has sparked a passion for helping young people in the sport and mental health in general.
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More About Matthew Briggs
Matthew Briggs joined Fulham at 10 and progressed through the club’s youth ranks. He made his first-team debut in May 2007, becoming the youngest player in the Premier League, aged 16 years and 68 days.
He went on to make 13 league appearances over eight years with the club and 30 in all competitions. During this time at the club, he had loan spells with several Football League clubs, including Leyton Orient, Peterborough United, Bristol City, and Watford.
In 2014, he was released by Fulham and joined Championship side Millwall, scoring on his debut. With limited opportunities at Millwall, he was once again loaned out, this time to League One club Colchester United during the latter half of the 2014–15 season. Having been released by Millwall at the end of that season, Matthew joined Colchester United on a permanent basis, where he remained until May 2017, playing 47 games. He then joined Chesterfield in August 2017.
During this time, his life was on a downward turn, with injuries thwarting his career and no support for his mental health struggles. In his mid-20s, he ended up working on a building site, turned to drugs and alcohol and hit rock bottom.
Matthew Briggs | Resilience
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 three years at Colchester and six months at Chesterfield, he couldn’t continue. It was then that Matthew turned to drugs and alcohol and hit rock bottom.
Through resilience and self-purpose, Matthew was determined to play again. He begged Guyana to give him a chance, which they did. Previously, he had played for England’s Under 16 to Under 21 teams, clocking up 30 appearances, but he was eligible to play for Guyana through his grandmother.
With Guyana agreeing to give him a chance, he played in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, where he was scouted to play professionally again in Denmark for HB Køge. The following season, he signed for Vejle Boldklub in the Danish Superliga. Matthew went on to make 17 appearances for Guyana, scoring one goal.
After a short stint with Danish side HB Køge, Matthew returned to the UK and played for Gosport Borough, making 59 appearances. He finally signed for Horsham in 2023 before an ongoing hip injury caused him to retire.
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