Barry Hearn has a dream. It is expensive. The veteran sports promoter wants his local non-league side, Brentwood Town, in the English Football League within five years. To get there, they need three promotions. It sounds mad.
But Hearn is putting his money where his mouth is. On Monday, his Brentwood-based Matchroom empire announced a fresh five-year sponsorship deal. We are talking hundreds of thousands of pounds. Matchroom has been backing the Blues since 2023, previously funding a new artificial pitch. Now, they want the big leagues.
The club came agonizingly close last season. They finished fifth in the Isthmian League Premier Division but choked in the 2025-26 play-off final against local rivals Billericay Town. Still, Hearn prefers this raw, muddy struggle to the sanitized elite. “I watched Argentina play and I wouldn’t charge money to watch that rubbish,” Hearn barked, showing his trademark lack of diplomacy. At Brentwood, he says, people actually try. It matters to them.
He is not wrong. Modern football is a soulless, corporate machine. Hearn, who used to run Leyton Orient, wants to use his cash to foster young talent and inject some rare joy into a miserable landscape. “This is a horrible world we live in,” he muttered. A bit of local football might be the only antidote left.
For Brentwood chairman Jez Dickinson, the cash injection is a godsend. The money will rebuild the club’s infrastructure and buy the players needed to climb the pyramid. But the cash is only half of it. Dickinson admits Hearn’s advice and clout are completely priceless. Five years is a tight clock. Let’s see if money can buy a miracle.
