After careful consideration and much internal deliberation, I decided to relocate to New York from the Caribbean.

 

This is obviously a risk as I have put my legal career on hold. However, my true passion and my plan has always been to work in the soccer industry.

 

I would like to share my journey to this industry with you. 

 

 

Once I realized my career as a player was limited, I focused on other aspects of the game. After high school, I was fortunate to receive an academic scholarship to attend University in the United States. During college, I was the main soccer beat writer for award-winning newspaper Cardinal Points and graduated top of the Journalism/Public Relations department at the State University of New York Plattsburgh. 

 

I was extremely involved on campus and was the top voted senator in student government, where I was the athletic senator. As the Athletic senator, I was the only student representative at board meetings where the athletic budget was discussed and deliberated on. 

 

While in college I was also a resident assistant, hosted a radio show and participated in several volunteer programs. Between semesters I interned at both the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League front office and the Press-Republican newspaper in New York. 

 

Prior to my graduation, I applied for and was selected as one of 25 recent college graduates to be part of the competitive Grassroot Soccer program in Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

Grassroot Soccer was an amazing experience because I was one of the few selected not coming from an Ivy League University. This was intimidating at first because I have never been in an environment of the sort. In fact, growing up in the Caribbean I was not introduced to the different tiers of the education system in the United States.

 

At Grassroot Soccer I was exposed to soccer in a different way, as it is a non-profit organization that uses soccer to educate about the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa. My base was at the Nike Center in legendary Soweto, South Africa and being there every day completely changed my life.

 

During my time at Grassroot Soccer, I was proud of two particular achievements, helping to organize several soccer tournaments throughout the township and pioneering a learning scheme for volunteers so they had an opportunity to develop skills for life after leaving the NGO. 

 

After Grassroot Soccer I returned to Trinidad and Tobago enrolled into law school and got a job with Raw Sports, a television show on the island's most popular network TV6. I worked closely with, edited, produced and wrote scripts for leading Caribbean sports journalist Joel Villafana, for a soccer section of the Raw Sports program. At the same time I also did some copywriting work for one of Trinidad and Tobago's most prominent businessmen Derek Chin. 

 

A connection I met while I was in South Africa offered me a job to return to South Africa with his startup company, Beryl Labs. This was totally away from my plan but I felt the opportunity was too good to turn down. I was hired as the company's Marketing Manager and returned to South Africa where I would spend a year hands-on, learning and then implementing everything I could to market the company. Up to today, my year there was the most successful one Beryl Labs ever had in terms of revenue. 

 

While in South Africa the second time around, having my plan always in focus, I arranged meetings with the South African Professional League to discuss the potential of having Caribbean players play in their league. 

 

I presented and proposed a project called Kaizer Connection, a parent/feeder club relationship between Trinidad and Tobago club champions W Connection and legendary South African club Kaizer Chiefs. This was an ambitious venture that never quite got off the ground. 

 

I completed my law degree in South Africa and was then admitted to London Metropolitan University to do a Post Graduate degree in law.  So after convincing those close to me that this was best for my plan, I left Berly Labs and South Africa for London, the mecca of soccer.

 

This was a one year program but I always wanted to be in London, I felt I could make a good connection here. My legal background and my focus on soccer were not by chance, it was because I felt these gave me particular attributes to be a successful soccer agent. A 2014 trip to the Brazilian World Cup via a gruelling trek through the Amazon jungle made me realize just how big the game really was and on my return from that trip, I started my legal journey. 

 

Since I could remember I have always assisted professional players with their career decisions and after reading the backgrounds of some of the most successful agents in the world, Scott Boras, Drew Rosenhaus and Richard Motzkin I felt I needed to have some background in the law.  

 

So when I arrived in London it was an absolute dream, I reached out to every single soccer agent I could find. I got some responses, met with some and developed relationships with a few. While going to classes I had two jobs working at a London law firm called Danbar Solicitors and organizing soccer games all over London with a company called Go Mammoth. Additionally, I was a starting member of the University's soccer and futsal teams. 

 

My visa in London was only for a year and I had to leave the country once my visa was up. I returned to Trinidad and immediately got a job at Marie De Vere Chambers, one of the islands best law firms. The lawyers at that firm represent the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. It was a great opportunity because I was constantly surrounded and mentored by some of Trinidad's most successful attorneys. I then became an attorney myself when I was admitted to Trinidad and Tobago Bar in 2018. 

 

Throughout my time in Trinidad, I have maintained good relationships with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League. 

 

I have been together with my college sweetheart this entire time and a couple of months ago I decided to move to the United States to be with her and her family. In America, I will continue chasing my dream of being part of the global soccer industry.

 

Thank you for reading, I have shared most things with you. I have sacrificed everything for this, I am willing to learn. I am a fast learner and I am ready to live my American dream. 

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Hope to hear from you soon, 

 

 

Matthew 

 

Update: Hired as a football agent at Hype Projects Agency in March 2020

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Update: Hired in 2021, as a consultant at what is widely considered the number one football agency in the world, CAA Stellar Sports.