Anthony Joshua’s promoter and Matchroom Chairman Eddie Hearn believes football will be the next major focus for the company’s athlete representation business.

Hearn has stated that it is ‘inevitable’ Matchroom will expand into football in the near future, expressing confidence that the organisation can have a significant impact on the sport.

The sports promoter and chairman of Matchroom Sport took a surprising step into rugby union earlier this year, signing England and Northampton Saints No. 8 Henry Pollock along with Scotland international Finn Russell.

Earlier this year, Hearn launched the Matchroom Talent Agency, which has already added two of rugby’s leading figures as well as British UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall to its roster.

According to Hearn, the next strategic move for the agency will be to establish a presence in football.

Hearn is no newcomer to the sport. He previously served on the board of directors and as vice-chairman of Leyton Orient when his father Barry Hearn owned the London-based club from 1995 to 2014. He says that both the company and his family possess the experience and understanding required to make a meaningful contribution to football.

Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo in New York, Hearn said: “We have always discussed football and sports representation – that’s actually where my background lies before I started working with Matchroom.

“From a business perspective, I think we are very well positioned to do that, and I believe we can be highly effective within football.”

Hearn, best known for overseeing Matchroom’s boxing operations, has managed Anthony Joshua’s professional career since the Olympic gold medallist turned professional after the London 2012 Games.

He believes that the company’s success in boxing will be an asset when they eventually move into football.

“Representation in football is a bit like the Wild West,” Hearn remarked. “That actually works in our favour because boxing operates in a very similar way.

“However, we’ll need to take time to understand the environment. I’m not naive enough to think we can just walk in and dominate immediately.”

He continued: “We’ve also owned a football club [Leyton Orient], so we’ve been involved in the sport from various angles.

“So yes, I think it’s inevitable that you’ll see us active in football at some stage. The sums involved in transfer fees are staggering, but the commissions aren’t too bad either.”

Beyond boxing, Matchroom also owns and operates the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Both of these sports recently enjoyed successful events in New York, with the US Darts Masters selling out two nights at the iconic Madison Square Garden theatre. The company also sold out the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for one of the year’s standout bouts, where Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis defeated Xander Zayas to claim the WBA and WBO titles.

As the saying goes, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” For Hearn and Matchroom, football now appears to be the next destination.