Matt Hampson
Matt Hampson Foundation
Matt Hampson (known as Hambo) is known and respected throughout the rugby community for his dedication to helping others. Matt was a player for Leicester Tigers and England Under-21 rugby teams when a 2005 training accident resulted in life-changing injuries. He is now paralysed from the shoulders down and breathes through a ventilator.
In 2011, Matt set up the Matt Hampson Foundation – a charity which helps young people with disabilities acquired through sports injuries. The Foundation holds a bi-annual ball and fundraising dinners with rugby professionals, including patron Mike Tindall.
In 2018, after years of hard work, Matt’s Foundation opened the Get Busy Living Centre in Leicestershire. The facility cost around £2 million to build and offers physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and help with specialist equipment. The centre is open five days a week to support people with both the mental and physical recovery from injury – including peer support and mentoring.
Matt says: “We’re busier than ever. We’ve got massive aspiration for what we do, like building accommodation so beneficiaries and families can stay with us. 2020 should be an even bigger and better year.”
Matt’s memoir Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson was published by Simon & Schuster in 2012. The book, co-written with Paul Kimmage, featured in the national press and sports bestseller lists. The book details his journey following the accident in unflinching detail, but also with humour and lots of personality.
Matt is a mentor and gives motivational talks to businesses and young people around the country. He’s an ambassador for the Rugby Football Union’s Injured Players Fund and Restart Rugby (the Professional Rugby Association’s charity), and a Patron of Special Effect – a charity which helps disabled children use technology for communication and fun. Through the Foundation Matt supports a number of Paralympians and potential Paralympians, as well as the Leicester Tigers Wheelchair Rugby Team.
We’re busier than ever. We’ve got massive aspiration for what we do, like building accommodation so beneficiaries and families can stay with us. 2020 should be an even bigger and better year.