CITY UNVERSITY HONOURS MATT FOR HIS INSPIRATIONAL WORK
Matt Hampson OBE has been honoured by the University of Leicester for his inspirational work.
After experiencing his own life-changing injury as a 20-year-old professional rugby player back in 2005, Matt set up his Foundation and then opened the Get Busy Living Centre in Leicestershire to support other young people after serious injury in any sport.
The Matt Hampson Foundation now has more than 200 beneficiaries and in 2025 – marking 20 years since the accident during an England Under-21 squad training session which changed his life and its impact on others forever – he is planning to extend the Centre to take that support even further.
The University of Leicester award was presented in a special ceremony in the city.
President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, said: “It is impossible to imagine what Matt went through in 2005. He was living his dreams, excelling with Leicester Tigers and being touted as a future senior England rugby international. He had everything at his feet and it was taken away from him in a split second.
“But instead of wallowing in self-pity, Matt turned catastrophe into a personal triumph and has helped improve the lives of so many people in a meaningful way while inspiring all of those who have met him.
“We are proud to welcome this remarkable Citizen of Change into the University of Leicester family.”
In thanking the university, Matt said: “It is a true honour to receive my doctorate from the University of Leicester. I feel this honour is not just recognition for the work I have personally done through my Foundation, it is also acknowledgement for the amazing and dedicated team who work at our very own Get Busy Living Centre who are changing and empowering the disabled world.”
