Kickabout Sheffield: 7-a-side football league 'saved' Kartica member from dark place as solo career launches

He spoke to The Star on how his six and seven-a-side football leagues in Sheffield “saved” him from that place and gave him the confidence to get back into music. Mat Hook, aged 38, was once a nationwide touring musician, who shared the stage with the likes of The Jam, rubbed shoulders with ex-England footballers, performed for the likes of KT Tunstall and received a social media shoutout from a massive sports star.

All was going well until he began a downward spiral, falling into a breakdown, which felt endless, but, at his lowest point, Mat turned to football in an attempt to pull himself out. And what a decision it was.

“I was in an indie-rock band, called Kartica, and it was one of those things where it felt like such a lost oppurtunity,” he said. “We had a really intense fanbase, with people getting tattoos of our lyrics, signing CDs and Gary Neville tweeted about us. I felt like there was a generation of lads crying out for something like us.”

Kartica split during the mid-2010s, which was the start of a downward spiral for Mat. He said: “My dad got ill and subsequently died of brain cancer, I separated from my daughter’s mum, the band fell apart and I left my job. I had a few years where I didn’t know if I was coming or going. It was tough.

“The main thing for me was I was playing in a six-a-side league at Goodwin. It was the one thing I was doing at that point which allowed me to focus on things. The league moved to Norton and I thought the facilities were great. I thought I could get my own league here and so I spoke to some mates. We went anywhere people played football and handed out flyers.”

“I just think it saved me”

Soon enough, the league Mat originally played in moved back to Goodwin Sports Centre, for the student cohort taking part, leaving a clear gap in the local market for a league at Norton. “Once I made that initial spark decision, it all kicked off,” Mat said. All of a sudden, Kickabout Sheffield was born.

Kickabout Sheffield now has 28 teams, with amateurs, semi-pros and professionals taking part, and now a popular six-a-side women’s side is in the works too. As, essentially, the one-man-team behind it all, Mat said: “I just think it saved me from going down a worse road. It reinvigorated me, it gave me a sense of self esteem. It was a second wind I guess.”

Kickabout gave Mat the boost he needed to take the chance on his music again. “During the lockdowns, I didn’t have much to do and did a little bit of YouTube,” he said, “I was getting a good response and people were enjoying it. I sort of baby stepped back into it.”

Mat recently released his first solo single ‘Runaway Road’. “It summarised what I have gone through. It’s a very personal song to me,” he said. Mat is performing at the Cross Sythes pub in Totley on Friday, November 11 and is raising money for the TC9 Foundation.

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