I was my club's youngest-ever player at 16 but I quit football for different job

23 October 2023 , 05:00

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Joe Hancott is Portsmouth's youngest-ever player (Image: Getty Images)

The life of a footballer can be a rollercoaster at times. Just ask ex-Portsmouth defender Joe Hancott, who retired from the professional game in 2021 to take up a career in teaching.

Hancott came through Pompey's academy and made his senior debut during an EFL trophy game against Fulham in August 2017. In the process, Hancott became Portsmouth's youngest-ever player at the age of 16 and 161 days, leapfrogging now-Wolves boss Gary O'Neil's previous record.

Having failed to break back into the Portsmouth first-team picture, the 22-year-old went out on loan to Basingstoke in March 2019 for the rest of the season. However, Hancott did not play a single minute for the non-league side.

Upon his return, Hancott made two further Portsmouth appearances - both in the EFL trophy - before suffering a season-ended anterior crucial ligament injury while on loan at Bognor Regis in October 2019.

Pompey extended his scholarship deal by a further six months to give him a chance to prove he deserved a longer contract. But instead, Hancott hung up his boots after being released by the club in March 2021.

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He told The News: "I wanted to be out of it. Not Pompey as a club, professional football as a whole. I couldn't wait. Some people would say, 'What the hell?', but I fell out of love with it completely.

"When I say fell out of love, weirdly I still loved watching it, I loved watching the Premier League and my club Tottenham, watching the Football League and my mates performing at non-league level.

"But I didn't like playing it at the time. It could be down to pressure or maybe going through a 12-year academy process had drained that fun out of me.

Joe Hancott made three first-team appearances for Portsmouth before retiring in 2021 (Getty Images)

Perhaps it was due to commuting from the Isle of Wight four times a week to train or play, with your body developing and growing yet constantly getting battered on different playing surfaces. Or you've tried to come back from injury and, yet again, it hasn't worked out, so you think: 'That's not for me any more'.

"Pompey kept extending my contract because they wanted to help me get back to full fitness, but it got to the point where I wasn't fussed about playing professional football anymore – and I told them that."

Following his retirement, Hancott decided to pursue a career as a teacher. Back in 2020, he went on to an Open University course at Salford University to study sport and business management.

Hancott landed his dream job two years ago at his former secondary school Ryde as a PE teacher and is also now back playing semi-professional football at Cowes Sports in the Wessex Football League - the ninth-tier of English football.

Kieran King