Matt Jarvis

Gillingham

Like his older brother Ben, Jarvis started his career on the books of Millwall, but was released by the club. With the help of a member of the Millwall coaching staff, however, he was taken on by Kent-based club Gillingham as a trainee. On 4 November 2003, at the age of 17, he made his Football League debut in a match against Sunderland when a number of senior players were missing due to influenza. He came on as a 76th-minute substitute for Richard Rose in a match which his team lost 3–1. He next played for the first team in an FA Cup defeat to Burnley on 24 January 2004, and went on to feature regularly in the team in March and April. In total he made two starts and eight substitute appearances during the 2003–04 season, but also continued to play for the youth team, helping them reach the last sixteen of the FA Youth Cup. Shortly before the end of the season he signed his first professional contract with the club when manager Andy Hessenthaler gave him a three-year contract. In the 2004–05 season Jarvis became a regular in the Gillingham first team, playing in 30 Football League matches, although he was out of action for five weeks in January and February after undergoing an operation on a hernia. He also scored his first goal for the club in a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 October 2004. Gillingham, however, were relegated from the Championship at the end of the season. In the 2005–06 season he was again a regular, and scored seven goals, his…

Jarvis was called up to the England national team in March 2011 for matches against Wales (a Euro 2012 qualifier) and Ghana (an international friendly). He had been in provisional squads earlier in the season, but was now in the squad due to injuries to Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson. After not being selected for the matchday squad against Wales, he made his debut as a substitute against Ghana at Wembley Stadium on 29 March, coming on for Jack Wilshere in the 70th minute of a 1–1 draw. In doing so, he became the first Wolves player for England since Steve Bull in 1990.

Jarvis was born in Middlesbrough His parents, Nicky and Linda, both played table tennis professionally and each reached number one in the sport's British rankings. Later they set up the table tennis supplies company Jarvis Sports, which relocated from Guisborough to Guildford in the same year that Jarvis was born. During his years at school in Surrey, Jarvis excelled at several sports, becoming a county champion in both swimming and athletics. He also gained ten GCSE qualifications.

Jarvis has been married to his wife Sarah since June 2011. In January 2013, he was interviewed for, and appeared on the cover of, gay lifestyle magazine Attitude to discuss homosexuality in football.