Harry Scarfe, autism & football: Full Interview
Harry Scarfe, autism & football: Full Interview
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00:00 So Harry, firstly, just before we get into any of the specific detail about what you're
00:04 campaigning for, just tell me a little bit about yourself. You're a football supporter,
00:08 you support Tottenham, how did that all come about?
00:11 Good question, yeah. I'm Harry Scarfe, you may have seen me on social media, maybe as a content
00:17 creator or a YouTuber, or maybe as an advocate or campaigner for autism and neurodiversity.
00:23 Yeah, in terms of supporting Spurs, it's kind of, you know, gone through the family. I've been the
00:27 unlucky one as well to take that on, most recently going to our defeat against Chelsea. But yeah,
00:35 I'm really happy to be a Spurs fan right now, playing some great stuff. So yeah, thank you,
00:40 thank you very much for this. But yes, probably following football, probably for about,
00:45 I would say five, six years, not long properly, but something that's gone through the family.
00:50 Obviously, you're quite young, but you're having a big impact, especially on the world of social
00:55 media in sort of Tottenham circles. What inspired you to get involved with wanting to be involved
01:02 in content creation? Great question. I've watched some, you know, watched some fantastic channels
01:06 over the years growing up. And I've always, you know, I've always been someone who's liked talking
01:11 in front of camera, whether that's presenting in front of my class, or talking on calls, etc.
01:17 It's something that I've always really enjoyed. And Tottenham was my passion from such a very
01:22 young age. So I, you know, came up with this idea of creating my own YouTube channel just to talk
01:29 Tottenham purely to show family and friends. So how far I've come and the support I've received,
01:34 you know, something I can't put into words, because I'm very grateful for that, because,
01:38 you know, you don't expect even just 100 people to watch your video when you just started for
01:43 family and friends. So it's an honour. But that's really how it came about, as simple as I liked
01:49 talking in front of camera, I like talking about Tottenham, it purely was just to show family and
01:53 friends initially. Now, on social media, I've noticed you make sort of, you don't hide the
01:59 fact about your neurodiversity and your autism. So what prompted you to sort of put that out there
02:06 in the open and make it part of what you do? Yeah, so you see someone, I'm someone who,
02:12 who likes to say things how they are. And listen, as someone who's autistic, I've kind of,
02:18 obviously found out from a young age diagnosed about five or six, and was kind of over the years,
02:24 I've kind of read books really understood it. And I've looked around and seen so many autistic
02:29 people without an education without a diagnosis. And so, you know, as someone of the younger
02:34 generation, I have a duty and responsibility to speak up about it. So this is what I'm doing and
02:41 hoping to do for the future. And I'm very lucky to found a good friend of mine called Barney,
02:48 who just purely met on social media for similar interests, both of us, both autistic,
02:53 both want to campaign for change and change lots of things of our world. So we got talking,
02:57 we've known each other about a year now. And we're now talking about sending out protests
03:01 for 2024, etc. So I'm very lucky to have met him and received great support along the way. But yeah,
03:07 I've just kind of seen, you know, pre COVID and after COVID, how long that diagnosis waiting list,
03:13 for example, 143,000, which is a huge 43% increase on last year, which is a huge amount.
03:20 And the government attended a blind diet situation. So for me, I feel responsible to do
03:27 that. But I joined social media purely to promote my channel. You know, like I said, you there,
03:31 the channel was just to show family and friends. So I'm grateful how far it's come. So you know,
03:36 so it was a real honour for it to come that far and to, you know, be speaking about these things,
03:41 but to some amazing people, and it's just great to get people's ideas. So I'm looking forward to
03:46 what the future holds. You mentioned your friend Barney there. Now, from what I saw, you and him
03:52 went to Fulham Football Club for experience with their sensory room. Are they sort of leading the
03:58 way in terms of football clubs or have other clubs cottoned on to that as well now and try to provide
04:05 facilities for people with such conditions to attend sporting fixtures without having to have
04:11 faced too much disruption? Yeah, good question. It all started from firstly, for Spurs when I got
04:18 invited by the accessibility officer Simon, who'd been seeing my work, he said, Do you want to be
04:23 shown around the sensory room and see what it's like, because I was doing my thing where they're
04:29 basically signing up for autistic people in sports. I'm really grateful that's why I've done that.
04:33 And then obviously I met Barney, got close with Barney. Fulham contacted us and invited us to be
04:38 shown around Craven Cottage, which I think was around September this year, which is a real honour
04:44 and a privilege. You don't expect football clubs, you wake up one morning and see football clubs
04:48 have emailed you and DM'd you. So that is really nice. It's great to see. So yeah, Fulham and Tottenham
04:53 really led the way. But I know there's other clubs like outside the Premier League who've stepped up
04:58 with sensory rooms. There's been quite a few now. I can't remember them all. One's Noss County,
05:02 for example, who are installing sensory rooms. A lot of people turn around to me and go,
05:06 Why are you just asking Premier League clubs to do these things? Well, because the money's in the
05:10 Premier League and it has to start from the top. It's not fair because I'd love to sit here and go,
05:13 Look, all professional football clubs, for example, should have a sensory room by, I don't know,
05:18 2027, 2030. That just isn't realistic for smaller clubs, huge clubs like Southend, for example,
05:24 who just simply haven't got the money at the moment. Derby County being another one. So it
05:28 just isn't realistic. It's got to start from the clubs at the top and the likes of Fulham
05:33 and Tottenham really have led the way. Lots of clubs do have sensory rooms, but to recognise this
05:38 and to receive the personal invite was really, really nice. Obviously, a lot more can be done,
05:44 but we're seeing progress, that's for sure. - What are the benefits of these sensory rooms
05:49 for people like yourself wanting to attend sporting fixtures?
05:52 - Yeah, no, good question. I, for example, go to a special needs school. I have someone who's
05:59 not often used a sensory room, but I know it really, really helps regulate lots of autistic
06:05 people and it can convince them to go to a football game. I went with my school to a couple of games,
06:10 we went to the top of Mosbourg Stadium under Antonio Conte to watch us just play Leicester.
06:14 We went to Ipswich, the Women's FA Cup final, et cetera. And I, you know, again, this is another
06:19 reason it started. I just wanted to get people's thoughts on their day. Everyone, pretty much
06:23 everyone enjoyed their day, but they said, if only there was a sensory room, if only there was a
06:28 sensory pack, something to regulate me before the game or when it got loud, et cetera, or on the way,
06:33 and I was worried what it was going to be like. So, you know, clubs can generate huge revenue
06:39 from this and invite people into football and expand our beautiful games. This is why I think
06:44 clubs must and will adopt, you know, being really open about this as soon as possible. But yeah,
06:51 so that's really where I got the idea from, but sensory rooms is really important. Obviously,
06:55 it's not going to solve everything, but that is a good, I always think it's a good place to start,
06:59 a sensory room, I think is the basic thing that ideally going forward every club,
07:03 I mean, outside the UK as well, should have, you know, a sensory room to access to. But there's
07:09 other things that can be done, of course, sensory packs, et cetera, ear defenders, but sensory
07:14 rooms are a good start, but it's very important for some autistic people. Have you ever yourself
07:19 ever faced any issues or difficulties when attending Tottenham matches or any other sporting
07:24 fixtures or has it relatively been plain sailing? For me, it's been plain sailing, but I know that
07:30 for lots of other people it isn't, lots of people can't cope with the noise, et cetera.
07:35 But yeah, for me, I've always loved football. For me, that's my breakaway. It may sound strange,
07:40 but that's my relaxing time. But some people go, how do you relax during a football match?
07:44 But in a way, for me, it's that breakaway that I've really enjoyed. But obviously,
07:48 it's really overwhelming. It's got lots of lights, especially as we're heading towards winter, a lot
07:51 of darker time. Clubs use a lot of lights, a lot of fireworks, et cetera, to really get the
07:56 atmosphere going. But we've got to bear in mind, some people don't like that. And we've got,
08:00 we're seeing more drums, more trumpets to try and generate a bigger atmosphere. And that is all good.
08:06 But you've got to remember, there will be a percentage of people who don't like that. And
08:10 lots of people say, oh, don't go or don't sit there, et cetera. But you can't stop someone
08:14 from going. You've got to make football inclusive and include everyone. I do believe there's
08:19 ways of doing that. But answering your question, for me, it's pretty much all been plain sailing.
08:26 I've struggled with noisy environments, et cetera. But Football Grounds has always been
08:30 OK to me because I think I like it so much, I can see past that and cope with that, if you know what
08:34 I mean. Yeah. Now, you mentioned before you're wanting to campaign, not just in sport, but in
08:41 general as well. What does this all entail? Tell me a little bit about what you're planning.
08:45 Good question. Yeah, lots of plans for the future. But yeah, right now, like I said,
08:51 we met by and we both discussed and we're going, hang on here. We've got a really, really long
08:55 waiting list, which is lots of people I know in and around me and lots of people around the world
09:00 who haven't got an education, for example, that are waiting for the EHCP, the autism diagnosis.
09:07 And then when you hear news that there's going to be a 25% cut in the funding for diagnosis
09:13 services and you go, hang on a minute here, you've been doing short-term sticking classes,
09:18 I like to call it, for the last few years or some would even say 13 years. I'll leave that up to
09:24 people, but it's been going for a long while. Then to even cut that is absolutely ridiculous.
09:28 You know, we're not seeing that long-term funding, which is needed, for example, in sport. I know
09:34 there's lots of people. For me, my priority is improving the match day experience of all.
09:39 Because I believe you make little changes, you can change a lot. You introduce a sensor and you
09:44 improve a lot of people's match day experience. Obviously, it's in and out of the sport. Sport,
09:49 something me and Barney love, it's important to start with that. How can sport and football be
09:52 inclusive? I know Premier League clubs are really open to that. Simple thing is like celebrating
10:01 Autism Acceptance Day, Autism Awareness Week, et cetera, that clubs at the moment just don't do,
10:06 that would be nice if they could do that, that recognition to make people feel included. But
10:11 yeah, I think there's a lot to be done. A lot of reasons kind of led up to this. Because I know,
10:16 for example, like I said, I'm very open to talking about it. I'm in a special school now. That is the
10:20 person I am today. The reason I'm sitting here talking to you today. Because you asked me two,
10:26 three years ago, would this have been possible? It wouldn't have been. So that's great. I'm really
10:30 grateful to the people around me, the school I'm in. But I know there's so many people who don't
10:34 get that diagnosis or the EHCP until they left school and it's too late. And we all know that
10:39 education starts you up in life, puts you on the right path, the right track. And there's parents
10:43 out here who will be listening to this going, you know, I fight day and night for my children,
10:48 and I still haven't got one, for example, diagnosis, EHCP. So if I can change one person's
10:55 life in a positive way, that would be fantastic. So there's a lot to be done. So me and Barney
11:00 could be organising some things. We want to support a protest at some point next year and
11:03 potentially set up our own. I've done things like a survey as well to get people's thoughts
11:07 on the matchday experience, to get evidence to Premier League clubs. This is what people enjoy,
11:12 this is what can be improved on, which is really important as well. But yeah, a lot to be done,
11:16 it's fair to say. - You're clearly very passionate about this subject. Is this something that you
11:25 see yourself making a career out of? Obviously, you mentioned that you enjoy football content
11:29 creation and you're putting this all together as one. And so, obviously, you've mentioned sort of
11:35 your plans in the short term there, but what are your plans in the long term, Harry? Can you make
11:38 this into a career? Can this blossom even further for you, do you think? - Great question, I'm not
11:43 going to write it off because I didn't plan to become a content creator. So I'm not going to
11:47 write it off. But a lot of people are like, this is the downside of social media, like you're
11:52 waiting for you to stop, waiting for you to give in. All I will say is that won't happen until we
11:57 have a fully inclusive sport, football, until that diagnosis services has long-term investment,
12:03 until everything is improved, autistic people are listened to, autistic, parents of autistic people
12:09 are listened to. Then for me, there's no going away, whatever I decide to do in my career path,
12:14 this will be something I always push for. I'm very lucky to have the platform through my content
12:19 creating, et cetera, so many amazing people I've met and connected with. So yeah, no, I definitely
12:24 wouldn't write it out, but this is something, whatever career path I go down, that will be a
12:29 passion of mine I'll be speaking about because there's a lot of people who want to speak about
12:34 it but can't or don't want to. And I have so many parents contact me or so many autistic people
12:40 contact me, which is lovely. So I know that there's a lot to be done and I think voicing
12:46 these opinions and putting pressure on the people above the government, et cetera, football clubs
12:50 is the only way to achieve real change. For example, using the government, for example,
12:53 we saw them recently return their decision to close all ticket offices in England after
12:59 backlash, rightly backlash, and rightly you turned on that. Without that reaction, it wouldn't have
13:04 happened. And that we know from that, that protesting, that demanding, that putting pressure
13:10 on the government does work. And this is what I feel a responsibility to do and so many amazing
13:15 people around me. So that is why I'm very keen to get involved with the protest next.
13:19 Have you ever received any nasty messages from people because of the work you're doing?
13:23 Yeah, that's obviously the sad thing with social media, you have people go out their way
13:29 like other people, like say, I hide behind my autism, et cetera. Or you just create a load of
13:35 line of lies up. So yeah, I've been through quite a bit of that accounts impersonate me,
13:38 et cetera. But this thing only makes you stronger because you know that people are recognising what
13:43 you're doing. And you know, I think with this kind of thing, you have to be a pain in the backside
13:47 to achieve what you want to achieve. And the people turn around to go, I don't like you,
13:53 or I think you're annoying, I hate you, et cetera. For me, I look like I laugh, I go, look,
13:58 you know, someone has recognised what I'm doing. And it pushes me eventually, obviously,
14:02 the initial reaction wasn't great, and maybe not handle situations the way to the best it can be
14:07 handled over the years. But the more I experience this, the more I learn that this is happening for
14:14 a reason. So it kind of inspires me. But yeah, I received quite a few messages. But again,
14:18 it's very grateful to the people around me who've got me through this support me because
14:23 not people who've shown their support massively outraced the negative comments. So it only makes
14:28 me stronger. And this, I know these problems aren't going to go away. Because I'd love to sit
14:33 here and go, right, all of this can be done. And tomorrow morning, we wake up and my work is done.
14:37 We know me and Barney know that this is 15, 20 years, potentially the future. And I also believe
14:43 that what we're doing now changes the lives of this current and the future generations is making
14:48 a difference not only now, but in the coming years, for future children, education, etc.
14:53 So if you had a message for if we start with Premier League clubs now, given the money they
14:59 have, you had a message to put Premier League clubs about autism inclusivity? What would it be?
15:04 Good question. That's an important question, isn't it? Listen to autistic people, because,
15:10 you know, they want to, for example, lots of people want to go and watch football matches.
15:15 So to listen to their opinion, how to improve the matchday experience. So Premier League
15:20 clubs have got the money. So for me, just put the time and effort in because this is something that
15:23 can create you more revenue and create more people into the beautiful game. One thing I also think
15:29 is really, really important that I got assured that Tottenham happens, which is excellent.
15:33 You know, hopefully other clubs do do this, but I know some don't. It's not fair for me to name
15:39 them. But for example, treating home and away fans the same, giving both fans access to the
15:44 sensory if they need it, if they need support, they need sensory packs, etc. I've come up,
15:49 there's loads of different things that can be done, whether it's providing
15:52 aid defenders on the day, providing sensory packs to people who require them.
15:56 Obviously, I'd love to sit here and say, you know, this should be done for free. I do think it
16:01 should be because Premier League clubs have got the money. But if that isn't possible, then obviously,
16:05 for example, send them in the club shop. If you go into, I love Spurs, you go into the Spurs club
16:10 shop. Apart from the odd stressful, there is nothing for an autistic person to buy. So selling
16:15 things like aid defenders, sensory packs can be done. Because for example, and also expanding
16:20 sensory rooms, can we go that step further? What can we do to do more? Because that waiting list,
16:26 you know, says everything 143,000, potentially people who could who could be autistic,
16:32 that that is a huge number on the waiting list that's built up over months, weeks and years. So
16:37 my message to Premier League clubs is listen to autistic people, listen to ideas, suggestions,
16:42 get our thoughts, because this can not only help you but invite more people, more revenue
16:47 for the club. It's important they do listen. So they've got the power, they've got the money.
16:51 Now it's just time to listen and put the time and effort in.
16:54 Finally, Harry, can Spurs win the league?
16:57 Oh, great question. Listen, this team is special under Ange Prostokoglou. So I wouldn't put it
17:05 past them. Obviously, having suffered that defeat to Chelsea going down to nine men,
17:09 unknown how long the likes of Van der Been are out for, they're out for three games. It doesn't look
17:14 good sitting in this current situation. I thought four would be a good achievement. I'm not going to
17:18 rule it off because I'm not going to write it off at all because this team is something special. We
17:22 saw the fight against Chelsea with nine men. So as far as you know, I go I'm very, very happy with
17:26 the team at the moment. So hopefully, I do believe that Ange Prostokoglou is time to win the league,
17:32 even if it's not this season.