Captain and star striker of England men’s deaf football team, leading disability advocate, and BMA-repped model: Jamie Clarke has a rather broad CV. Making his debut for the national side back in 2008 as an 18 year old, Clarke has witnessed firsthand the growth in the game, and been front-and-centre in the progression of its acceptance and visibility within the wider football community.

After a rousing showing at the recent World Deaf Football Championships, which saw them suffer heartbreak at the hands of the USA in the round of 16, the England squad is looking to inspire the next generation to pursue an accessible sport pathway. And Clarke, as captain and driving force, is spear-heading change and education.

To commemorate the International Day of Disabled Persons (3rd December), we connected with Clarke, discussing his footballing idols, modelling pursuits, the honour of representing his country, and disability awareness in sport.

Read the full interview…

Where does your love of football stem from?
When I grew up we had a garden, and my grandfather and father gave me a ball and were like, you know, go and play with it. They were decent footballers and I must have been maybe three at the time but back then, honestly I wasn’t very interested. A couple years later, when I was around five years old, that was when I started to get a bit more interested in football, and from there I joined a club – the rest is history essentially!

Who have been your inspirations in life? 
Growing up, I wasn’t hugely ingrained in the deaf community, and therefore didn’t really have many deaf role models as it were. As for football? David Beckham was the one for me, I was obsessed with David Beckham. He was always on TV, he was a model, he was a family man, he was popular, he was good looking, he had everything – the full package! And I was like, I want that. I want to be the same as him. He played for Man United at the time and I supported Aston Villa, as my family and friends were all Villa fans, but from then I kind of was like, forget that, I’m gonna go down the Man Utd. route because of David Beckham. So that was really my role model back then.

In terms of football, David Beckham was my number one favourite player of course, but after helping me love the game, I’d have to say my Dad and my Grandfather – my dad’s dad – so they’re also role models for me.

But number one would be my Mum, because she’s the one who made me who I am today. She’s the one that decided a lot of things for me when I was little, when there was a lot of pressure on her as well. Was I going to have a cochlear implant or not? Was I going to go to deaf school or mainstream school? She was being recommended to take me to a boarding school but she didn’t want to disrupt my childhood.  She later decided that I would in fact have a cochlear implant, and looking back, she really made the best decisions for me and I’m very, very grateful for them.

Talk us through the intricacies of deaf football?
I think people out there think that deaf football and hearing football might be the same because you know, you think it’s about the ball, right? That’s the main focal point. That’s not really the case. There is a big difference between the two for me, for example, the referees have a flag, so instead of blowing the whistle, they wave the flag instead, to attract our attention. I feel like deaf football might seem a little bit delayed in comparison, an example might be in hearing football, where your teammate has the ball and you’d shout for it and you’d get the ball quickly. Whereas in deaf football, you have to wave or find other ways to get people’s attention to get your teammates attention, and sometimes by the time you’ve done this the defender is already on you and the pass has come a little bit too late – hearing football is much smoother, much more fast paced. So when I was first involved in deaf football, it took me a bit of time. As good as I think I am, I had to adapt to deaf football, because it’s very different. ‘Why am I getting this pass a little bit later?’, you realise the importance of communication.

What’s been the biggest achievement of your career to date?
There are two things that I can highlight: playing for Great Britain and England, they gave me the captaincy, and that, of course, is a massive honour, because you’re representing your country, and leading the team out onto the pitch with the world watching. I’m definitely proud of that, and it’s also a proud achievement for me and my family. The second one would be winning the bronze medal at the 2015 European Championships in Germany. That was a massive achievement.

How does it feel to represent your country?
I must have been 17, and I didn’t know about the deaf world or the deaf footballing community. I was playing for Worcestershire County FA U16s, which is quite a high level and one day I got a letter through the post, opened it and saw it had an England logo on it. ‘Wow, what’s this?’ I read through it, and then realised that there was deaf football for England and I was being invited for a trial. Well, that was amazing. Proud to be invited and we as a family felt very emotional about it because there was a potential playing for England. So that was a big moment for me and my family. 

From the trials, I think only 22 were then picked to go to the 2008 World Cup in Greece and I was one of those chosen, which was a proud achievement and a dream come true. The first game in Greece, was also my first cap and I scored and it was a moment I’ll never forget – it was the best feeling. I love scoring goals of course, I am a goal scorer, so to score for England gave me goosebumps. I’m still playing for them now, and love playing for them, I know what it means.

Being made captain is such an honour, could you explain to us what that meant to you?
Going back to 2012, I think I was 22 at the time and the Great Britain manager at the time let me know I was definitely going to be in their future plans as they could see that you had the whole package. In 2013, we had a friendly match and they gave me the chance as captain, but then in 2015 at the European Championships in Germany, I was given the band officially and I felt massive pride, I was now the captain for England! There were a lot of older players in the squad as well, so to be given the captaincy was a proud achievement but I knew that I was prepared – I was good enough and was sure I deserved it. Now I look back, I’m still captain now but If I feel that there’s a player who deserves it more than me, I’d want to give the armband to them but more than ever I still feel that I’m the best person to lead the team and to get us playing better and better. There’s nothing better than being captain for me and my one dream is to win a big tournament with the team.

What adversities do you feel you’ve personally experienced in your career in football?
In deaf football I’ve been involved in games where members of the team were subjected to racist abuse, the first I remember was back in 2008, my first tournament for England and as much as you shouldn’t have to, we all had to learn from the experience, and prepare yourself for things like that that might happen. As an England player, you need to remain professional at all times. As much as you wish to react in those situations, it’s more important to support those around you.

And then in hearing football, people will kind of target me. They’ll say slurs and swear words towards me, you know, and obviously, I can’t hear it so they’ll mock me and gesticulate. I used to be offended by it but now I’ve kind of realised, it’s not worth the reaction because I have reacted once in the past, and I got a red card for it! And I was like, ‘no, it should have been them!’, but because I’ve reacted, I’m the one who’s been punished. So after that, I realised that I needed to keep my cool, the best reaction is to score goals and then they’ll shut up. Back then there were lots of these instances but thankfully these are few and far between these days, there are still the occasional moment, but I’m 33 now, I deal with it quite well.

Inclusion in sport has improved drastically over the past decade. But there’s still a long way to go. In your opinion, what’s working and what could be done better.
Obviously I’m part of the FA set up and I have been from 2008 until now. In 2008, I felt that deaf awareness was not great but at the time, I was quite young as well and I personally didn’t know, as much as I should have done, I was part of the hearing community. I look back to then and see the massive shift from the FA, raising deaf awareness and showing that they truly care about how we feel and what we need, and that really helps us feel better, as well as improving our performance and increasing the standard that we play at. That’s the most important thing, making sure that we feel included at all times.

What advice would you give to a young person with a disability trying to break into sport?
When I was younger, I didn’t know about deaf football and I wish I was aware earlier, because if I knew about it back then I could have got involved from, say, 2005, especially when they won the gold medal in Australia at the Deaflympics and I wished I was part of that squad but I arrived a little bit late to the party. At the moment, we’re trying our best to reach out to people and to spread the word to everyone. We want people to know that deaf football is here for everyone that wants to be included and that there’s a pathway to development squads. There are many deaf players out there, and I’m sure there are a lot that go unnoticed, like I did, so it’s about trying to find these people and bring them into the fold for the England team. My message really is, if you identify an opportunity, please go for it, there’s a big chance to get involved and there’s nothing bigger than playing for your country.

What do you want to achieve in and out of sport in your life?
It’s difficult to say really, because I have a lot of different commitments, but I’m involved with a role model scheme with the FA. They’ve let me know that they’d love to have me as a part of their long term project and that’s something that I enjoy doing, because I want to be involved in football for the rest of my life. Otherwise I’m just going with the flow, and enjoying life. I also play futsal and cricket for England, as well as Padbol for the UK team. So, like I said, lots of things are going on at the moment. Every day is something different in terms of aspirations. I just want to enjoy playing football and try and win a big tournament, to get that medal.

And with modelling, another career of mine, I want to set up an agency for disabled people. I also work with my father as well and he wants me to take over the business. So that’s something on the horizon but am I really sure of that right now? I don’t know.

How did you first get into modelling, and what about it draws you into the craft?
I was 18 at the time, and I went shopping in Birmingham, while the Birmingham Clothes Show was on and someone came up to me, spoke to me and asked me if I had modelled before. And I was like, ‘what, me?’ I never saw myself as a model back then. He said, ‘you’ve got the look, you could become a model’, and advised me to get involved with a Birmingham-based agency called Allan Sherman Agency. Straight away, they told me that they wanted to work with me and that’s how I started in the industry.

Maybe two or three years later, I knew that I wanted a bigger challenge and that I wanted to test myself. So I went to London for a day, and went around 15 agencies for walk ins, meaning they essentially look you up and down and say yes or no. 14 of them said no and I felt a bit hurt by that and I wanted to know why they said no. Was it because I was deaf? So that was quite an emotional time, but as I said, there was one yes, and that was PRM.

Rejection is a big part of modelling and you have to accept the rough with the smooth. So for people looking to get into modelling or anything like that, it’s really important to be prepared for all these rejections. Because it’s not a nice feeling but if you prepare, you’ll be alright. 

After working with PRM, I joined a new agency in New York called Soul Artist Management, a well known agency worldwide representing top models from all over the globe! I feel very lucky to be part of this agency, they are now my ‘Mother Agency’. So I moved to New York and lived there for 2 years on and off, as well as booking jobs in LA and all over the USA during that period. I was doing this while playing at the European Championships, the Deaflympics as well as the World Cup in between. So I’ll be flying stateside, then coming back. But it was important because I was committed to England and the GB team and that was my number one commitment. It was the best experience living and modelling in America, modelling is much better over there.

Around then was when I met my wife. An agency in Miami has offered me an apartment and I had said yes, but after meeting Gemma, I had a choice to make – I was thinking that I’d already picked Miami at this point but at the very last minute I changed my mind and I wanted to obviously stay with Gemma. She’s now my wife, and we’ve been together for the last six years. She’s helped me with a lot of things and I’m very lucky to have her.

What’s 2024 looking like for you?
I think over recent years, I’ve learned to be more mature, essentially. And I have to be a role model to people, meaning I need to make sure that I do the right thing as best I can. In 2024 I’ve got some exciting things coming up. I’m going to Tenerife for an England warm weather training camp, which I’m really excited for before preparing for the Euros, which will be in Turkey in June. I’ve also got the deaf Champions League as well. I’ve also got a few weddings to go to and a couple holidays so I’ve got lots coming up, which I’m really looking forward to, so I try taking everything one step at a time and enjoy every moment because life is so short.

To find out more about disability football and The FA’s Football Your Way plan, visit here.