HITC Sevens has parted ways with Alfie Potts Harmer after nine years, and his last run of videos was so odd that viewers believed he was attempting to get himself dismissed from the channel. Harmer denies that is the case.
Before leaving HITC, Harmer shifted all his work to an independent channel, where he intends to concentrate on long-form, niche soccer documentaries. His final stretch at the site included a series of listicles that grew increasingly absurd, with fans laughing that he seemed to be working toward getting himself fired. Among these were rankings of the seven worst bald people in soccer, every Dembele from worst to best, David Nugent’s strike partners, and the largest car parks at the 2026 World Cup.
The “Trying To Get Sacked” Theory
Fans couldn’t get enough of the videos, though many assumed there had to be a reason behind the sudden shift. “The theory is he’s trying to make terrible videos in order to get sacked,” one TikToker said.
Harmer denied that was ever the plan. “There was the idea that I was making absurd videos because I wanted to be sacked. That was never the case,” he said.
“It just seemed more fun and interesting to me, to subvert the genre by breaking it down to its core components in order to expose its mechanics, flaws and cliches in a way that I’d never really seen anyone else do before on YouTube.”
The Trigger
Management directed Harmer to produce shorter videos and avoid contentious topics following an unspecified legal issue. That directive came after his 60-minute documentary was pulled in October. It ran contrary to the deep-dive content he actually wanted to make.
He was also told to start inserting ads for an internal app called Talking Points into his videos, something he’d always refused to do. “I resented that, and that sort of sped up my departure, I suppose you could say.”
The Failed Bid to Buy the Channel
GRV Media, the company that owns the channel, rejected both of Harmer’s bids to buy it outright. Afterward, the parent company countered with a price roughly double his final offer, which he refused.
He maintained the parting was friendly. “I have no personal grievances and bear no ill will towards HITC, the parent company GRV, or anyone there. We just had different interests and priorities which ultimately became insurmountable.”
Nine Years of Output
During his nine-year run, Harmer created 1,941 videos that together drew in 339 million views. He handled writing, narration, editing and thumbnail design all on his own.
| Period | Role |
|---|---|
| Nine years | HITC Sevens |
| Final weeks | Independent channel |
What Changed
The chain of events that pushed Harmer out:
- The 60-minute documentary was pulled in October over an unspecified legal issue
- Management told him to make shorter videos and avoid contentious topics
- He was ordered to insert ads for an internal app called Talking Points
- He resented all of it, speeding up his departure
Harmer denied that the videos were meant to get him fired. “There was the idea that I was making absurd videos because I wanted to be sacked. That was never the case,” he said.
He explained the videos were about subverting the genre. “It just seemed more fun and interesting to me, to subvert the genre by breaking it down to its core components in order to expose its mechanics, flaws and cliches in a way that I’d never really seen anyone else do before on YouTube.”
He maintains his denial. He did not want to lose his job. Instead, he wanted to produce videos that laid bare the mechanics of the genre he created, and he walked away when the channel refused to let him do so.
What made fans believe he wanted to be fired was the material he enjoyed producing the most. The ridiculousness was the performance itself, and that performance was his true intent.
Now that Harmer runs his own channel, he has a place where he can produce the documentaries he wanted to make at HITC. The move is finished, and the content is changing. What people will remember from the final weeks is the jokes about him trying to get fired, even though he never did.
The tale serves as a reminder that the funniest moment often arrives without being planned. Harmer produced videos that stepped outside the expected path, and the audience embraced them. He had no intention of getting fired. His aim was simply to produce something distinct.