Meet the FA Youth Cup-winning skipper focused on what comes next, as Gideon Kodua is the next player to speak in our Academy of Football series...
“He is everything we look for in a young player. When you talk about leadership and captaincy, he’s the embodiment of that.”
Academy Manager Kenny Brown spoke highly last May as he awarded Gideon Kodua the Dylan Tombides Award for 2022/23. It was a statement that none at Chadwell Heath would disagree with. It was a richly deserved award.
Growing up in Custom House, Newham, Kodua first played for the Club through Premier League Kicks - a programme run by West Ham United Foundation at their base in Beckton and in satellite venues across East London.
Before that, Kodua credits his four older brothers for his love of the game: “They took me to a Sunday League team called Royal Falcons,” he states. “I think my brothers saw I might be a bit good at this and pushed me on.”
Having impressed with his school team, Kodua was selected to play for Newham District and then scouted to the Academy of Football in 2017. He signed following a six-week trial at age 12. And hasn't looked back since.
“Wow,” he laughs. It’s been nearly seven years! Sometimes I forget what I’ve already achieved," he adds, when reminded he is one of only four West Ham players to lift the FA Youth Cup.
“When I sit back and look at what I’ve done, it’s crazy. Last week, my cousin saw me on FIFA and just started laughing. He was like: ‘Gideon, look at what you’ve done, bro. Look at how proud your family are.’”
MAKING HIS FAMILY PROUD
From a chat after training at Rush Green, it’s clear family is hugely important to Kodua. The youngest of five brothers was immensely proud to have his family watching him score a 35-yard screamer in the FA Youth Cup final last May. I mean, let’s face it, who wouldn’t?
“It made it easier because you know they're rooting for you,” he adds on a special trip to the Emirates. “As you move up the levels, it’s nice I’ve got a strong team around me. Family, agent, and my cousins as well.”
Kodua’s parents moved from Ghana to England and so both countries have played a huge part in his upbringing and in his life right now. The food, the music, and the culture of Ghana are all part of the East London he knows and loves.
“I eat Ghanaian food a lot,” he adds. “Not every day but a fair bit. My favourite is Omo Tuo, which is rice in a soup, with peanut butter.”
He pauses. And predicts the next question. “Nah, I can't make it!” he laughs. “I haven’t even tried. I think I’ll leave my mum to that!”
A busy and talented family – with one brother, Joel, a professional boxer – means that trips to Ghana haven’t been as frequent as he would like. One thing is the best of all.
“My favourite thing about Ghana is probably the sun!” he adds. “Just having the sun booming on you and going back to see what my Mum and Dad have built it’s really nice. I’m just trying to make them proud, really.”
No doubt, Kodua did that on the pitch last season, but he’s continued his form this year too. As it stands, the U21s are eight games unbeaten and Kodua has led from the front.
He stepped up against Valencia and found the bottom corner to kickstart the Irons’ Premier League International Cup campaign with three points. Alongside his striking partners Callum Marshall, George Earthy, and Divin Mubama, the quartet have been in good form - again!
“The ride the four of us are on, it’s good,” he says. “One day, we will look back at the path we are on now because it’s better than we ever thought! It is exciting to think about the future and about what could happen to us!”
FIRST TEAM DREAMS
His journey is continuing, then. And the next step would be a senior debut. So far, this year, Kodua has had opportunities to train with the senior team. A lesson or two learnt, he admits.
“It’s a different tempo,” he reflects. “My touch was loose one day… and… [he claps] …they're on you. One time, I thought it was a positive touch as I went around Vlad [Coufal], but he just clattered me.”
Ever the optimist, Kodua sees mixing it with the senior pros as a challenge and one he is more than up for. In moments like that, training with World Cup winners and European champions too, he remembers how far he has come.
From schoolboy football to FIFA. From Newham playgrounds to London Stadium. Kodua’s made his family proud already, but his goals and aspirations remain the same. He wants to make it at West Ham. He's giving it everything.
“Ahead of every match, my Dad tells me: ‘Be bold,’” Kodua concludes. “‘Be bold and take charge.’
“He says: ‘Don’t worry about what people think. If you put your best foot forward, who knows what is going to happen?”
His mantra has served him well so far. Let’s hope it continues.
