Josh Lukwata came to the club as our new goalkeeper coach in pre-season and has become a regular face at King George’s on matchdays. The ex-Fulham academy prospect has an interesting back story so we caught up with him last week to find out more.
Take us back a few years to your time as a goalkeeper in the Fulham academy.
I was there for nine years, from the age of 10. When I first started, it was more of a hobby because I just liked to play, so landing at Fulham at the age I did… I was just amazed.
I was on trial for six months and even when I got signed it was still crazy to think I was actually signing for Fulham. I wasn’t even thinking of making it as a professional footballer, so at that time I don’t think it would have affected me all that much if they hadn’t signed me. I was just enjoying it.
It wasn’t until they gave us tickets to my first Premier League game, and I stepped up the stairs to a professional stadium, that I said, “Woah, this is how many people come to watch football games?”
That’s when I changed my whole idea of football and started saying I wanted to do everything I could to potentially play on stages like that one day. I started taking it 100 times more seriously from that moment and improving as much as I could.
How did you develop as a keeper in that period?
Every year they would decide if they were going to keep you, and I just carried on being kept until I got to the scholarship stage. I was a part of some great youth teams that won Premier League tournaments and went abroad to so many places in Europe. I played against near enough all of the biggest teams in Europe, and so many of the boys I played with or against are now on the big stage. It was a surreal experience.
Who were some of your Fulham team-mates?
Both of the Sessegnon brothers – Ryan and Steven – and there was Ebere Eze, Josh Maja, plus a few others who are now playing in League One and Two. I can remember playing against Declan Rice, Robert Sanchez, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho – the list goes on. Sometimes I don’t know until someone brings up a teamsheet showing me up against some big player that I had no idea about at the time.
I read that you were eventually released because of your height, which must have been incredibly frustrating.
That was the hardest pill to swallow because they used to have manager-player reflection meetings every few months, where they tell you what you’re doing well and what they think you can improve on. Every time I came out of those meetings, everything was about working on the weaknesses and every single time they would tell me I’d improved on those things at the next meeting.
So when it was something that I literally couldn’t control at all – my height – it was so frustrating. There’s nothing I can do about that, and it’s so hard to take it in and digest it when there’s nothing in the universe that can change that. I’m 5ft 8in or 5ft 9in and, in England, if you’re a centre-back or goalkeeper, a lot of managers have their own profile of what they expect in terms of height.
Even before they gave me the scholarship, they were straight up with me. They said I was good but it looked like my height could be a problem. I didn’t necessarily let that hold me back, I just thought as long as I performed well they wouldn’t have any reason not to give me a scholarship.
So once I got given the scholarship, it was a very joyful moment – I remember my mum being in tears of joy because it looked like it was against all odds. I kept performing at these tournaments and in training so I think they had no choice but to give me a scholarship at that time.
Take us back a few years to your time as a goalkeeper in the Fulham academy.
I was there for nine years, from the age of 10. When I first started, it was more of a hobby because I just liked to play, so landing at Fulham at the age I did… I was just amazed.
I was on trial for six months and even when I got signed it was still crazy to think I was actually signing for Fulham. I wasn’t even thinking of making it as a professional footballer, so at that time I don’t think it would have affected me all that much if they hadn’t signed me. I was just enjoying it.
It wasn’t until they gave us tickets to my first Premier League game, and I stepped up the stairs to a professional stadium, that I said, “Woah, this is how many people come to watch football games?”
That’s when I changed my whole idea of football and started saying I wanted to do everything I could to potentially play on stages like that one day. I started taking it 100 times more seriously from that moment and improving as much as I could.
How did you develop as a keeper in that period?
Every year they would decide if they were going to keep you, and I just carried on being kept until I got to the scholarship stage. I was a part of some great youth teams that won Premier League tournaments and went abroad to so many places in Europe. I played against near enough all of the biggest teams in Europe, and so many of the boys I played with or against are now on the big stage. It was a surreal experience.
Who were some of your Fulham team-mates?
Both of the Sessegnon brothers – Ryan and Steven – and there was Ebere Eze, Josh Maja, plus a few others who are now playing in League One and Two. I can remember playing against Declan Rice, Robert Sanchez, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho – the list goes on. Sometimes I don’t know until someone brings up a teamsheet showing me up against some big player that I had no idea about at the time.
I read that you were eventually released because of your height, which must have been incredibly frustrating.
That was the hardest pill to swallow because they used to have manager-player reflection meetings every few months, where they tell you what you’re doing well and what they think you can improve on. Every time I came out of those meetings, everything was about working on the weaknesses and every single time they would tell me I’d improved on those things at the next meeting.
So when it was something that I literally couldn’t control at all – my height – it was so frustrating. There’s nothing I can do about that, and it’s so hard to take it in and digest it when there’s nothing in the universe that can change that. I’m 5ft 8in or 5ft 9in and, in England, if you’re a centre-back or goalkeeper, a lot of managers have their own profile of what they expect in terms of height.
Even before they gave me the scholarship, they were straight up with me. They said I was good but it looked like my height could be a problem. I didn’t necessarily let that hold me back, I just thought as long as I performed well they wouldn’t have any reason not to give me a scholarship.
So once I got given the scholarship, it was a very joyful moment – I remember my mum being in tears of joy because it looked like it was against all odds. I kept performing at these tournaments and in training so I think they had no choice but to give me a scholarship at that time.
What did you do after your time at Fulham did eventually come to an end?
There was a scheme in Sweden, where I went for three months to play for a team out there, and I was placed with another boy that had just been released from Notts County. I took that as time to relax, refresh and see if they would offer me a contract out there. It was time for me to get myself back together and in that time I decided that I wanted to do music, which I had always wanted to do before I got into football.
I told my mum this and she is always supportive, so she said, “We’ll find a way to get you started.” Within four or five months, I’d made my first song which just caught a lot of wind. It went crazy, and everything went so quick after that. I got signed to a label under Warner Bros and did shows, and a bit like when I first joined Fulham I started seeing things that were just unreal. You just have to take it all in.
Are you still making music?
Yeah, the more years that I’ve done music, it’s both a good and bad thing, because I’ve become more critical about my own music. Everybody’s ear is different so I just keep recording songs until I believe this is the one that should come out next. I’m always writing and recording when I can. I’ve seen so many people that believed this song is going to be the one, and when it isn’t they get so downhearted. What I always say to them is don’t put all your hope in your next release, just try and see it as one that is going to take you closer to where you want to get to.
What’s your recording name?
Lukwatsss.
How did you come to join Mu’s coaching staff at Casuals in the summer?
After I stopped playing, back in 2017, I became disconnected with the whole sport. I had been let go by Fulham and spent a couple of months trying to find a new team – I tried Bristol City, Leicester, Crystal Palace – but they all said the same thing, that I was too small for a goalkeeper.
I ended up not watching football, and forgetting that the sport even existed, but after a little while I came back to it. I didn’t want to come back to play, but I thought, “Let me try coaching instead.”
It sounds like it took you a little while to get over the disappointment of realising you weren’t going to get a pro contract.
Yeah, I’d say it was just over a year or so, but football is like a lover – you can try and stay away from it, but somehow, some way you find yourself getting drawn back in to it. I decided that I didn’t want to play, but as I had a few badges already, I decided to start coaching.
I started off with a little Sunday League team, and they weren’t necessarily the best quality, but then a better Sunday League team came along and I was coaching more and more often.
The person who owns that club introduced me to Gabs [Odunaike] and he told me that Casuals were looking for a goalkeeper coach and that it was first team. Even though I’ve got coaching badges in outfield and goalkeeping, I didn’t even hesitate.
I spoke to the gaffer, Mu, and his whole vision and idea of the project just sold me. I wanted to get involved and get hands on, and that’s why I’m here now, after two years of coaching.
Tell us more about Mu’s vision that sold you on the project here.
He was telling me how this club has already got a strong foundation, in terms of fanbase. He told me how he used to play here and they used to be higher, but they’ve gone through back-to-back relegations, so they’ve slipped down since he was last here. But he said how much he loves the club, how much he really cares and that he wants to bring them back higher, take them to places and leagues that they’ve never been before. He said he wants to do it differently to how we’ve all experienced when we used to play, not the usual way. If someone deserves to play, they’ll play. If someone’s not playing the best and they need to sit out, they will. He’s very transparent about how he wants to run it.
How much have you enjoyed working at Casuals since you’ve come here?
I love it here. I’m so invested. Because it’s my first first-team job, I didn’t know what to expect. I did my own research but it wasn’t until I started that I realised. I look forward to coming in every Saturday and Tuesday now, just seeing the support we have, how competitive the level is. The boys are amazing, so are the coaches, and I didn’t know I would be as invested as I am but now I even find myself singing some of the chants sometimes! I know when the train goes past, the chant is coming!
