Welcome to episode two of 'Up & Coming,' a brand-new series that takes you behind the scenes to discover the brightest talents emerging from the West Ham United Academy! In this episode, we shine the spotlight on FA Youth Cup-winning captain Gideon Kodua...
With family and Club, Gideon Kodua is well at home in East London.
After his parents moved from Ghana to London, Kodua, alongside four older brothers, was born and raised in Custom House in Newham.
“It was tough,” Kodua says. “There were seven of us and I shared a room with two of my brothers. My Mum raised five boys in Custom House, and that’s not easy.
“There was lots of knife crime and crime in general, but my parents didn't let any of us fall into that life. My brothers always looked out for each other too.”
Brotherhood is where Kodua’s story starts, then. Or at least, it is clear that his relationship with his siblings was the basis for his success in sport.
As the youngest, his brothers always made sure he towed the line. From a young age, they instilled the very values he still lives by today: work hard yes, but back yourself too.
‘Be the hardest worker in the room’
Such a mantra has served Gideon well, although the talent must be there to get to where he is now. From making up the numbers at Cundy Park and in the Newham Cages with his brothers and their mates, he soon became one of the first picks, despite being a few years younger.
“I scored so many good goals here," Kodua laughs, as the West Ham cameras capture his return to the Newham Cages earlier this year.
“We used to come to this cage after school, get our ice creams, and then play five or seven a side for hours. You had to be good to play here.”
He pauses.
“Cage football brings a different side out of you.”
Gideon’s brother Lloyd also took his younger brother to play for a Sunday league team, Royal Falcons, when he was seven. Because Gideon won’t admit it, Lloyd is left to explain how good Gids was.
Lloyd smiles. “Yeah, he smashed it.”
‘Rejection makes you stronger’
Gideon, though, was always looking for more. We pick his story back up a few years later. As he progressed through the ages at Rosetta Primary School, football became everything. At one point, he was training four or five nights a week. Then, as a teen, it was every night.
Picked to play for Newham District at secondary school, Kodua was also offered a hatful of trials at Premier League and Football League clubs.
“That’s when it started to get hard,” Kodua explains. "I was at the age when it was crucial to be within an Academy if you wanted to be a footballer, but I kept getting rejected. That was my first experience of rejection too, and I didn’t know how to take it.”
Lloyd picks up the story. “I didn’t know how to tell him that these clubs didn’t want to take him on.
“I remember, with one club, Gideon asked me on the train back and I could see his eyes watering when I had to tell him he didn’t get in. I think he took it personally – he wanted to prove them wrong.”
West Ham family
At the age of 14, Kodua joined West Ham’s Premier League Kicks – a programme run by the Club’s Foundation in Beckton.
There, Gideon met coach George Chukwuma, a Football Integration Officer with the Club. In short, George recommends the best players at the Foundation for a trial at the Academy of Football. Gideon was someone who fit the bill.
“George used to push me a lot,” Kodua says. “He thought I was one of the main players when I didn’t think I was.
“After a lot of rejection, I went into my shell. He would always try and bring the best out of me. He was a really good role model, and he still helps me a lot to this day.”
“Gideon was one of those with a lot of talent,” Chukwuma agrees. “I saw a lot of potential in him. He always wanted to go to West Ham and he was confident he could take that chance with both hands, which he did.
“A few weeks later I got the call that the Club wanted to sign him. I was so pleased for him.”
After a successful trial, Kodua pushed on at the Academy of Football throughout his final schoolboy years. He dealt with the challenges of training during the Covid-19 pandemic as a U16, and then made his mark, after signing his first contract in 2021, as a Scholar.
Following a successful first year with Kevin Keen’s U18s squad, it was as a second year that Gideon truly came into his own. He did so as skipper too – a role he was given ahead of the 2022/23 season and one he, as an East-end boy, was immensely proud to accept.
“It meant a lot,” he reflects. “I didn’t think that I could do that job so it was a surprise to be given that honour.”
His U18 assistant coach Gerard Prenderville, now working with the U21s, admitted Kodua had to learn to trust his qualities and leadership as he grew into the role.
“He had to find his way,” Prenderville said, “and learn how to do it his way. He read a lot of books and had a lot of chats with Mark Noble as well. But he was so proud, it’s an honour really!”
Somehow, Gideon’s year got better – and quickly too. Awarded his first professional contract in December 2022, Kodua had achieved his dream. Incredibly, his brother Joel beat him to it!
Joel, like Gideon, grew up loving sports. While Gideon dreamed of being a footballer, Joel loved boxing. Both face hardships. Both pushed on. Both turned professional in 2022.
“The chances of two brothers, both turning pro in good sports, it’s so slim,” Joel, who is now represented by Frank Warren, says, with a beaming smile. “It was magical to share that with Gideon. It all happened in the space of a few months!”
Dancing at the Emirates
Little did Gideon know of what would follow after he signed his professional contract with West Ham, but the next six months were some of his best.
That spring, he led his side out at London Stadium, Portman Road, Etihad Stadium, and the Emirates Stadium. He lifted the FA Youth Cup and U18 Premier League Division. He was inches away from a place in the UEFA Youth League too.
“The changing room after was lit,” he laughs, reflecting on a 5-1 win to secure the FA Youth Cup in April 2023. “Even the gaffer [Kevin Keen] got involved in the celebrations. It was crazy.”
One year ago today, we became FA Youth Cup champions 🤩🏆
🗓️ #OnThisDay in 2023 pic.twitter.com/9p55j8l82c— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 25, 2024
For Gideon, one moment stands out from that day. His goal – a lobbed finish from 35 yards on the stroke of half-time – will take some beating.
“When I chipped the ball, it was like slow-mo, I thought I’d missed,” he laughs. “All, I can remember is a knee-slide and then hitting the griddy.”
Did he practice the cele?
“Yes, the day before! The emotions that went through my body, when I scored and when we won. That was probably the best I’ve ever felt.”
Next steps the biggest
Few youth players have scored a goal that good, on a stage that big, but Kodua knows the journey is just getting started. He worked hard on his fitness over the summer and attacked the 2023/24 season with the U21s.
Having helped the Hammers to the last 16 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy in January, his goal against Wycombe Wanderers would be his last for West Ham this campaign. The EFL League One side, West Ham’s opponents that night, had seen enough. A loan was agreed a few hours after the final whistle.
“When I first came to Wycombe, it was all a bit of a surprise to me,” Kodua explained, “but I’m used to it now and you can see I’m kicking on and expressing myself and getting better.
“The gaffer [Matt Bloomfield] said to me on my first day that they know what I can do and that he wanted me to do it for Wycombe. Do your thing, get at your man, create chances, play with freedom and do your bit for the team."
Kodua has done just that and worked his way into Wycombe’s starting XI in recent weeks. The challenge is keeping at this because four months in England’s third tier have taught Kodua a huge lesson: success in youth football means little when you now have to mix it with senior professionals every day.
That is the task to come, then. But when asked about how he will take to that challenge, Gideon smiles, with the quiet confidence of a player ready to make the next step.
“This is just the beginning,” he says. “We’re just getting started.”
