4 Case study 3: Josh Lukwata
Professional football has a different structure to that of Olympic sports like gymnastics and skeleton and so career transition experiences are likely to be different. In this section you look at the case study of Josh Lukwata, a former footballer who played for the Fulham FC Academy.
Activity 4 Josh Lukwata: using football to make music
Timing: Allow about 25 minutes
Watch the video below in which former goalkeeper Josh Lukwata discusses his experience of life after football and then answer the following questions.
- How did Josh’s experience of retirement differ from Lizzy and Kristian’s?
- How have Josh’s experiences in football helped him in his new career?
Download this video clip.Video player: Video 4
Transcript: Video 4
JOSH LUKWATA:
I joined Fulham's Academy when I was 9 years old. I spent nine years playing for them, then my world fell apart when I got released at the age of 18.
INTERVIEWER:
So what was it actually like playing for Fulham Academy? Was is everything you thought it would be?
JOSH LUKWATA:
Yeah, and more to be fair. I think it teaches you a lot from a young age. Like discipline, knowing how to perform under pressure, and knowing how to conduct yourself everywhere you go. One thing they always told us was that wherever you go, as long as you're wearing the badge, or the tracksuit or whatever you are representing the club so, it really teaches you a lot of discipline.
INTERVIEWER:
Were there any lads in your academy that went on to become professionals?
JOSH LUKWATA:
Ryan Sessegnon, Steven Sessegnon, Josh Walker at Barnet.
INTERVIEWER:
So talk to me about the moment when you realised that it wasn't going to work out, you know, you weren't going to be able to fulfill your dream of being a Premier League keeper. Where were you when you found out?
JOSH LUKWATA:
They implied it. I don't know how to explain it but they implied it. So I needed to take it in myself. And then another goalkeeper coach then came to me and said, I'm so sorry about what happened. I heard, you know, it's going to be a shame that you're leaving and all of this. So there wasn't really a direct answer. Then I remember just going back to digs at the time, I think I called my mom first. I was just crying. I didn't know what to do. I just knew from there that obviously if they released me because of my height, a lot of other clubs it's going to be the same.
INTERVIEWER:
Did you have a backup plan? Because obviously, when you're playing football, all you're thinking about is being a footballer.
JOSH LUKWATA:
Not at all.
INTERVIEWER:
No plan. No backup plan?
JOSH LUKWATA:
Not one. They told me I should have one, I said, no I don't need one. I don't need one. I believed in myself that much at the time. They suggested I go to America. I think it was three or four years for like a scheme up there, to play football up there, Sweden for three months. Once I stopped loving the sport, there was no point in me playing. It's tough to take. It's tough to take in, because you feel like your life's over, literally. As a footballer, all your worth and your self-worth is you get from football and yourself as a football player. You don't really get your self worth as you as an actual person. So, the better you are at football is how much you rate yourself as a person. So, once you get released you feel like you're worth nothing.
During my time in Sweden, I met a producer up there. And then that's when I realised I wanted to do music. I recorded Mona Lisa I think in my second session. For a first single, it didn't do too bad.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: 352K views on GRM daily. 2.6 million listens on Spotify.]
JOSH LUKWATA:
I already do studio sessions regularly. I've had shows here and there, but I've also started studying. I'm going to uni now to take a popular music course, which will potentially teach me how to produce my own stuff.
INTERVIEWER:
Looking back, do you regret playing in the academy and going that route? Do you wish you'd started music earlier?
JOSH LUKWATA:
I don't regret nothing, to be fair, because I'd say the music industry and the music journey is very similar to football. So, you have to be disciplined. You have to realise that, and I think with music, you're even representing yourself more than anyone else. Like, it's I think where you're in it by yourself once you're an artist. I don't say I regret nothing really. Football taught me a lot of things that I needed, not only music but in life. So, discipline, hunger, sacrifices that you need to make, knowing what your priorities are. So, I can't say I regret nothing to be fair.
INTERVIEWER:
Well, top man, Josh. Best of luck with the new single, mate.
JOSH LUKWATA:
Thank you very much.
INTERVIEWER:
I know you're going to smash it.
JOSH LUKWATA:
Thank you very much.
Video 4
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Discussion
- There are several differences between Josh’s experience of retirement and those of Lizzy and Kristian. Firstly, Josh’s experience was generally more negative. He described being released as causing his ‘world to fall apart’ and described how his self-worth was negatively affected. The big difference is that Josh retired from sport at a much younger age and without achieving the success he desired in his sport, in contrast to Lizzy and Kristian. His retirement was a forced retirement rather than a planned retirement. Additionally, unlike Lizzy and Kristian, Josh had not prepared for life after sport. All these factors combined to make his experience more likely to lead to a crisis transition. Fortunately, Josh was able to adjust to life after sport and has now transitioned into a successful music career.
- Josh feels that he has been able to transfer the skills he learned in football (such as discipline, hunger and sacrifice) to both his new career in the music industry and life in general. This matches with what the employers in Activity 1 said about the benefits of employing former athletes.
All the athletes you have explored in this session so far are relatively newly retired. In the next section you will examine the life after sport experiences of a group of former elite athletes who have been retired for a much longer period of time.