How Sheffield Wednesday youngster's 'never give up' story is inspiring others to follow their dreams
Joel Akpobi has just made his Owls debut - but it has not been an easy journey for him
“If you put the work in, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of boys feel like it is over for them. I think the message is certainly to never give up. It is only over when it is over. You have always got a chance.”
Joel Akpobi has just made his Sheffield Wednesday debut in the EFL Trophy win against Salford City. The 18-year-old got an assist and was named man of the match. But it has not been a smooth journey for the teenager to get to this point. He fell just short when on trial at Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic. His fitness has been questioned. Some believed his technique could have been cleaner. But he never gave up. His story is one of persistence and determination. And now he is inspiring others.
The speedy winger caught the eye of XYZ Football Academy, a non-profit organisation in Croydon, London, in 2023, at a trial day at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground. XYZ identifies the best players at grassroots level or those who have been previously released and gives them a platform to showcase what they can do in games against professional academies. The players who impress the most are then selected to go on trial to see if they can earn themselves a contract.
“He was playing for another team,” Lai Abdalla, XYZ founder and director, told The Star about that day at Cobham. “A few of the boys knew him, and obviously he stood out. I asked him to come and join us. Our platform is designed to give exposure to those considered to be unseen, and so he's been a part of that program. So every year we've been playing 20-25 academy games, and he's played in a lot of them and done well.”
It was in January 2025 that Akpobi was first sent on trial to Wednesday along with three others. Ironically, out of the quartet, he probably impressed the least, according to Abdalla. But The Owls and academy manager Jonathan Pepper saw his raw potential and told him that if he went away and worked on his game then he could come back later in the summer. Determined to help him, Abdalla created a fitness plan for him to follow. Described as ‘laid-back’ and ‘relaxed’, Abdalla was not initially sure whether Akpobi would stick to it, but his ‘dedication’, ‘massive ambition’ and ‘love’ for the sport shone through. On his return to Wednesday that summer, Akpobi started to show the potential they thought he had and later secured himself a contract. In-between that period, he played against Cheltenham Town and they wanted to take a look at him. West Brom and Birmingham City also showed some interest, but he was always going to try again at Middlewood Road.
Abdalla explained: “I said to him, ‘look, I'm not gonna chase you for it. You'll either do it or you won't.’ I set him some targets, and to my surprise, he did it. He was running four times a week. He was sending me screenshots of his times. Week-by-week he was making progress to the point he was getting to around 18 minutes for 5K runs. So by the time he went back in July, he was a completely different player in their eyes. I think even one of the coaches didn't recognise him. They could not believe it was the same kid they saw in January. So it was brilliant for him. It was a great lesson for him to learn that if you put the work in, it's not all about the talent. He's always had the talent, but maybe not the right approach to football.”
Moving up to Sheffield from South London must have been daunting for the youngster, but Akpobi has apparently taken it all in his stride. Abdalla has kept in touch with him and could not be happier for him. The academy has had success stories since forming 10 years ago, including graduate Tom Edozie scoring on his debut for Wolves against Arsenal last season in the Premier League, and in the last week defender Michael-John Kamson-Kamara, now of Hearts, has just made his international debut for Sierra Leone. And Akpobi is another one they are particularly proud of.
Abdalla said: “A lot of people have said to me ‘it must have been very difficult for him to move away from home’ but for him, he was just like ‘look, I'm here to work, I want to become a professional footballer, and I'm willing to make sacrifices’. I think for us it's hard to put it into words because of course we're so proud. We've been there in the dark days when there's nothing on the table and it's all doom and gloom, and doesn't feel like anything's going to happen. And we always reinforce the fact that you have got to keep your head down and work. You've got to stay ready, so you don't have to get ready. That's what we tell all the boys.”
After a promising opening to the season in the youth ranks, Akpobi was given his chance from the start against Salford. In a lacklustre performance from Wednesday overall in the first-half, Akpobi’s pace and directness was a bright spark. Early after the break, his run and cross created the equaliser for Davis Keillor-Dunn to head in. The Owls eventually won 2-1 and Akpobi got a standing ovation as he came off, with fans reaching out to shake his hand as he made his way around the pitch. Viewing the action back in the capital was a ‘nervous’ Abdalla, who felt he was watching his own son play.
He told The Star: “When he was involved, I probably thought he was going to start on the bench. It was a bit of a nervous watch, It’s a weird one, it's like you're watching your own child, if that makes sense. You hope that everything goes well for them. I felt he made a really good impact. He grew into the game, and I felt like he started to get more confident as the game went on. He impacted the game positively. It was just great to see and it's great for everybody who knows him back home, all the boys who played with him that might still be pursuing those dreams. It gives them hope, and I think that's what it's about. It shows that it's possible, but it takes a club and a person like John Pepper to give a player like Joel a chance as well.”
Abdalla started the academy in 2016 after he wanted to give youngsters a chance to show their talent, a platform he says did not exist when he was a young boy growing up in South London with dreams of playing in the Premier League. The academy trains once a week and organises regular matches against academies. They have scouts who recommend players to them and they do a lot of scouting themselves at grassroots level.
Ending our interview with a powerful message, he said: “I just want to reinforce the fact that if you put the work in, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of the boys feel like it's over for them. And I think the message is certainly to never give up. It's only over when it's over. And you've always got a chance. We see it all the time with players breaking through at older and older ages. I think for us, there's a lot of talent out there. And I think you have just got to have that self-belief and keep working hard until your moment comes.”