Sos Kisukwa Lukio is part of the rare breed of Kenyan coaches plying their trade abroad, and he is already in the books of English Premier League clubs, West Ham United and Chelsea.
Lukio is tasked with developing future stars from the age of 13 at West Ham Academy while also doubling up as a scout for Chelsea's Junior Sides.
In an interview with Nation, Lukio opened up on his journey from the dusty fields of California Estate, Pumwani in Nairobi to coaching two elite football sides known the world over.
After his career failed to take off at Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) he opted to follow his sister in the United Kingdom to pursue a different path in the game.
The Kenyan rolled to the University of East London after relocating where he did his Degree and Masters in Sports Management.
In 2012, his journey in coaching started at Parsloes Boys in Dagenham, Essex where he volunteered to train the amateur junior side.
Lukio was impressed with his role, so much so that he decided to obtain his coaching budgets two years later with the English Football Association and has six coaching certificates under his belt.
His badges pushed him to enrol Parsloes in the Echo League but he was immediately thrown into the deep end as the team registered dismal results winning two games out of 18.
Rapid changes in the team the following season where they only lost a single game pushed him into the upper echelons of football as he earned a chance to join West Ham under interesting circumstances.
"I used to go to the entrance of West Ham training ground to see the players driving in, ask for autographs and stuff like that. There is one man who noticed and stopped his car to have a chat.
"It was West Ham’s manager at the time, Slaven Bilic. He had seen me a few times at the academy when I took my team over and he wanted to know me. I was star-struck. We had a really good conversation," explained Lukio.
This, however, came after numerous job applications to London based outfits, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United with no responses.
His star shows no signs of losing its lustre as in 2019 he achieved another milestone by earning a job as Chelsea's youth scout.
Lukio plans to one day coach the Harambee Stars who have had their fair share of coaching drama with two court cases pending over the unlawful dismissals of Adel Amrouche and Bobby Williamson.
"I have had conversations with some teams in Kenya, but nothing concrete has come out probably because we don’t share the same philosophy. I believe I have what it takes to coach the national team, but a lot will have to change for that to happen.
"I have a blueprint on how we can make the national team and other Kenyan teams successful. I’m willing to share this knowledge with the national team, so it’s not something I will rule out entirely," noted Lukio.
