Two seasons ago, William Akio was scoring for Ross County in the Scottish Premiership. Fast forward to now, the South-Sudanese international is set to light up Canberra’s footballing scene in 2025.
The 26-year-old enters the capital’s top tier with eyes set on a fresh start, having sustained a third major injury of his career in June 2024, and will be a key players for a Tigers side looking to bounce back from Grand Final defeat last season.
Born in a Kenyan refugee camp, Akio and his family emigrated to Canada where, from his performances at a semi-professional level, he earned a scholarship to a United States college, before many high-profile moments in his career materialised.
Akio’s signing for the club represents a player with arguably the most impressive CV in the league this season, and one of the biggest captures in the recent history of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) in Canberra, boasting a professional career in Scotland and Canada, stellar college campaigns in the US, and appearances in World Cup, and African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers, as recently as March 2024.
Alongside playing football, Akio has been maintaining content for his almost 50k-followed YouTube channel, targeted at young athletes requiring advice to reach the top level.
Q: What were your experiences like going from a refugee camp to then emigrating to Canada?
A: Obviously I was young, but from what I remember it was tough, we didn’t have much, [we] came from a very poor background, and my parents [worked] so hard to try to bring us to Canada.
My dad actually came to Canada for two years, got his diploma, [then] brought us over and got us our papers, so through that time it was very tough, I didn’t really have time to have friends or hang around with people, [that] was kind of life in that situation, and just trying to figure out when our next meal [was], when the next time we were going to see each other basically, it was scary for sure.
The one thing we had was family, so once we came to Canada, that transition, it was like a new life, like I was reborn again, and it’s like I knew in the back of my head my life is always going to be ok because especially from where I came from, like nothing can be worse than that.
Q: Was there anything you took out of those experiences that, prepared you, and contributed to your mentality as an athlete?
A: 100%, for me that’s just not giving up, working hard and just staying as consistent as I can, like those three things are what got me to Canada, got my family to Canada, so it’s those same three things that are going to continue to feed my life.
Q: You were a standout throughout your college career, you had interest from Major League Soccer (MLS), how did you find that level of football and your career there?
A: When I went to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, it happened out of the blue, I actually got a Facebook message DM [Direct Message] after a summer season I had in Canada [where] we won the semi-professional league, and they said ‘hey we’d like for you to come out on a full scholarship, would you like to come [visit the] school,’ and I was like, ‘no I don’t want to come visit, sign me up,’ book my flight let’s go, because I’ve always wanted to play professional.
This [was] just going to be another step closer to reaching my dream, so once I got to college honestly everything just clicked, it was amazing, my first year I got top assister in the team, I was a freshman and you know I was playing really good minutes and then right after that first year, the second year, I was looking to go into the draft with LA Galaxy in MLS [Major League Soccer], and then I did my knee.
When I did my knee for the first time that was one of my biggest obstacles I had to face in my life, my first knee surgery, and especially at college especially when you’re doing so well, you feel like the world’s crumbling… if it wasn’t for my past experiences I would’ve probably given up to be honest, but I stayed resilience, came back, and I finished my college career and got drafted into the Canadian league.
Q: How did you playing for the South Sudan national team come about?
A: So I got the call-up for South Sudan when I was actually in college but I was injured at the time so I couldn’t go for the first camp, once I went pro, I got the call up again, and my parents are from South Sudan, so I was able to get my passport and represent my country, so it was definitely surreal.
I got to play in front of 70,000. I got to play in front of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, like you know all these top African players.
Q: Despite being eligible for others, was South Sudan always the nation you wanted to play for?
A: My little brothers, they’re from Canada, so my little brother represents Canada, and for me it was a no brainer to represent my country, where I’m from, so for me it meant a lot to me, it wasn’t just one of those things where it was, I just want to play for any national team, I want to play for my country.
I’ve been injured for the past year and a half and I’m back playing now and I should be going back in September to represent again, so to me it means a lot, putting on that jersey wearing the crest, just you know leading my team it’s amazing, it’s an amazing feeling.
We’ve yet to qualify for the group stages and stuff but we’re getting closer and closer every single year and, as things are moving right now, I think we’ll get an opportunity in the next couple years to get into one of these major tournaments, that’s one of my biggest goals right now in my football career.
Q: Was moving to a European football club, particularly Ross County in Scotland a dream move?
A: It was definitely a dream move, that’s something me and my little brothers used to talk about, ‘oh one day we’re going to play Europe, one day we’re going to make a lot of money, take care of our family.’
For it to happen in the way it did happen, especially from our past, and what we went through, it was amazing, I still can’t believe [it], even when I think about it sometimes it gives me goosebumps.
It was short-lived, but I got to go play there with my brother (Victor Loturi), me and my brother signed for the same team in Europe Ross County, so it was an amazing time, but my first game there I did my knee again, so that’s where things get tricky, that’s another obstacle I had to fight through, but even just being able to go there and spend a couple years there, it was a blessing, and it gave me reassurance, I started to believe in myself more, I started to really look at myself differently and have more confidence.”
Q: Focusing now on your move to Canberra with Tigers FC, what was it about the club and the league that enticed you to sign for them?
A: So to be honest with you, it was after my last season in the Canadian Premier League, I didn’t have a lot of options, I broke my ankle, I was out for nine months again, my third major injury, and clubs didn’t want me anymore, I’m 26 now I’ve had three major injuries, and I understand the way the game works, sometimes they might have the thought that okay maybe his time is coming to an end, do we take a risk on him, so I knew right away I had to start somewhere else, I had to get a fresh start.
I was going to retire, I got a call from the coach here, Ali [Efe] from Tigers, and he just kind of broke everything down for me, he was like listen, I want you to come back here, get back on your feet, be a role model for these young athletes, enjoy yourself and and just try to get back to where you need to get back to, if it’s something that interests you let’s keep in touch, and and it interested me, a brand new start, new country, very far away and I can kind of just put my head down and work and kind of get back to where I need to get back to, so it was a very simple decision for me, it was either that or I just quit and keep working with my psychology stuff because I do have my degree, but when I really thought about it, I was like listen, this could be a start to something brand-new and now that I’m here I definitely don’t regret it at all.
Q: You’ve mentioned your injury troubles, three major injuries in particular throughout your career, how difficult has coming back from them been?
A: Honestly it’s tough, it’s very tough, I’m not going to sugarcoat it at all, a lot of young athletes need to understand that injuries, I don’t want to say they’re going to happen to everyone but you it’s part of the game, the same way you get a yellow card, the same way you get a red card, it’s part of the game, you’re going to get injured, you’re going to hurt yourself sometimes.
I thought I was indestructible, I thought I was never going to get injured, and when the big injuries came, because I never had small injuries, I’m under the knife, I’ve got to get surgery, so for me it was hard for sure, I had to kind of take a step back, look myself in the mirror a couple times and ask myself if I want to go through this, because I didn’t want to cheat myself, I didn’t want to not take my rehab seriously, I wanted to do everything properly so it was tough for me because there were moments where I wanted to give up, there were moments where I just didn’t want to play, I didn’t care anymore, but as I started to get healthier and start kicking the ball around again, I’d get excited again and I’m like, I want to keep playing football.
Q. You started your channel throughout your struggles with injuries, was that a positive to emerge from the difficulties of being out of football?
A: That was probably my biggest positive, creating my YouTube channel, I created [it after] my first knee surgery in college, the first video was basically just like, ‘Hey guys William Akio here, going to be going through knee surgery rehab, and hopefully by the time I’m out of college I’m a professional soccer player, that was my first video so I kind of just walked everybody through a day in my life and my training, my rehab, and giving tips and just trying to be a role model for these young athletes, to let them know that no matter what you’re going through you can still come out on top, and make your dreams come true.
Q: So helping athletes is the main goal of the channel?
A: That’s all it is, just helping people, helping a lot of people, and at the same time I’ve been fortunate enough to get monetised and make a little bit of money off of it, but [it’s] just [giving] as much as information as I can give out to the young athletes that’s, that’s my biggest goal.
