Hi. Kodi indeed blocks input for joypads if it doesn’t run on x11.
This is known and expected behaviour according to @DBMandrake.
I am not sure why the sdl-joystick option is not enabled probably to not have a depenency on sdl.
A xboxcontroller should still work.
Installing kodi from a different repository defeats the purpose of osmc.
You would probably better install kodi on raspbian or retropie and run it atop x11 if you desperately need joypad input.
Or @sam_nazarko could activate generic usb joypads to be usable in kodi if thats possible.