Shadab Iftikhar is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager who is currently a first team coach at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, having previously held the role as the head coach of the Pakistan under-20 football team. He currently holds an UEFA "A" license. In addition to coaching, Iftikhar has also served as a scout for

Roberto Martinez The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and Everton for two years at each club, and the Belgium national team.

Early life

Shadab was born in Preston, Lanchashire to a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are British people, citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes ...

family.

Managerial career

Early years

In May 2010, Iftikhar was named the reserve team manager for Hesketh Bank after previously working with the junior teams since 2007 at age 17 while working on his early coaching badges. In 2015, he was named manager of the senior squad the day before the season began. Despite working with a completely new squad and a difficult start to the season, the team finished out of the relegation zone. He also continued to strengthen the reserve squad and saw it promoted to the top reserve league that season. He declined an offer to continue being the squad's manager and left the club following the season. While at Hesketh, he was mentored by Dave Sutton, former professional player and manager of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Nelson

In June 2012, Iftikar was appointed a first team coach of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

of the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

prior to the 2012–13 season. In October 2012 he temporarily took charge of the senior team after co-managers Robert Grimes and Michael Morrison resigned in October 2012.

Central Lancashire

He was named manager of the university men's team for the

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

which competes in the

BUSA Football League The BUCS Football League is the association football league system of British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). It is the largest sport in UK higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic de ...

for the 2015 season.

Bayangol

In May 2016, he was appointed manager of Bayangol of the

Mongolia Premier League The Mongolian National Premier League ( Mongolian: ''Монголын Үндэсний Дээд Лиг''), also known as the Hisense Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier professional football league of Mongolia. It is conteste ...

The previous season, Bayangol were playing in the

Mongolia 1st League The Mongolian First League (also known as the Khurkhree National First League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division of Mongolian football leagues. Foundation The Mongolia First League was founded in 2015 by the Mongolian Footba ...

but were forced into promotion by the

Mongolian Football Federation The Mongolian Football Federation (MFF, mn, Монголын Хөлбөмбөгийн Холбоо, ''Mongolyn Khölbömbögiin Kholboo'') is the governing body of football in Mongolia. It was founded in 1959, and gained both FIFA and AFC affilia ...

ten days before the season began after second division club, Continental, declined promotion after earning it for financial reasons. Bayangol were unable to meet Premier League requirements for the team's manager to hold at least an UEFA "B" license or equivalent so they posted the opening on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Prior to his move to Mongolia, Iftikhar was preparing to travel to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for a coaching position he had accepted.

Mongolia

He began serving as an assistant coach for the Mongolian national team during the

2017 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship was the 7th edition of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, the football championship of East Asia. It was held in Japan in December 2017. Through the agreement between EAFF and ASEAN Football Federation (AF ...

Accrington Stanley

In June 2017, Iftikhar was announced as a new academy coach for

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

, then of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

, securing his return to Britain.

Valima Kiwi

In October 2018, Iftikhar signed a deal to take over as new head coach of Vailima Kiwi of the

Samoa National League Samoa National League is an association football league in Samoa and the top division of the Football Federation Samoa. The 3,500 capacity Toleafoa JS Blatter Soccer Stadium is the sole venue of the national league.

Fort William

By 2021, Iftikhar was part of the staff of

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...

of the North West Counties League Premier Division. At the end of November 2021, Iftikhar was appointed manager of Fort William in the Scottish

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system The Scottish football league syst ...

who were deemed "The Worst Team in Britain" in a BBC documentary.

Pakistan

On 5 September 2023, Iftikhar was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan under 19 football team in their first participation in the

2023 SAFF U-19 Championship The 2023 SAFF U-19 Championship was the 5th edition of the SAFF U-19 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-19 national teams organized by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). It was took place from 21–30 Sept ...

Return to Wigan Athletic

On 2 July 2024, it was announced that he had been appointed as a first team coach at

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

along with

Tom Huddlestone Thomas Andrew Huddlestone (born 28 December 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and coach for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United. Having progressed th ...

Scouting career

Wigan Athletic

During his early years coaching Hesketh Bank, Iftikhar met

manager

, and become a voluntary scout for two years at the club.

Everton

Iftikhar followed Martinez to Everton after his appointment as manager in 2013, and spent further two years working under Martinez at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

Belgium

In 2021, Iftikhar was reunited with

as Iftikhar served as a scout for the Belgium national team during

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iftikhar, Shadab 1989 births Living people English football managers English people of Pakistani descent Sportspeople from Preston, Lancashire Expatriate football managers in Mongolia Mongolia national football team managers English expatriate football managers Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff Everton F.C. non-playing staff Wigan Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Accrington Stanley F.C. non-playing staff Association football scouts Association football coaches Expatriate football managers in Samoa English expatriate sportspeople in Samoa Fort William F.C. managers Highland Football League managers