Shadab Iftikhar

Shadab Iftikhar is an English football manager who is currently the assistant coach of the Pakistan national football team.

Shadab Iftikhar
Personal information
Date of birth 1989 (age 33–34)[1]
Place of birth Preston, England[2]
Managerial career
Years Team
2012–2013 Nelson (caretaker)
2015 University of Central Lancashire
2016–2017 Bayangol
2016 Mongolia (assistant)
2017–2018 Accrington (youth coach)
2018 Vailima Kiwi
2021–2022 Fort William
2023 Pakistan U20
2023– Pakistan (assistant)

He currently holds an UEFA "A" license.[3] In addition to coaching, Iftikhar has also served as a scout for Roberto Martinez at Wigan Athletic and Everton for two years at each club,[2][4] and the Belgium national team.[5]

Early life

Shadab was born in Preston, Lanchashire to a British Pakistani family.[5]

Managerial career

Early years

In May 2010, Iftikhar was named the reserve team manager for Hesketh Bank after previously working with the junior teams[6] since 2007 at age 17 while working on his early coaching badges.[7]

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.[7] While at Hesketh, he was mentored by Dave Sutton, former professional player and manager of Rochdale.[2]

Nelson

In June 2012, Iftikar was appointed a first team coach of Nelson of the North West Counties Football League prior to the 2012–13 season.[3] In October 2012 he temporarily took charge of the senior team after co-managers Robert Grimes and Michael Morrison resigned in October 2012.[8][9]

Central Lancashire

He was named manager of the university men's team for the University of Central Lancashire which competes in the BUSA Football League for the 2015 season.[10]

Bayangol

In May 2016, he was appointed manager of Bayangol of the Mongolia Premier League.[11][12][13] The previous season, Bayangol were playing in the Mongolia 1st League but were forced into promotion by the Mongolian Football Federation 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.[4] Prior to his move to Mongolia, Iftikhar was preparing to travel to Canada for a coaching position he had accepted.[14]

Mongolia

He began serving as an assistant coach for the Mongolian national team during the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup.[13][15]

Accrington Stanley

In June 2017, Iftikhar was announced as a new academy coach for Accrington Stanley, then of League Two, securing his return to Britain.[16]

Valima Kiwi

In October 2018, Iftikhar signed a deal to take over as new head coach of Vailima Kiwi of the Samoa National League.[17]

Fort William

By 2021, Iftikhar was part of the staff of Skelmersdale United of the North West Counties League Premier Division.[18] At the end of November 2021, Iftikhar was appointed manager of Fort William in the Scottish Highland Football League[19] 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.[20][21]

He was then appointed as assistant coach for the Pakistan national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers along with the newly appointed head coach Stephen Constantine.[22]

Scouting career

Wigan Athletic

During his early years coaching Hesketh Bank, Iftikhar met Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez, and become a voluntary scout for two years at the club.[2]

Everton

Iftikhar followed Martinez to Everton after his appointment as manager in 2013, and spent further two years working under Martinez at Goodison Park.[23]

Belgium

In 2021, Iftikhar was reunited with Roberto Martinez as Iftikhar served as a scout for the Belgium national team during UEFA Euro 2020.[24]

References
  1. "FBD profile". Football Database. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  2. Amos, Owen. "Far-flung adventures: Shadab Iftikhar on moving from Preston to Mongolia". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  3. "Blues Appoint New Coach". football.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  4. Fothergill, Lucas. "MEET THE MONGOLIAN PREMIER LEAGUE SIDE RUN BY AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF FANS". Vice. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  5. "Belgium scout Shadab Iftikhar praises Roberto Martinez as he gets set to become Fort William manager". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. "'EVERGREEN' TAKES RESERVE TEAM POST". Hesketh Bank AFC. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  7. Sergeant, Paul. "Evergreen makes the tough decision to move on". Hesketh Bank AFC. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  8. Flanagan, Chris. "Iftikhar to take charge of managerless Admirals". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  9. "Nelson bosses depart". Pendle Today. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  10. Richardson, Joseph. "Men's Football 4-2 University of Manchester". Pluto Online. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  11. "Bayangol FC – Our new manager Shadab Iftikhar". Bayangol FC. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  12. "Bayangol FC appoint Shadab Iftikhar as head coach". Football Pakistan. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  13. "Erchim FC: Mongolia's Football Powerhouse". HITC Sports. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  14. "The Blue Wolves of Mongolia Attempt to Howl a Little Louder". Footynions. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  15. Lloyd, Rich. "The Football Experience". The Football Experience. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  16. "Accrington Stanley Announcement". Accrington Stanley FC. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  17. Webster, Dylan. "Iftikhar Appointed as New Manager of Kiwi FC". sportcareers.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  18. "NORTHERN DIVISION - STUDENT OF THE HALF-TERM". Education & Semi-Professional Football Academy. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  19. "Shadab Iftikhar: From Belgium role to Fort William manager's job". bbc.co.uk/. BBC Sport. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  20. "PFF expands Technical Department with Shadab Iftikhar's appointment". Daily Pakistan Global. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  21. Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (6 September 2023). "Diaspora influx continues as PFF NC brings in Shadab as U-19 coach". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  22. "Pak team coaches removed ahead of World Cup qualifiers". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  23. "Meet The Man Who Went From Football Manager Addict To History-Making Real Life Manager". SPORTbible. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  24. Earnshaw, Tom. "Belgium's Euro 2020 chances boosted by presence of highly-rated coach from Preston". lancs.live. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
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