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Shadab Iftikhar, the first manager of South Asian Muslim ancestry in senior Scottish football, believes that his faith helps him deal with the ups and downs of the game.
The 31-year-old spoke to Islam Channel just days before taking over as manager of the Scottish football club in Fort William.
“You can learn a lot of lessons from Islam and a lot of lessons from the Sahabas and the Prophet (SAW), so you can take into your day to day work,” Shadab said on the Today Show.
“I think that’s a big thing for me… Islam teaches you how to deal with adversity and how to deal with success.”
Shadab said honesty is a big part of being a manager.
“You’re always going to have difficult conversations with players, you’re going to have to have conversations that affect their lives. But if you’re always honest, it’s the best policy. And Islam teaches us to be honest,” he said.
First manager of South Asian heritage
Shadab, who will join Fort William in the New Year, described himself as “proud and privileged” to be a part of the Highland League.
“[It’s] a great club, a great town, and a place where I think we can go and hopefully build something for many, many years.”
The fact that he is the first person of South Asian ancestry to manage a senior Scottish football team still astounds the Prestonian.
“We’re in 2021, 2022 soon and we’re still having this conversation,” he said.
“I think we all agree that things need to change. And we have to be in a position where football reflects society. And hopefully, bit by bit we can start seeing that change.”
Impressive footballing CV
Shadab was addicted to Championship Manager as a child, and it was there that his passion for football management blossomed. He wanted to be a manager by the age of 17.
“It was clear that I wasn’t going to be a Ronaldo or a Messi…so my playing career was never going to get off the ground shall we say,” he joked.
The Lancashire native has a long list of international football accomplishments. He worked with Roberto Martinez and Belgium during Euro 2020, then managed a club in Mongolia before becoming the national team’s assistant manager.
“Roberto [Martinez] is a special, special individual,” he said.
“He makes you push yourself so much. He’s got great standards, and is really, really intelligent in how he works with you. So, working with somebody at that elite level just pushes you to the next level.”
Joining Fort William FC
A chance meeting with the club’s chairman, John Trew, led to the job at Fort William. The two exchanged information, and everything went “smoothly.”
“He’s [John Trew] easy to deal with, easy to speak to,” said Shadab. “And it just made so much sense. So, a chance meeting and it all just literally happened like a domino effect.”
Shadab has a difficult task ahead of him. Fort William is at the bottom of the league, and they are unable to play any home games due to the inaccessibility of their pitch. Shadab, on the other hand, is optimistic that he can turn things around.
“Just to work hard, take one day at a time, to prepare well, to make sure we can be the best that we can be on that day,” he said.
“Bit by bit that consistency day-to-day will lead into results… and hopefully [we] climb up that table. [It’s] a big job but definitely a job that we feel that we can do.”
Many South Asians have been inspired by Shadab’s historic appointment, and his success is being celebrated in the community. “I think it’s too early to say that I’m an inspiration,” he says of his success. I believe I still have a long way to go.
“You know, we have a community that is inspiring each other. And that’s really important.
“My advice to anybody is you can go and do what you want to do. Work hard, dedicate yourself and just graft and hopefully one day, you know, football is talked about in a positive way regarding Asians.”
One thing is for certain, Fort William has an army of new South Asian Muslim fans who will keep a close eye on the club in the coming months.
