Trailblazer Shadab Iftikhar makes an emotional return to Wigan as a first-team coach; Iftikhar has managed as far afield as Pakistan, Mongolia and Samoa but his first role in football was as a scout at Wigan under Portugal boss Roberto Martinez; Tom Huddlestone also joins Wigan as a coach
Wednesday 3 July 2024 14:52, UK
Scottish football trailblazer and former Pakistan U20s manager Shadab Iftikhar has returned to Wigan as a first-team coach.
Iftikhar made history at Highland League side Fort William during the 2021/22 season when he became the first British South Asian to manage in senior Scottish football.
He returns to Wigan where his football journey started, shadowing former Latics boss Roberto Martinez, who now manages Portugal, and providing opposition match analysis.
Preston-born Iftikhar, who has previously managed Mongolian side Bayangol and Samoan team Kiwi FC, worked alongside current Wigan manager Shaun Maloney when the pair were part of the Belgium national team set-up under Martinez.
Maloney has also brought Tom Huddlestone in as a first-team coach with the former Derby County, Tottenham and England midfielder joining after serving as a player-coach with Manchester United's U21s.
Wigan boss Maloney told the club's website: "I am delighted to welcome Tom and Shadab to the football club, who both join us with vastly-different experiences. Tom has arrived following two seasons at Manchester United U21s and we also worked together at Hull as team-mates.
"He is an extremely calm, but also very passionate coach and has been involved at the elite level for a long time which will help our younger players.
"I worked previously with Shadab at Belgium and he also worked with Roberto Martinez at Everton and Wigan and therefore understands the DNA of our club.
"Both will be great additions to the coaching team."
Iftikhar said: "I am very excited and very grateful to the gaffer for giving me the opportunity. I cannot wait to get started and hopefully, we can have a fantastic season.
"Wigan Athletic has always been close to my heart. I started here with Roberto Martinez a long, long time ago and I am really excited to be back and to be involved in the project.
"It's an absolute honour to be working for this football club. The gaffer has been a mentor to me, and I have learned a lot already from him, and I am very happy to be working under such a top manager."
Huddlestone added: "The last two years have been really educational from a coaching standpoint. It's given me the ambition as coaching is something I want to do long term, and I'm grateful to have this opportunity at the beginning of my coaching journey."
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