Ashvir Singh Johal

Ashvir Singh Johal
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-03-29) 29 March 1995
Place of birth Leicester, England
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
GNG
Managerial career
2025–2026 Morecambe
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ashvir Singh Johal (born 29 March 1995) is an English professional football coach who was most recently manager of National League club Morecambe.

He began coaching at Leicester City, working up to under-18 level in the academy. He then held roles at Wigan Athletic, Como and Notts County, before being named head coach at Morecambe in 2025. He became the youngest manager in England's top five divisions, and the first Sikh to lead a professional English club.

Career

Coaching career

Born in Leicester, Singh Johal was a player and coach of Leicester-based club GNG, a non-league team affiliated with the local gurdwara. He spent 10 years at Leicester City, beginning at development centres and community projects before coaching in the academy, up to under-18 level. He praised head coach Brendan Rodgers as an influence on his career.[1]

In December 2022, Singh Johal moved to Wigan Athletic as a first-team coach under Kolo Touré, a fellow former employee of Rodgers at Leicester.[2] His first match was away to Millwall, who congratulated him as the first Sikh on a coaching team in the English Football League.[3] Touré, Singh Johal and fellow coach Kevin Betsy were dismissed less than two months later, with the team last in the table.[4] Singh Johal was assistant to Cesc Fàbregas at Italian club Como's under-19 team in 2023.[5] He was then the B-team head coach at Notts County.[6]

Move into management with Morecambe

In August 2025, newly relegated National League club Morecambe had been suspended from the start of the season for financial reasons, and were at risk of dissolution.[7] Morecambe were taken over by the Panjab Warriors consortium, becoming the first British professional club to be owned by Sikhs.[8] The new owners sacked Derek Adams as manager and brought in Singh Johal on 19 August. At 30, he became the youngest manager in the top five divisions of English football, as well as the first Sikh to lead a professional football club in England.[5]

Singh Johal added 12 players to a squad that had only featured five players before his appointment. Morecambe's suspension was lifted and they hosted Altrincham on 23 August, winning 2–1 with the winner coming in the eighth minute of added time,[9] but the side then lost their next four games.[10] Singh Johal left Morecambe in January 2026, after five wins in 28 league games.[11]

Personal life

Singh Johal is a Sikh and wears a patka head covering.[1] He is of Indian descent.[12]

Managerial statistics

Matches played as of 24 January 2026[13]

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Morecambe 19 August 2025 30 January 2026 32 6 7 19 018.8

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Trehan, Dev. "Wigan Athletic coach Ashvir Singh Johal on working with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester and his Sikh faith". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  2. ^ Trehan, Dev (6 December 2022). "England World Cup run inspiring, says Azeem Amir | Ashvir Singh Johal joins Kolo Toure at Wigan | Zidan Miah 'should play for Bangladesh'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  3. ^ Kendrick, Paul (12 December 2022). "Wigan Athletic 'trailblazer' receives welcome gesture at Millwall". Wigan Today. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  4. ^ Kendrick, Paul (3 February 2023). "Kolo Toure left to reflect on 'great pity' of tenure at Wigan Athletic". Wigan Today. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b Woodcock, Ian. "Morecambe appoint first Sikh boss at professional club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  6. ^ ""His appointment marks an exciting new era for the Shrimps": Morecambe confirm their new manager". Lancaster Guardian. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Ashvir Singh Johal takes charge at Morecambe and becomes first British Sikh to manage in England's top five leagues". Sky Sports. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  8. ^ Austin, Daniel (22 August 2025). "Sikh owners, Sikh manager - what Morecambe takeover means to community". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  9. ^ "'It's turned into a fairytale' - Morecambe revel in raucous return". BBC Sport. 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Boreham Wood 3-0 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 6 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Morecambe part company with manager Johal". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Ashvir Singh Johal becomes first Sikh to manage professional football club in England". New India Abroad.
  13. ^ "Morecambe Manager History". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
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