 "Meet Ashvir Singh Johal, Morecambe FC's new boss who is the first Sikh manager of a British football club")
Ashvir Singh Johal made football history on Tuesday after being named the new manager of Morecambe FC, becoming the first Sikh manager of a British football club. At just 30 years of age, Johal is also the youngest manager across the top five tiers of English football.
Johal’s appointment was confirmed on Tuesday, 48 hours after investment group Panjab Warriors completed its takeover of the club that competes in the National League, the fifth-highest tier in the English football league system behind the Premier League and the EFL Leagues (EFL Championship, League One and League Two).
Johal, who makes his senior managerial debut with ‘The Shrimps’, replaces Derek Adams – who was removed from the position on Monday.
Morecambe FC had been suspended from the National League due to financial issues until Panjab Warriors’ takeover restored their place in the fifth tier, and Johal, for one, hopes such a situation “never happens again”.
Morecambe Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Ashvir Singh Johal as the Club’s new First Team Manager.
— Morecambe FC (@MorecambeFC) August 19, 2025
The full interview will be available at 09:30 🎥#UTS 🦐
“I’m extremely proud to be the manager of Morecambe Football Club and I can’t wait to meet the fans and show them what an exciting team we can build that represents them and the town on the pitch,” Johal was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
“The short-term plan this year is to make sure that we retain our place in the National League by playing exciting energetic football and working hard. We want to make sure that the situation that happened in Morecambe over the last couple of years never happens again because no club, no town, no people deserve that,” he added.
Who is Ashvir Singh Johal?
Though he is set to manage a club at the senior level for the first time in his career, Johal isn’t exactly a complete stranger to the role. He has, after all, had coaching stints across youth and professional setups, having completed his FA Level 1 qualification at the tender age of 16 while still in school.
Johal had worked as a teenage coach with Leicester City’s schools programme and would later assume charge of the Foxes’ U-18 team. That was followed by a spell a Wigan Athletic as coach Kolo Toure’s assistant.
Johal also worked alongside Toure’s former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas at Como when the Spaniard was put in charge of the Serie A club’s youth side. He was also in charge of Notts County’s B team and had also become one of the youngest coaches to complete their UEFA Pro Licence.
“I know what world-class standards look like, how to lead with clarity, and how to develop a team with a real identity,” Johal told BBC. “We will create an environment that brings the best out of people, that people want to be part of, and that drives people to improve every day.”
With new owners and a coach in place Morecambe will turn their attention towards building a squad virtually from scratch.
They currently have just five contracted players, which will not be enough for the side to face Altrincham on Saturday in what would have been their first match since their relegation from EFL League Two in May. The fixture, thus, will likely get postponed until the club has enough players to compete.
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