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 August 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 joined Leicester-based club GNG, a non-League team affiliated with the local gurdwara, in 1999 or 2000. He is later listed as the technical manager of GNG in 2019.
He also spent 10 years at Leicester City, beginning at development centres and community projects in 2011 before coaching in the academy, up to under-18 level. He praised head coach Brendan Rodgers as an influence on his career.
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. His first match was away to Millwall, who congratulated him as the first Sikh on a coaching team in the English Football League. Touré, Singh Johal and fellow coach Kevin Betsy were dismissed less than two months later, with the team last in the table. Singh Johal was assistant to Cesc Fàbregas at Italian club Como's under-19 team in 2023. He was then the B-team head coach at Notts County.
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. Morecambe were taken over by the Panjab Warriors consortium, becoming the first British professional club to be owned by Sikhs. 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.
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, but the side then lost their next four games. Singh Johal left Morecambe in January 2026, after five wins in 28 league games.
Personal life Singh Johal is a Sikh and wears a patka head covering. He is of Indian descent.
Managerial statistics Matches played as of 24 January 2026
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordMorecambe19 August 202530 January 2026
See also British Asians in association football
References