Delinker at 11:42, 31 July 2023

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{{short description|English footballer and coach}}
{{advert|date=May 2021}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name = Judan Ali
|image =
|caption =
|fullname =
|birth_date =
|birth_place = [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London
|height =
|position =
|currentclub =
|youthyears1 =
|youthclubs1 = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
|youthyears2 =
|youthclubs2= [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]
|years1 =
|clubs1 = [[Murcia FC|Murcia]]<ref name=Bio />
|caps1 =
|goals1 =
|totalcaps =
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}}
'''Judan Ali''' is an English technical director of football and former [[Association football|footballer]] and coach. Ali went on to feature for clubs [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] and [[Murcia FC|Murcia]] in his playing career.<ref name="eurosport-blackburn">{{cite news | url=http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/championship-bollywood-star-line-coaching-job-blackburn-105413563.html | title=Championship — Blackburn deny 'guest' coach Judan Ali set for job | work=Eurosport | date=28 December 2012 | accessdate=2013-05-28 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231151159/http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/championship-bollywood-star-line-coaching-job-blackburn-105413563.html | archivedate=31 December 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name=Bio>{{cite web|url=http://m.chinapost.com.tw/sports/2014/06/03/409249/Big-soccer.htm|title=Big soccer dreams|website=China Post.com}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Ali is the first [[Black, Asian and minority ethnic|BAME]] British National to hold a position of technical director for a FIFA Member Association.<ref name="http://www.offside.hk">{{cite news | url=http://www.offside.hk/others/ |title=judan-ali-now-technical-director-of-the-maldives-national-team/}}</ref><ref name="mihaaru.com">{{cite news | url=https://mihaaru.com/local_sports/65204 |title=ބާސެލޯނާ އެކެޑަމީގައި މަސައްކަތްކުރި ޖުޑާން }}</ref>

== Early life and career ==
Ali was born in [[Brick Lane]], [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London. He is of Asian descent and at first used "Jordan" instead of his own first name. He underwent several unfruitful trials at English clubs.<ref name="Fulhamchronicle">{{cite web | url=http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/london-sport/allsport/2009/11/12/arsenal-to-accrington-via-a-stopover-in-bollywood-113489-25152608/ | title=Arsenal to Accrington via a stopover in Bollywood | publisher=www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk | date=2009-11-09 | accessdate=2013-06-07 | author=Lucas, Giles}}</ref><ref name="asiantoday1"/> He was taken on by [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], having a two-year stint at the [[Arsenal F.C. Academy|club's academy]].<ref name="indianexpress1">{{cite web|title=Venky's sack Blackburn Rovers manager after 57 days in charge, turns to Judan Ali|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/venky-s-sack-blackburn-rovers-manager-after-57-days-in-charge-turns-to-judan-ali/1051389/|work=The Indian Express|accessdate=5 June 2013|date=28 December 2012}}</ref> He then had a spell at the [[La Masia]] Academy of [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]. His experiences whilst there were eventually added to his coaching philosophy altogether.<ref name="independent-blackburn">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/from-bollywood-to-ewood-judan-ali-in-challenging-new-role-8432330.html | title=From Bollywood to Ewood: Judan Ali in challenging new role | work=The Independent | date=27 December 2012 | accessdate=28 May 2013 | last=Herbert |first=Ian}}</ref>
Ali went on to sign for Spanish outfit [[Murcia FC|Murcia]] with whom he forged a professional career.<ref name="asiantoday1">{{cite web|title=They Came, they Scored, they Conquered!|url=http://www.theasiantoday.com/PrintArticle.aspx?articleID=2556|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616044810/http://www.theasiantoday.com/PrintArticle.aspx?articleID=2556|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 June 2013|work=The Asian Today|accessdate=6 June 2013|date=19 August 2011}}</ref>
In 2019 his appointment as technical director for the Maldives Football Association saw Ali as the first and only BAME British National to hold a position of Technical Director for a FIFA Member Association.<ref name="http://www.offside.hk"/><ref name="mihaaru.com"/>
[[File:Coaching_at_Kitchee_SC,_of_the_Hong_Kong_Premier_League.jpg|thumb|Coach at Kitchee SC, in the Hong Kong Premier League ]]

== Youth coaching ==

In the summer of 2011, Ali assembled a team of Asian players, aged under-15, to compete in the Arsenal International Soccer Festival.<ref name="asiantoday1"/> The team of 16, which was selected from 20,000 hopefuls,<ref name="independent-blackburn"/> unexpectedly won the under-15 category at the [[Royal Holloway, University of London|Royal Holloway University]].<ref name="asiantoday1"/>

In March 2013, Ali was appointed Head of Elite Football Development in Taiwan. Ali and the [[Chinese Taipei Football Association]] say the aim is to implement a long-term structure to get all Taiwan's age groups to their respective world championships. Ali says he intends to qualify all the Chinese Taipei age specific football teams to World Cup Finals.<ref name="taipeitimes">{{cite news | url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2013/04/03/2003558711 | title=Taiwanese to train at Bayern Munich | work=Taipei Times | date=3 April 2013 | accessdate=28 May 2013 | last=Pan |first=Jason}}</ref><ref name="easterneye-taiwan">{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2949644681.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325124804/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2949644681.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=25 March 2016 | title=Made in Taiwan... | work=Eastern Eye | date=22 March 2013 | accessdate=28 May 2013}}{{subscription needed}}</ref>

In April 2015 Ali joined the coaching staff of [[Kitchee SC]] who play in the Hong Kong Premier League.<ref name="offside.hk">[http://offside.hk/news/offside-goes-grassroots-kitchee-youth-team/#more-1393 Offside goes grassroots: Kitchee Youth Team]</ref>

Ali runs a non-profit all-female football academy, a pre-sports school for young girls, based in [[London]]. Ambassadors and Co-founders are [[Ann-Katrin Berger]] a German professional footballer who plays as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] for English club [[Chelsea F.C. Women|Chelsea]] and the [[Germany women's national football team|German national team]] and [[Jessica Carter]] who also plays for [[Chelsea F.C. Women|Chelsea]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/leyton-orient/judan-ali-football-academy-launch-date-3634802 |title=Coach Ali wants to give local girls chance to play football |archive-url=https://archive.is/9RsSM |archive-date=2 May 2021 |date=8 Aug 2019}}</ref><ref>https://www.soccerphile.com/interviews/judan-ali-football-academy</ref>

== Professional career ==

=== FA – The COACH Bursary Scheme ===
Ali is currently (on-going) partaking in [[the Football Association]]'s COACH scheme aimed at professionals from under-represented groups.<ref name="kickitout">{{cite web | url=http://www.kickitout.org/1472.php | title=Coach scheme helping under-represented coaches make headwav (sic) | publisher=Kick It Out | work=Let's Kick Racism Out of Football | accessdate=28 May 2013}}</ref>

=== FCB La Masia ===
In 1998 coach and then mentor of Ali, the late [[Johan Cruyff]] took Ali to study and assist in the coaching of the youth teams at [[La Masia]], [[FC Barcelona]]. Ali went on to complete his youth studies and coach for almost a decade at their youth academy.<ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/venkys-scheme-at-blackburn-rovers-offers-a-passage-to-indian-coach-f550td9dzdw]</ref>

=== Eastern Sports Club ===
He coached Eastern Sports Club later on in his career who compete in the Hong Kong Premierleague <ref>https://wildeastfootball.net/2018/03/kitchee-stun-kashiwa-reysol-1-0-historical-win-asian-champions-league/</ref>

=== Saint Kitts & Nevis Football Association ===
In April 2012, Ali was invited to train the [[Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team|St Kitts and Nevis]] men's, under-17 and under-20 National Football teams. The teams were both training for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.<ref name="stkitts">{{cite web | url=http://sknfa.com/2012/04/coach-judan-ali-visits-st-kitts/ | title=Coach Judan Ali visits St. Kitts | publisher=St Kitts Nevis Football Association | date=18 April 2012 | accessdate=27 May 2013}}</ref>

=== Latvia Football Federation ===
In November 2012, Ali traveled to the Latvian Football Federation to oversee the UEFA A License course for Latvian national team coaches.<ref>[http://www.lff.lv/lv/treneri/licencesana/a/20122013/sesija01/ Latvijas futbola federācija]</ref>

=== IA Akranes Football Club Iceland ===

In November 2012 Ali visited the Volanic Islands of Iceland to deliver his coaching sessions to Icelandic coaches.<ref name="LP LANDPOSTURINN">{{cite news | url=http://www.landpostur.is/is/frettir/ia_med_efnilegan_thjalfara_i_heimsokn | title=ÍA með efnilegan þjálfara í heimsókn | work=LP | date=30 November 2012 | accessdate=30 November 2012 | last=Aresson |first=Fredrick}}</ref>

=== Chinese Taipei National Football Team (Taiwan) ===
In March 2013, Ali was appointed head of elite football development in Taiwan.<ref name="taipeitimes"/><ref name="easterneye-taiwan"/>

=== Kitchee Sports Club ===

In April 2015 Ali joined the coaching staff of [[Kitchee SC]] youth team.
<ref name="offside.hk"/>

=== National Indonesian Football Team ===

In March 2016 Judan Ali was appointed the manager and head coach for the Indonesian National Army Football Team which changed their name to [[Persikabo 1973]] who compete in the Indonesian Super League. Ali was entasked with recruiting soldiers and training them from scratch and in their first season in competing they finished in 12th position generating crowd attendances of 23,000 at home games.<ref name="Galamedianews">{{cite news | url=http://www.galamedianews.com/piala-bhayangkara/79395/judan-ali-pemain-sudah-disiplin-tapi-kurang-konsentrasi.html | title=Judan Ali: Pemain Sudah Disiplin Tapi Kurang Konsentrasi | work=Galamedianews | date=20 March 2016 | accessdate=21 March 2016 | last=Kurniawati | first=Ely }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=Nzd |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Persela Lamongan Football Club ===

In June 2017 Judan Ali was appointed the technical director for [[Persela Lamongan]] Football Club who compete in the Indonesian Super League.
<ref name="thejakartapost">{{cite news | url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/05/08/british-coach-talks-push-indonesian-soccer-further.html |title=British coach in talks to push Indonesian soccer further}}</ref>

=== The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) ===

In December 2019 Judan Ali was appointed as the technical director for the [[Football Association of Maldives]] on a 10 - year contract taking him to 2029.<ref name="http://www.offside.hk"/><ref name="mihaaru.com"/>

== Other affiliations==

=== Film ===
His attempts to forge a career in football were, in part, the inspiration for the 2007 [[Bollywood]] film ''[[Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal]]''.<ref name="independent-blackburn"/> Ali was involved in casting for [[Bollywood]] movie.<ref name="asiantoday1"/><ref name="indianexpress1"/><ref name="independent-blackburn" /><ref name=Feature>{{cite web|url=http://topskor.co.id/football/news/6/liga-indonesia/2016/03/19/20560/ps-tni-pakai-jasa-pelatih-asal-inggris-di-piala-bhayangkara|title=PS TNI Pakai Jasa Pelatih Asal Inggris di Piala Bhayangkara|last=DP|first=ARI|date=2016-03-19|publisher=TopSkor Indonesia|accessdate=5 April 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417005002/http://topskor.co.id/football/news/6/liga-indonesia/2016/03/19/20560/ps-tni-pakai-jasa-pelatih-asal-inggris-di-piala-bhayangkara|archivedate=17 April 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Charity ===
In September 2007 Ali took part in [[Premier League All Stars]] football tournament for charity representing a Chelsea team alongside celebrities [[Ross Kemp]] and [[Omid Djalili]].<ref name="independent-blackburn" />

In September 2012 The UK's Anti-Racism Educational Charity [[Show Racism the Red Card]] held a charity match spearheaded by Hollywood star [[Tamer Hassan]] and [[Shane Richie]] in which Ali was involved.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.srtrc.org/news/news-and-events?news=3575 | title=Hollywood star Tamer Hassan and Shane Richie to appear in SRtRC charity match | work=Show Racism the Red Card | accessdate=28 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718235605/http://www.srtrc.org/news/news-and-events?news=3575 | archive-date=18 July 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

He has set up orphanages for the under privileged, which he runs successfully. As an orphan himself, Ali has a passion for taking players from disadvantaged backgrounds and honing them into standout footballers, which he has successfully shown during his time so far in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/football/leyton-orient/judan-ali-maps-out-lings-elite-under-18-progress-after-taking-break-from-managing-indonesian-national-army-football-team-1-5282894|title=Judan Ali maps out Lings Elite under-18 progress after taking break from managing Indonesian National Army Football Team|last=Rahman|first=Emdad|website=East London Advertiser|date=16 November 2017|language=en|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|group=Maldives}}

== External links ==
*{{official website|http://www.judanali.com/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Judan}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English footballers]]
[[Category:Arsenal F.C. players]]
[[Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:Association footballers not categorized by position]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:British people of Pakistani descent]]

Judan Ali - Revision history

Delinker at 11:42, 31 July 2023