Footballer Zaiba Ishaque has signed a U21 contract at Manchester United women’s team, becoming the first British-Pakistani female footballer to continue progressing up the youth ranks at an English Women’s Super League side.
The 17-year-old defender is also among the small yet steadily growing number of British South Asians breaking through in the English women’s football pyramid.
Other British Pakistani female footballers to recently emerge include Mariam Mahmood at West Bromwich Albion, Layla Banaras at Birmingham City, as well as Pakistan internationals Nadia Khan (Doncaster Rovers Belles), Zahmena Malik (London Seaward), and Amina Hanif (London Bees).
Ishaque began her football career young when she was noticed by one of her schoolteachers — who was also an academy coach at Burnley FC — playing football and recommended her to join the club’s youth setup.
After a while at Burnley, she went on trials at Liverpool FC where she got selected and spent two years at the Merseyside club’s academy before getting a knee injury that halted her progress for nearly a full year.
