Tareq Shihab
Yemeni footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tareq Shihab (Arabic: طَارِق شِهَاب; born 7 March 2001) is a professional footballer who plays a midfielder for ÍR. Born in the Netherlands and raised in England, he plays for the Yemen national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 March 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Utrecht, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | ÍR | ||
| Number | 46 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2019 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 13 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Tamworth (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | Whitehawk | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | Newhaven | 5 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Grótta | 28 | (0) |
| 2024 | HK | 6 | (0) |
| 2025 | Stallion Laguna | 4 | (1) |
| 2026– | ÍR | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| England U15 | |||
| England U16 | |||
| 2017 | England U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | Yemen | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20 January 2025 | |||
Early life
Club career
After a trial, he joined the academy of professional side Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2014.[2] Having made his debut for Brighton's under-18 team in the 2016–17 season, Shihab continued to progress through the academy until September 2019, when he was sent on a four-month loan to Southern Football League side Tamworth.[3] Upon signing, Tamworth manager Gary Smith described Shihab as a "good technician, good with the ball", and that he was a "great addition to our squad".[3] Having made his debut in the 3–0 Southern Football League Cup win over Barwell on 10 September, he only featured once more for the club before returning to Brighton & Hove Albion at the expiration of the deal on 4 January 2020.[4]
Having been released by Brighton at the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, Shihab moved to the United States, enrolling at the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and joined their soccer team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.[5] He finished the 2021 season with thirteen appearances, in which he started two, and one assist against the George Washington Revolutionaries on 12 October.[6]
On his return to England, he joined Isthmian League side Whitehawk, and went on to make three appearances for the team in the 2021–22 season.[7]
After a short spell with Newhaven, he began to train with Icelandic 1. deild karla club Grótta in November 2022, before making the move to the Seltjarnarnes-based club ahead of the 2023 season, signing a two-year deal.[8] Following two seasons with Grotta, Shihab moved to Besta deild karla side HK in August 2024.[9]
On 14 September 2025, Shihab made his debut for Philippines Football League side Stallion Laguna.[10]
International career
Shihab represented England from under-15 to under-17 level, being named on the bench on 8 November 2017 in a 3–2 win against Portugal, before making his debut and playing ninety minutes in a 2–1 win over Russia three days later.[3][11][12]
Shihab is of Yemeni descent, and was called up to a training camp with the Yemen national football team in May 2022.[13] He received another call up in December of the same year, but voiced concerns of picking up an injury, and left the squad prematurely to return to England.[14] On 9 December 2024, he made his international debut with Yemen, appearing in the 1-1 friendly game draw against Kuwait.[15] A week after, he was named in Yemen's 26-man squad for the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 11 October 2024.[17]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tamworth (loan) | 2019–20 | Southern Football League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Whitehawk | 2021–22 | Isthmian League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Newhaven | 2022–23[18] | SCFL | 5 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Grótta | 2023 | 1. deild karla | 15 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| HK | 2024 | Besta deild karla | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Career total | 41 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 1 | ||
- Notes
- Appearances in the Southern Football League Cup
- One appearance in the Sussex RUR Cup, one appearance in the Peter Bentley Challenge Cup
- Appearances in the Icelandic Cup
International
- As of 20 January 2025[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yemen | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |