| Tareq Shihab | |
| Birth Date: | 7 March 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Height: | 1.79 m |
| Currentclub: | HK |
| Clubnumber: | 23 |
| Position: | Midfielder, defender |
| Youthyears1: | 2014–2019 |
| Youthclubs1: | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Collegeyears1: | 2021 |
| College1: | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| Collegecaps1: | 13 |
| Collegegoals1: | 0 |
| Years1: | 2019–2020 |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs2: | → Tamworth (loan) |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2022 |
| Clubs3: | Whitehawk |
| Caps3: | 3 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2022 |
| Clubs4: | Newhaven |
| Caps4: | 5 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs5: | Grótta |
| Caps5: | 28 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2024– |
| Clubs6: | HK |
| Caps6: | 6 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U15 |
| Nationalteam2: | England U16 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2017 |
| Nationalteam3: | England U17 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 2 November 2024 |
Tareq Shihab (ar|طارق شهاب; born 7 March 2001) is a professional footballer currently playing as a midfielder for Icelandic side HK. Born in the Netherlands, he is a youth international for England.
Shihab was born in the Dutch city of Utrecht to Yemeni parents, and moved to Brighton, England at the age of two.[1]
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]
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] [10] [11]
Shihab is of Yemeni descent, and was called up to a training camp with the Yemen national football team in May 2022.[12] 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.[13]
| 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 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Whitehawk | 2021–22 | Isthmian League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Newhaven | 2022–23[14] | SCFL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| Grótta | 2023 | 1. deild karla | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 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 | |||