As football has evolved, so have routes into football management.
Once almost exclusively the preserve of former professionals, a playing career is no longer a prerequisite.
That has opened the door to the younger generation. Thirteen managers and head coaches in England’s top four divisions are under 40, with Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler the youngest at 33.
But the Cymru Premier – formerly known as the Welsh Premier League – is home to the youngest top-flight manager in Europe.
Last season, Jordan Hadaway guided Llandudno to promotion from the Cymru North. In July, he turned the grand old age of 25.
A thirst for knowledge and a willingness to do the hard yards
Hadaway already had the presence of mind to focus on coaching, rather than playing, by 14.
He completed his Level 1 Leaders Award two days after his 16th birthday and was working towards his UEFA B Licence by 18, when he was in charge at Caerwys and working with a 41-year-old captain.
Later, he coached for the Real Madrid Foundation and, in 2024, he passed his A Licence. He counts Nigel Adkins and Robert Earnshaw among those to have helped him along the way.
Hadaway has been coaching since before his 16th birthday (Image: Dan Whitehead)
During his time at Caerwys, Hadaway wrote to Roy Hodgson, who was then in charge of Crystal Palace.
“He was the oldest manager in league football and I was the youngest manager in football, so my college tutor said to me ‘Why don’t you just write to him?'” he tells Sky Sports.
“I got an email from his personal assistant and he invited me in, but the day I was due to go down, Covid happened. By the time everything opened back up, he had been sacked!
“It was a bit of a nightmare because I really wanted to go and meet him, but I guess things happen for a reason, don’t they?”
It is clear his strong work ethic has helped him progress.
He still turns out for the club’s reserves on occasions (Image: Dan Whitehead)
“While I was studying at Liverpool Hope University, some days I’d be up at 2.30am or 3am going to work in the bakery for a family friend as they’d lost staff because of Covid,” he says.
“I’d stay there until 9.30am, go to a lecture from 11am until 2pm and then I’d coach from maybe 4pm until 9pm. It was a full-on period in my life!”
And it has not slowed down, given he now balances his part-time managerial role with a full-time role as a teacher.
Achieving the unachievable
In December 2022, Hadaway left his role as assistant manager at Cefn Druids to become Llandudno U19s manager, as well as the club’s head of youth development.
By the start of the 2023/24 season, he had been named interim first-team manager of a club whos squad and staff had been decimated after its artificial playing surface was condemned by the Welsh FA.
“Everyone had walked away and we were two weeks away from starting the season,” he recalls.
When he became manager, he says he had one player on the books (Image: Dan Whitehead)
“The chairman said to me: ‘Will you just try and keep us in the league and make sure we have a club? I don’t care if we get relegated if that’s what has to happen as long as we’ve got a team and a club at the end of it.’
“Everyone around me, I’ll be honest, told me don’t take it. My mum even says to me today: ‘I can’t believe you took that job’.
“But I saw it as an opportunity to go and try and prove people wrong at a very big club in Wales that has an amazing facility and a good fanbase.
“I had the smallest budget in the league by a country mile. I had one player two weeks before the start of the season and no management team. I had to put all that together in two weeks. We were favourites to get relegated, but I never once thought we would.
“We managed to finish 12th out of 16 and we got to a cup final that year. It’s quite incredible, really.”
(Image: Dan Whitehead)
Two years later, he took the club one step further.
“My aim was always to be a Welsh Premier League manager by the time I was 27, 28. Did I ever think I was going to get there? No. It’s amazing.
“I’m lucky I’ve had very good players and very good staff that have enabled me to push the club to that standard. It’s not all about me, it’s about everybody involved.
“I got quite emotional on that afternoon we got promoted. It was an achievement that probably will stick with me and be one of my best forever.”
No rush to reach the top
Asked if he has aged beyond his years with the way his career has progressed, Hadaway quips: “Yes – I think my hairline’s shown that!
“A lot of people say I’m the oldest 25-year-old they’ve ever met. I think I am mature, but I’m mature because of the people I’ve grown up around. The people you spend the most time with have the biggest impact on you.”
That maturity is reflected in his attitude towards what comes next.
Many would leap to the conclusion that, if he is doing well at 25 in Wales, a career over the border in England will be on the cards soon.
That may well come to be true, but Hadaway is in no immediate rush.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would love to do it [work in the Premier League or EFL],” he adds.
“However, I love my job and I love supporting young people that need the support in school, and I think it would have to be a very good opportunity to take me away from what I’m doing currently. I’m also not naive.
“But I don’t think I should get given a chance because I’m the youngest manager in top-flight football – I think I should be given a chance because I’m good enough.
“If we had this interview again in 10 years’ time and I was still at Llandudno, I would be happy, because I’m not someone that chases the stars. I’m someone that likes to make sure I’m doing a good job where I’m at and make sure that when I leave, I’ve left it in a very good place and it’s stable.”
For someone who has accomplished so much so young, perhaps Hadaway’s strength is in knowing there is no need to rush.
Other Articles
Xfinity bets on a free perk as ‘GTA VI’ tests its network
