 Fadlu Davids in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fadluraghman Davids | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-05-21)21 May 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Raja CA (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Ajax Cape Town | ||
| 1997–1998 | Saxon Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2000 | Mother City | ||
| 2000–2001 | Chernomorets Burgas | ||
| 2001–2003 | Manning Rangers | ||
| 2003–2004 | Avendale Athletico | ||
| 2004–2005 | Vasco da Gama | ||
| 2005–2006 | Silver Stars | 6 | (0) |
| 2007–2012 | Maritzburg United | 85 | (18) |
| Total | 91+ | (18+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998 | South Africa U17 | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2014 | Maritzburg United (assistant coach) | ||
| 2014 | Bloemfontein Celtic (assistant coach) | ||
| 2015 | Chippa United (assistant coach) | ||
| 2015–2017 | Maritzburg United (assistant coach) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Maritzburg United | ||
| 2019–2022 | Orlando Pirates (assistant coach) | ||
| 2022 | FC Lokomotiv Moscow (assistant coach) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Maritzburg United | ||
| 2023–2024 | Raja CA (assistant coach) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Simba S.C. | ||
| 2025– | Raja CA | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Fadluraghman "Fadlu" Davids (born 21 May 1981 inCape Town,Western Cape) is aSouth Africanfootball manager and former player. He is the currently head coach ofBotola clubRaja CA.
He spent much of his playing career in the South Africa, most notably withMaritzburg United, where he led them to aNational First Division title. After retiring, Davids began his coaching career with Maritzburg as an assistant. In 2017, he was appointed as head coach and let them to their highest everPremier Soccer League finish and adomestic cup final. Davids went on to serve as assistant coach atOrlando Pirates before heading toLokomotiv Moscow.
In 2024, he wasJosef Zinnbauer's assistant whenRaja CA achieved the invincibledomestic double, before heading toTanzania to take charge ofSimba SC where he led them to theCAF Confederation Cup final. In 2025, he returned to Raja CA as head coach.
Fadlu Davids grew up inAthlone,Cape Town, where he began playing football at a young age. He joinedCape Town Spurs at under-15 and under-17 levels before moving toSaxon Rovers, where he played senior football as a 16-year-old. He also represented theSouth African U17 national team during this period.
At the age of 17, Davids attended trials with English clubsFulham FC andWest Ham United, training with their youth and reserve sides. Unable to secure a work permit, he returned to South Africa and played for six months withMother City, though the club was relegated. He signed a three-year deal with the Bulgarian clubChernomorets Burgas and left after one season. "The club ran into financial difficulties which saw the foreign players not being paid" said Davids.[1]
Again, it was back to South Africa to joinManning Rangers, playing underClive Barker for one-and-a-half seasons. A groin injury saw him depart Rangers and he playedNational First Division football forAvendale Athletico and thenVasco Da Gama, where he was top goal scorer and player of the year in his tenure at the club.Silver Stars, which became Platinum Stars, was next on Davids' schedule where he stayed for one-and-a-half seasons, helping the side secure theTelkom Cup.
In December 2006, he signed forMaritzburg United, who were battling relegation in theSouth African Premiership. Although the team was relegated, Davids contributed to their promotion the following season. On 28 June 2008, he scored a brace in the second leg of the play-off final againstFC AK to win the2007–08 National First Division title.[2] He also finished top goalscorer of the season.[3]
He remained at Maritzburg until his retirement in January 2012, serving as captain for two seasons. Persistent ankle injuries forced him to retire from professional football at the age of 31. His coachErnst Middendorp immediately offered him to become his assistant. After a few days, Fadlu accepted. He played his last career match on 4 December 2011 againstAmaZulu FC.[4]
Upon his retirement in January 2012, Davids served as assistant coach toErnst Middendorp at Maritzburg United. He moved with him toBloemfontein Celtic whenSteve Komphela arrived at United in 2014. After one-and-a-half years, he followed Ernst toChippa United again for six months.
When Middendorp left Martizburg United in 2016, Davids was named interim coach for a third time in his career. His brother, Maahier Davids, was named as his assistant.[5]
Upon the arrival ofRoger De Sá, Davids resumed his position as Maritzburg's assistant coach. However, only seven games later, he reclaimed his position as interim coach after De Sá's resignation.[citation needed] Davids was caretaker for the rest of the2016–17 South African Premier Division. On 1 July,Maritzburg United announced that Fadlu Davids would be the permanent coach after a very good performance as caretaker; he was in charge for the final nine games of the season, winning four, drawing three and losing two.
Davids first full season as a coach was a success; United were only four points away from securing a spot in the2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup and they also lost the2017–18 Nedbank Cup final againstFree State Stars, which was their last chance to qualify for the CAF tournament. In the 2018–19 season, Davids team played 15 league games and only won once, and on 24 December, Davids was sacked. He gained a reputation for promoting younger players after creating first team opportunities for the likes ofSiphesihle Ndlovu‚Bandile Shandu andMlondi Dlamini, all of whom started out as ball boys.[6]
Davids returned to be an assistant coach, this time forOrlando Pirates, and has been in that position since 15 January 2019 before leaving to joinJosef Zinnbauer as his assistant in Russian sideLokomotiv moscow.[7]
On 8 June 2023,Raja CA appointed him as Zinnbauer's assistant starting from the end of the2022–23 season until June 2025.[8][9] Raja became the first Moroccan club in history to win theBotola undefeated.[10] In addition, he achieved the domestic double, following a 2–1 victory overAS FAR in theThrone Cup final.[11]
On 5 July 2024 he was announced as the head coach ofTanzanian Premier League sideSimba.[12][13]
In the 2024–25 season, Fadlu Davids ledSimba SC to a strong campaign in both domestic and continental competitions. They finished runners-up of the2024–25 Tanzanian Premier League with 78 points, four behindYoung Africans, after recording 25 wins, 3 draws, and 2 defeats.[14] In the2024-25 CAF Confederation Cup, Simba reached the final but were defeated byRS Berkane.[15]
On 22 September 2025,Raja CA announced the return of Fadlu Davids as head coach. Simba wanted to retain the coach, but the lure of returning to Morocco was seemingly too hard to refuse for Davids and his crew after Raja parted ways withLassaad Chabbi.[16][17] He became thefirst-ever South African coach in the history of the club.[18]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Maritzburg United | 23 March 2017 | 24 December 2018 | 65 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 033.85 | |
| Orlando Pirates | 16 April 2022 | 25 April 2022 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | |
| Maritzburg United | 14 November 2022 | 30 June 2023 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 031.82 | |
| Simba SC | 5 July 2024 | 21 September 2025 | 51 | 37 | 6 | 8 | 072.55 | |
| Raja CA | 22 September 2025 | Present | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 141 | 68 | 34 | 39 | 048.23 | — | ||
Maritzburg United
Silver Stars
Simba
Maritzburg United
Raja CA
Orlando Pirates