Brother and sister's plan to revive Kettering Town

Nadiya Akhtar-Shahzad and Nadim 'George' Akhtar have been in charge of Kettering Town since May

They are brother and sister - and together they are hoping to revive the fortunes of Kettering Town.

Less than two weeks before a high-profile FA Cup derby at Northampton Town, back-to-back wins over AFC Sudbury and Stourbridge have put them top of Southern League Premier Central, so it looks like they may be on the right track.

Nadim Akhtar, known as George, has been Kettering owner since May, with younger sibling Nadiya - a schoolteacher by profession - working alongside him as chief operating officer.

"The fact that I'm in the position I'm in is a bit crazy, if I'm completely honest, from where I've come from as a teacher, but if I can do it, anyone can do it," she told BBC Asian Network.

George has stated an ambition to steer the Poppies, who were founded in 1872, into the English Football League for the first time, but the family also have a wider goal of encouraging more diversity among those playing the game.

The 41-year-old has been a football coach for more than 20 years - has a Uefa A licence - and was assistant manager of Luton Town's Under-16 team before the opportunity to take over Kettering came up.

The Poppies were once one of England's most respected non-league clubs, coming within six votes of a place in the Football League in the 1970s, back in the days when clubs finishing bottom of the old Fourth Division - now League Two - had to apply for re-election.

And they again came within touching distance by finishing as Conference runners-up three times between 1989 and 1999.

They reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2009 but a steady decline followed their last appearance in the main draw two years later and they are now in tier seven of the English game.

George said: "We feel there's a job to do here and we're the right people to do it.

"I've had a long affiliation with Kettering over the years. I made my debut here for Aylesbury United as a budding footballer at the age of 17. I got scouted here by Grimsby Town.

"As soon as the name Kettering came along, I knew there was a love and affection there straight away, that's genuine.

"It's a big club, a sleeping giant, and the project is to wake this club up."

Buying club was 'natural progression'

Kettering play home games at Latimer Park in nearby Burton Latimer

His career has also seen him work as lead coach for under-12 and under-13 teams at Watford and Tottenham Hotspur, and have spells as assistant manager with non-league clubs including Chalfont St Peter and Wingate & Finchley.

When the opportunity to acquire Kettering from former owner Ritchie Jeune arose, he viewed it as a "natural next progression" but something that needed a broader Akhtar input - he and Nadiya are two of seven siblings.

"My younger sister's here, my older sister's here, it's a family affair. We're fully aware there's going to be harder days, darker days and bendy roads but it's been good so far and long may that continue," George said.

"It's been relentless, busy, packed, enjoyable, [there's] so much to learn."

There were some reservations among the Northamptonshire club's supporters when the Akhtars took over.

"The ambience here wasn't quite where we needed it to be and I feel the fans were quite disheartened for various different reasons," said Nadiya, 40.

"When we came in, initially they were like 'right, what are you guys going to do?' Since then, they've seen the kind of things we've been putting into place and the impact that has had and they've embraced us massively."

Working alongside manager Richard Lavery, who was appointed in February prior to the takeover, they have managed to add the likes of Nile Ranger, Marvin Sordell and Gary Hooper - all ex-Premier League players - to the squad.

Hooper, also a Scottish title winner with Celtic, marked his debut for the club with the second goal in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Stourbridge.

"It really does feel like it's woken up," Nadiya added.

"The numbers coming through the turnstiles has risen a significant amount since the beginning of the season. The support has been absolutely phenomenal and that's all we can hope for."

Local MP Rosie Wrighting attended Saturday's game against Sudbury and is full of praise for the work the Akhtars are doing.

She said: "Nadiya and George have done an absolutely incredible job. It's an example of how football is at its strongest when there's a diverse group of voices around it."

Nadiya Akhtar-Shahzad welcomes local MP Rosie Wrighting to Latimer Park

'There needs to be more representation'

Diversity is an important topic for the Akhtars, who are fuelled by the experience of hearing racist taunts directed at their father back when he played park football.

George firmly believes that talented young South Asian players need to be "given a platform" to showcase their ability.

"It's not [about] the talent, it's [about] opportunity - there needs to be more representation," he said.

"This pre-season we had two Bengali boys come down, an Indian central midfielder that got released from Leicester City; we had a Pakistani boy from Watford who I knew wasn't ready but I wanted him to come down and experience what it's like at this level. We had a couple of Moroccans as well.

"Giving them the opportunity is easy, it's for them to take it."

Kettering will continue that "open door" policy for as long as he is in charge.

"At the end of the day, if you're good enough, if you're Jewish, Muslim, Christian, black, white, gay, it doesn't matter," he added.

Success for Kettering on the pitch and achieving their wider diversity aims is going to take time.

For now, a big game against Northampton, to be televised live by the BBC, is next on the agenda.