Irfan Fandi
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Irfan Fandi Ahmad | ||
Date of birth | 13 August 1997 | ||
Place of birth | Singapore | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder / Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Home United FC | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
2012–2013 | National Football Academy | ||
2013 | Hércules CF | ||
2014 | A.C. Barnechea | ||
2014–2015 | Universidad Católica | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014-2015 | Universidad Católica | 1 | (0) |
2015 | Young Lions | 6 | (2) |
2016- | Home United FC | ||
International career | |||
2014- | Singapore U23 | 7 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:52, 2 October 2015 (UTC) |
Irfan Fandi Ahmad (born August 13, 1997) is a Singaporean footballer,[1] who is currently playing for Singaporean S.League club Home United FC.
Personal life
Irfan is the son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. He has four siblings, three being younger brothers Ikhsan, Ilhan and Iryan, and the other being his sister Iman.[1]
Early career
Irfan started his career at the National Football Academy (Singapore). In 2013, Irfan was named as one of Goal.com's Top 20 Southeast Asian Rising Stars.[2] In 2014, he was named as one of The Guardian's 40 best young talents in world football.[3][4]
Hércules CF
In March 2013, Irfan and younger brother Ikhsan Fandi had an opportunity to secure their first overseas stint, which was supposed to be with Hércules, a professional club playing in the Spanish second division. However, the pair ultimately failed to secure contracts with the club due to issues relating with visas. Irfan and Ikhsan left the club after contracts could not be secured.[5]
A.C. Barnechea
Later in 2013, Irfan and Ikhsan managed to sign for Chilean side A.C. Barnechea, having secured two-year contracts with the Chilean Primera División club.[6]
Universidad Católica
Irfan and Ikhsan then joined Chilean Primera División club Universidad Católica.[7] Their stay in Chile was sponsored by CIMB Bank, which marked the banking institution’s first foray into cultivating sports talents in football.He make his first team debut by appearing from the bench for the club senior team, in the 75th minutes after his club, Universidad Católica were leading 4-0 against San Luis de Quillota ,he is the first Singaporean and also one of the youngest player to play in the Chileans football league.[8]
In June 2015 , he moved back to Singapore to play for the Young Lions squad. He scored 2 goals in 7 appearances for his new club.
In January 2016 , it was announced that Irfan would sign for Home United for the upcoming 2016 S.League season along with his brother, Ikhsan Fandi.
Club career
Young Lions
On 5 March 2015, it was announced that Irfan was signed by S.League side Young Lions for the 2015 S.League season.[9] Irfan agreed to sign for the Young Lions until 30 June 2015, in preparation for the upcoming 2015 SEA Games.[10][11] On the same day Irfan's signing was announced, he was immediately named in the starting line-up that was to face Tampines Rovers, albeit in the more unfamiliar role of centre-back due to an injury suffered by captain Shakir Hamzah.[12]
International career
Irfan made his first prominent outing for a Singapore outfit at the 2013 Lion City Cup with the Singapore U16 side and impressed against Arsenal U15 and Eintracht Frankfurt U15 during the 25th edition of the Canon Lion City Cup in 2013 in Singapore.[1][2]
In July 2014, Irfan and Ikhsan were not included in the Singapore U23 squad that traveled with the senior national team for a three-week training tour in Salzburg, Austria.[13]
Irfan made his Singapore U23 debut and scored against Japan U22 on 14 February 2015.[14][15]
Irfan was selected by coach Aide Iskandar for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. In the competition, Irfan scored against Cambodia and assisted another goal. Notably, he had an acrobatic shot on goal where he jumped to a height of 2.5 meters before heading the ball into the net after a successful challenge against the Myanmar goalkeeper. The goal was however wrongly ruled offside. Singapore were knocked out of the group stages following subsequent defeats to Indonesia and Myanmar.
Career statistics
Club
Irfan Fandi | Season | S.League | Singapore Cup | League Cup | ACL | AFC Cup | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Young Lions | 2015 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 2 | |||
Total | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
Career Total | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
U23 International goals
No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 February 2015 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore | Syria | 1-2 | 1-2 | U23 International Friendly |
2 | 14 February 2015 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore | Japan | 1-8 | 1-8 | U23 International Friendly |
3 | 31 March 2015 | New Laos National Stadium, Laos | Mongolia | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification |
4 | 31 March 2015 | New Laos National Stadium, Laos | Mongolia | 2-2 | 2-2 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification |
5 | 14 May 2015 | Shizuoka Ashitaka Athletic Stadium, Japan | Azul Claro Numazu | 1-2 | 1-2 | U23 International Friendly |
6 | 23 May 2015 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore | Laos | 1-1 | 5-1 | U23 International Friendly |
7 | 29 May 2015 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore | East Timor | 2-0 | 2-0 | U23 International Friendly |
References
- ^ a b c d "Football: Five things to know about Fandi Ahmad's eldest son Irfan". The Straits Times.
- ^ a b "Goal's Top 20 Southeast Asian Rising Stars - 3. Irfan Fandi Ahmad - Singapore". Goal.com. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ "Next Generation 2014: 40 of the best young talents in world football | Football". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Singh, Bryna. "Fandi's son, Irfan, named one of 40 best young talents in world football - Football News & Top Stories". Straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ "Irfan and Ikhsan wanted by Spain's Hercules | The New Paper". Tng.sg. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Guen, Dan (2013-10-03). "Fandi's sons to train in Chile for two years | TODAYonline". Tablet.todayonline.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Guen, Dan (2014-10-17). "Irfan on verge of becoming a pro". TODAYonline.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ "Fandi Ahmad's prodigal sons seal lucrative sponsorships". Goal.com. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ "Courts Young Lions Sign Irfan Fandi". S.League.com. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Siang, Chua. "Football: Irfan Fandi joins Courts Young Lions till June 30 - Football News & Top Stories". Straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ "IRFAN FANDI SIGNS FOR COURTS YOUNG LIONS | The Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Kiat, Teng (2015-03-06). "Fandi Ahmad's eldest son Irfan makes S.League debut at 17 | Fit To Post Sports - Yahoo Sports Singapore". Sg.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Nigel Chin (2014-07-17). "Fandi brothers: "Being in U23 has already been a good experience"". FourFourTwo.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ Sports, Red (2015-02-16). "Singapore U23 go down 1–8 to Japan U22 in international football friendly". Redsports.sg. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/20150402105239/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/football-singapore-s-u23/1672216.html. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
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