Irfan Fandi

Irfan Fandi Ahmad

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]
Playing position	Attacking midfielder / Striker
Club 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
National team
2014-	Singapore U23	7	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:52, 2 October 2015 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

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]

Young Lions

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.

Home United FC

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	Timor-Leste	2-0	2-0	U23 International Friendly

References

1. "Football: Five things to know about Fandi Ahmad's eldest son Irfan". The Straits Times.
2. "Goal's Top 20 Southeast Asian Rising Stars - 3. Irfan Fandi Ahmad - Singapore". Goal.com. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
3. "Next Generation 2014: 40 of the best young talents in world football | Football". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
4. 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.
5. "Irfan and Ikhsan wanted by Spain's Hercules | The New Paper". Tng.sg. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
6. Guen, Dan (2013-10-03). "Fandi’s sons to train in Chile for two years | TODAYonline". Tablet.todayonline.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
7. Guen, Dan (2014-10-17). "Irfan on verge of becoming a pro". TODAYonline.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
8. "Fandi Ahmad's prodigal sons seal lucrative sponsorships". Goal.com. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
9. "Courts Young Lions Sign Irfan Fandi". S.League.com. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
10. Siang, Chua. "Football: Irfan Fandi joins Courts Young Lions till June 30 - Football News & Top Stories". Straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
11. "IRFAN FANDI SIGNS FOR COURTS YOUNG LIONS | The Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
12. 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.
13. Nigel Chin (2014-07-17). "Fandi brothers: "Being in U23 has already been a good experience"". FourFourTwo.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
14. Sports, Red (2015-02-16). "Singapore U23 go down 1–8 to Japan U22 in international football friendly". Redsports.sg. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
15. 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. Missing or empty |title= (help)