![]() Irfan playing for Singapore in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Irfan bin Fandi Ahmad[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 13 August 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Singapore | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Port | ||||||||||||||||
Number | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
2012–2013 | National Football Academy | ||||||||||||||||
2013 | Hércules | ||||||||||||||||
2014 | Barnechea | ||||||||||||||||
2014–2015 | Universidad Católica | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2015 | Universidad Católica | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2015 | Young Lions | 9 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
2016–2017 | Home United | 25 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
2018 | Young Lions | 18 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
2019–2024 | BG Pathum United | 97 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
2024– | Port | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2015–2019 | Singapore U22 | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
2014–2019 | Singapore U23 | 32 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
2016– | Singapore | 48 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:06, 27 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:33, 21 March 2024 (UTC) |
Irfan bin Fandi Ahmad (born 13 August 1997), better known as Irfan Fandi or just as Irfan, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays primarily as a centre-back for Thai League 1 club Port FC and the Singapore national team.[2]
Earlier in his career, he played as a striker and a winger before switching to the centre-back position. In 2013, he was listed as one of Goal.com's Top 20 Southeast Asian Rising Stars.[3] In 2014, Irfan was also named as one of the top 40 best young talents in world football on The Guardian.[4][5]
Irfan began his footballing career by going through the youth system at the National Football Academy (NFA), with subsequent stints and trials at various clubs before debuting as a professional at the age of 18 at top tier Chilean Primera División side Universidad Católica in 2015.[6] Although Irfan was offered a two-year contract by the club, he rejected it to return to Singapore. For the next three years, Irfan played for local clubs the Young Lions and Home United.[A] Around this time, he went on trials with Dutch Eredivisie side Groningen and Portuguese Primeira Liga side Braga, rejecting a contract offer from the latter.
In 2018, Irfan signed for Thailand's BG Pathum United prior to the 2019 Thai League 2 season, where he was instrumental to the club's immediate promotion back to the Thai League 1 and soon after when the club become the Champions of Thailand during the 2021–22 Thai League 1 season – becoming the first Singaporean to win Thailand's top tier league trophy.[7] During their title winning season, Irfan led BG Pathum's defence with the club only losing a single game the entire season, while conceding just 11 goals in 24 matches and keeping 15 clean sheets.[8]
Irfan made his senior international debut for Singapore in 2016, with a single goal as a centre-back coming against Turkmenistan in 2017, and earning 38 caps as of 2022. He has represented his country at various international tournaments, including the 2018 and the 2020 AFF Championships.
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