Ilhan Fandi

Ilhan Fandi (born 8 November 2002) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for Singapore Premier League club Young Lions.[1][2]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Fandi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ilhan.
Ilhan Fandi
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-11-08) 8 November 2002
Place of birth Singapore
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Club information
Current team
 Young Lions
Number 17
Youth career
i2i Football Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Young Lions 12 (4)
National team‡
2017 Singapore U16 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 April 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 August 2019

Club career

Youth

Ilhan embarked on his quest to become a professional footballer in Europe, by enrolling in an English school to study and train. The teenager left for England on September 8, 2017 to study at the Queen Ethelburga's College in York for the next two years. Ilhan trained with the i2i Football Academy, which has links to English football club Leeds United. The academy also has partnerships with both York College and York St John University and will assist in linking up players with English professional and semi-professional clubs.[3][4]

Young Lions

Ilhan signed with the Singapore Premier League club Young Lions in 2019. He made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Brunei DPMM on August 7, 2019. He became the third son of Fandi Ahmad to lace up his boots for the Young Lions - following in the footsteps of his brothers Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi.[5] Ilhan made his first professional start in a league game at the age of 16 years and 331 days, where he scored his first goal in a 1-4 loss against Albirex Niigata Singapore on August 15, 2019.[6][7]

Ilhan scored his third goal for the club in a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Hougang United in the Young Lions' opening match of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.[8] As of April 2020, Ilhan has scored 3 goals in just 5 matches for the Young Lions.[9]

International career

Despite being only 17, Ilhan has been invited to train with the Singapore national under-22 and the senior team in 2019.

Style of play

Ilhan plays as a attacking midfielder, noted for his footwork, coordination and composure as cited by Singapore football legend, Noh Alam Shah.[10] In the 2020 season, he was given the role as a false 9 as he "has really good technique and good reading of the game", pointed out by head coach Nazri Nasir.[11]

Personal life

Ilhan is the third son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. His brothers, Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi, are also footballers playing for BG Pathum United and FK Jerv respectively.[12] He has an older sister Iman and a younger brother Iryan.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 March 2020. Caps and goals may not be correct.
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup		 Asia Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Young Lions 2019 420000—42
2020 820000—82
Total 124000000124
Career total 124000000124
  • Young Lions are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.

U16 International caps
NoDateVenueOpponentResultCompetition
117 March 2017Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong Hong Kong0-6 (lost)2017 Jockey Cup
218 March 2017Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong Thailand1-5 (lost)2017 Jockey Cup
319 March 2017Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong Qatar3-0 (won)2017 Jockey Cup
49 July 2017IPE Chonburi Campus Stadium 1, Thailand Laos0-2 (lost)2017 AFF U-15 Championship
513 July 2017IPE Chonburi Campus Stadium 1, Thailand Myanmar0-2 (lost)2017 AFF U-15 Championship
615 July 2017IPE Chonburi Campus Stadium 1, Thailand Thailand0-2 (lost)2017 AFF U-15 Championship
717 July 2017IPE Chonburi Campus Stadium 1, Thailand Indonesia0-2 (lost)2017 AFF U-15 Championship

References
  1. "Ilhan Fandi made his professional debut against DPMM FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. "'Being in the UK on my own was tough, but I just needed to suck it up and deal with it' - Inside the life of Singapore's star in the making Ilhan Fandi (exclusive)". Goal. 6 January 2021.
  3. Tham, Raymond (12 September 2017). "Fandi Ahmad's third son, Ilhan, to train and study in England for two years". Today Sports. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. "Football legend's son "wants to do a sacrifice" and serve NS early". The Independent. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. Alif, Chandra (9 August 2019). "Ilhan Fandi made his professional debut against DPMM FC". Goal. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. Tan, Gabriel (15 September 2019). "Ilhan Fandi nets first professional goal with scorcher for Young Lions". Fox Sports Asia. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. "Fandi's 3rd son scores on professional debut at 16 years & 331 days". Mothership.sg. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  8. Nagib, Adeena Mohamed (2 March 2020). "Tampines Rovers goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari plays starring role in win". The New Paper.
  9. Parmar, Jay. "From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore". GOAL.com. GOAL.
  10. "Football: I want to carry on my dad's legacy and make him proud, says Ilhan Fandi". The Straits Times. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  11. "Ilhan relishes the pressure of being a Fandi". The New Paper. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  12. "Spotlight on adidas footballers Marc and Ilhan – sons of Singapore legends". Yahoo Sports. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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