Farhan Zulkifli

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Zulklfli is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Muhammad Farhan. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Farhan Zulkifli
Personal information
Full name Muhammad Farhan bin Zulkifli
Date of birth (2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Winger, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Hougang United
Youth career
2017 NFA U15
2018 Home United U16
2019 Hougang United U19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Hougang United 60 (3)
2023-2024 → Young Lions (loan) 22 (4)
International career‡
2017–2018 Singapore U16 9 (1)
2019– Singapore U19 6 (0)
2019–2021 Singapore U23 6 (1)
2023– Singapore 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 December 2024

Muhammad Farhan bin Zulkifli (born 10 November 2002), better known as Farhan Zulkifli or just Farhan,is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore national team.

Club career

Hougang United

Farhan make his career debut coming on as a substitute and scored 12 minutes into his 2019 Singapore Premier League debut against Home United on 29 June 2019.[1][2][3] At 16 years and 231 days, he became the SPL's second-youngest ever scorer then.[4] Farhan was named in Goal Singapore's NxGn 2020 list as one of the country's biggest talents following his impressive start to life at Hougang.[5] He made a further 11 appearances for Hougang in the 2019 season.

Farhan would start both the 2020 Singapore Premier League season opener and the 2020 Singapore Community Shield.[6] However, the 2020 Singapore Premier League season hasn't been the best of years for Farhan, by his own admission. Farhan played in 12 matches and only had a solitary goal to his name.[7]

Farhan would go on to play a total of 1767 minutes in the 2021 season bagging 20 appearances however, he failed to score a goal once during the 2021 Singapore Premier League season.

2022 for Farhan could be called his breakout year as he managed to make 18 appearances for the team and scoring 1 goal during the 5–1 thrashing of Young Lions. Farhan also played a crucial role in Hougang United's triumph over Tampines Rovers in the 2022 Singapore Cup Finals, helping his team stun Tampines Rovers 3–2 to clinch the cup.[8]

Young Lions (loan)

On 12 July 2023, Farhan joined Young Lions on loan from Hougang United as he is undergoing his compulsory National Service. He was named the club vice-captain ahead of the 2024–25 Singapore Premier League season.


In November 2024, Farhan completed his National Service and returned to Hougang United.

International career

Farhan was first called up to the Singapore national team in 2019, for the friendly against Jordan on 5 October and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan on 10 and 15 October respectively.[9][10][11]

In 2022, Farhan was called up to the national team for the 2022 AFF Championship tournament. He make his international debut against causeway rival, Malaysia.[12]

On 14 November 2024, Farhan scored his first goal for Singapore during a friendly match against Myanmar where he opened up the account in the 5th minute.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 10 October 2021.[14]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hougang United 2019 Singapore Premier League 9 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
2020 Singapore Premier League 13 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 1
2021 Singapore Premier League 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0
2022 Singapore Premier League 18 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 24 2
Total 60 2 9 0 1 0 0 0 70 4
Young Lions 2023 Singapore Premier League 7 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 10 1
2024–25 Singapore Premier League 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 3
Total 18 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 21 4
Career total 78 5 12 1 1 0 0 0 91 8

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 14 November 2024 Singapore National Stadium, Singapore  Myanmar 1–0 3–2 Friendly

Honours

Club

Hougang United

References

  1. ^ "Dream Singapore Premier League debut for Hougang United's Farhan Zulkifli thanks to wonder goal". The Straits Times. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  2. ^ "From NFA rejection to Singapore call-up aged 16 - Inside the meteoric rise of Hougang hotshot Farhan Zulkifli | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. ^ Auto, Hermes (2 October 2019). "Football: Fleet-footed Cheetah Farhan Zulkifli on the fast track to becoming a Lion | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Impact 0352: Bouncing back from disappointment". Impact. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ^ "From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore". Goal.com.
  6. ^ "From Hariss Harun to Khairin Nadim - Meet Singapore Premier League's youngest debutants | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Impact 0352: Bouncing back from disappointment". Impact. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  8. ^ cue (19 November 2022). "Football: Hat-trick hero Krajcek hails late brother after helping Hougang beat Tampines in S'pore Cup final | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Football: Fleet-footed Cheetah Farhan Zulkifli on the fast track to becoming a Lion". The Straits Times. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Singapore coach tweaks squad for S. Arabia, Uzbekistan games". The New Paper. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  11. ^ "From NFA rejection to Singapore call-up aged 16 - Inside the meteoric rise of Hougang hotshot Farhan Zulkifli". Goal.com.
  12. ^ Tan, Amanda (20 December 2022). "Five players in Singapore squad to take part in AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 for the first time". youthopia.sg. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  13. ^ "That Singapore were not happy with first win under Ogura is the biggest positive". ESPN.com. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  14. ^ Farhan Zulkifli at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 April 2019.