Safirul Sulaiman

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Sulaiman is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Safirul.
Safirul Sulaiman
Personal information
Full name Safirul bin Sulaiman
Date of birth (1992-10-12) 12 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Left midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Tampines Rovers
Number 6
Youth career
National Football Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Young Lions 24 (1)
2012–2013 LionsXII 23 (0)
2014–2015 Young Lions 2 (0)
2016–2017 Geylang International 24 (0)
2018–2020 Tampines Rovers 12 (0)
2020 → Geylang International (loan) 0 (0)
2022–2023 South Avenue SC 0 (0)
International career‡
2012–2014 Singapore U22 4 (0)
2012– Singapore 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 October 2013
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 June 2017

Safirul Sulaiman (born 12 October 1992) is a Singaporean professional footballer who last plays as a left midfielder for National Football League Two club South Avenue SC and the Singapore national team.

Club career

Young Lions

Safirul began his professional football career at S.League club Young Lions in 2010.

LionsXII

In December 2011, the Football Association of Singapore announced that Safirul had been signed on to the newly formed LionsXII in the 2012 Malaysia Super League. He played in 7 games as the Lions finished runners-up in their debut season.

Safirul was handed the number 11 jersey at the beginning of the 2013 season. He began to see more playing time, making 16 appearances in the league as LionsXII clinched their first Malaysia Super League title.

After 2 seasons with LionsXII, Safirul failed to make the squad for the 2014 season.

Return to Young Lions

On 21 February 2014, the FAS revealed that Safirul had made a return to former club Young Lions.[1]

Geylang International

Safirul went to sign for Geylang International for the 2016 S.League in 2016.

Tampines Rovers

On 31 December 2017, Safirul joined rivals, Tampines Rovers.

Loan to Geylang International

On 2 October 2020, Safirul joined his former club for the 2020 Singapore Premier League on loan.

South Avenue SC

In 2022, Safirul joined National Football League Two club, South Avenue SC.

International career

Safirul made his international debut and first start in a friendly match against Hong Kong on 1 June 2012.[2]

Personal life

Safirul graduated from the Singapore Sports School in 2009.[3]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 Dec 2020
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore League Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Young Lions 2010 0 0 1 0 - - — 1 0
2011 24 1 — — — 24 1
Total 24 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 25 1
Club Season Malaysia Super League Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup Asia Total
LionsXII 2012[4] 16 0 0 0 0 0 — 16 0
2013[5] 7 0 2 0 9 0 — 18 0
Total 23 0 2 0 9 0 0 0 34 0
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore League Cup Asia Total
Young Lions 2014 0 0 0 0 - - — 0 0
2015 0 0 0 0 - - — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Geylang International 2016 5 0 5 0 - - — 10 0
2017 20 0 1 0 2 0 — 23 0
Total 25 0 6 0 2 0 0 0 33 0
Tampines Rovers 2018 3 0 0 0 - - 6 0 9 0
2019 1 0 0 0 - - 0 0 0 0
2020 1 0 0 0 - - 1 0 2 0
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 12 0
Geylang International 2020 5 0 0 0 - - 0 0 5 0
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Career Total 47 1 3 0 9 0 0 0 59 1
  • Young Lions and LionsXII are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.
  • Young Lions withdrew from the Singapore Cup and Singapore League Cup in 2011 due to scheduled participation in the 2011 AFF U-23 Youth Championship.

U23 International goals

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 November 2011 Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta  Thailand 0-2 0-2 2011 Southeast Asian Games
2 8 June 2015 Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore  Cambodia 1-0 3-1 2015 Southeast Asian Games

Honours

Club

LionsXII

Tampines Rovers

References

  1. ^ "Courts Young Lions Reveals Squad for 2014 S.League Season and Renewal of Sponsorship from Courts for Fourth Year". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Six months and it's a world of change for new Lion, Safirul Sulaiman". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Elite Student-Athletes". Singapore Sports School. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  4. ^ "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2012 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. ^ "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2013 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.