Curran Lawrance Singh Ferns (born 6 July 1993) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who last played for

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

club Kuala Lumpur City. Ferns was a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

but also could play as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Ferns was a highly composed technical player with advanced passing skills, but was also known for his competitive and defensive attributes on the field.

Club careers

Australia

Ferns grew up in the eastern suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. At the age of 15, Ferns was selected for an elite sports scholarship with the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succ ...

Men's Football Program, and shortly after represented

Melbourne Victory FC Youth Melbourne Victory Football Club Youth is the youth system of Melbourne Victory based in Melbourne, Victoria. The team plays in the National Premier Leagues, the second level of Australia's soccer pyramid in Australia. The club also competes in ...

which competes in the National Youth League. At

and the Football Federation Victoria National Training Centre he was coached and mentored by

Mehmet Durakovic Mehmed or Mehmet is the most common Turkish form of the Arabic male name Muhammad () (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Origina ...

. Ferns began playing senior professional football in Australia in the

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state- ...

competition with Brisbane City. and later played for half a season at

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

Malaysia

During 2015, Ferns left Australia to trial with

Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club, or simply JDT, is a professional football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, that competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top tier of Malaysian football. Founded in 1972 as PKENJ FC, the club was ...

based in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

, Malaysia and was signed for

Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C. Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club II (; ) or simply JDT II is a feeder club for Johor Darul Ta'zim. The club set to play in Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League from 2025–26, the second tier of the Malaysian football league system. Club's names * 19 ...

for the beginning of the 2016 season. After spending 6 months with

he signed with

Negeri Sembilan FA Negeri Sembilan Football Club (), commonly referred to as Negeri Sembilan or simply NSFC, is a Malaysian professional football club based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The club competes in the top division of Malaysian football, the Malaysia ...

making his debut against

Felda United F.C. Felda United Football Club was a Malaysian Association football, football club based in Jengka, Pahang, owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (Malaysia), Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

tournament. After a successful 12-month period with

, Ferns received an offer to join

Felda United F.C. Felda United Football Club was a Malaysian Association football, football club based in Jengka, Pahang, owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (Malaysia), Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).Negeri Sembilan FA Negeri Sembilan Football Club (), commonly referred to as Negeri Sembilan or simply NSFC, is a Malaysian professional football club based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The club competes in the top division of Malaysian football, the Malaysia ...

team while they were in first position of the

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. The season usually ra ...

, having gone undefeated during their first 13 successive league games, and after reaching the semi-final stage of the

Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup () is an annual association football, football competition in Malaysia, established in 1990. It was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before being transferred to the Football Malaysia LLP, Malaysian ...

. Ferns made his debut for

Felda United F.C. Felda United Football Club was a Malaysian Association football, football club based in Jengka, Pahang, owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (Malaysia), Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

with a 2-1 win against

Pahang FA Sri Pahang Football Club () is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kuantan, Pahang. They currently play in the Malaysia Super League, the top tier of Malaysian football. Founded in 1959, it has traditionally worn a yellow home kit s ...

in July 2017. Under the guidance of head coach B. Sathianathan, Ferns made a successful contribution, helping the team reach 3rd place in the

and semi-final of the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

. Unfortunately, in the off-season of 2017 the club was notified it was being relegated to the

for the 2018 season after failing the

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) a ...

club licence financial audit. Despite this setback, Ferns and the majority of the squad stayed at the club to help Felda United F.C win the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

and secure promotion back to the

for 2019. In late 2019,

FOX Sports Asia Fox Sports Asia (formerly ESPN Star Sports) was a pan-Asian pay television network broadcasting in Asia, operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte. Ltd. It also oversaw a version o ...

reported Ferns had joined

Melaka United Melaka United Football Club () was a Malaysian professional football club based in Malacca that competed in the Malaysia Super League. They were owned by Kenteam Sdn Bhd, which is one of main nitrile glove producers in Malaysia. The club's hom ...

for the 2020 season.

Thailand

Ferns confirmed a move to Thailand's

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

to join Sukhothai FC to

in a
article in June 2018
Ferns left

Felda United F.C. Felda United Football Club was a Malaysian Association football, football club based in Jengka, Pahang, owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (Malaysia), Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. The season usually ra ...

with only six games remaining for the 2018 season. Ferns played his first game for Sukhothai FC in the 2018

Thai League Cup The League Cup () is a association football, football cup competition in Thailand. It is also known as Hilux Revo Cup for sponsorship reasons. History Thai League Cup was started by Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor (Thailand) in the name of ...

on 13 June 2018 against

Port FC A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...

. Ferns subsequently re-signed a new contract with Sukhothai FC to represent the club for the 2019 season.

Honours

Felda United * Malaysia Premier League Championship:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Career statistics

Club

Personal life

Ferns is a naturalised

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

citizen. His mother was born in

and grew up in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. His father was born in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and grew up in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, UK. He is also the grand-nephew of the late Malaysian lawyer and politician

Karpal Singh Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh Deo (; 28 June 1940 – 17 April 2014) was an Indian Malaysian politician and lawyer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang from 2004 to 2014. During that t ...

. Ferns has publicly expressed his desire to represent the ''Harimau Malaya''.

References

External links

A starting XI of Malaysians with foreign heritage
– FourFourTwo (30 June 2015; archived copy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Ferns, Curran Living people 1993 births Australian people of Punjabi descent Australian people of Malaysian descent Malaysian men's footballers Malaysian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders FELDA United F.C. players Negeri Sembilan FC players Curran Singh Ferns