Fergus Tierney (born 19 March 2003) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Nakhon Pathom United on loan from

Johor Darul Ta'zim Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club or simply JDT is a professional Association football, football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The club was founded in 1972 as PKENJ FC and currently competes in the top division of Malaysian football ...

. Born in Scotland, he represents

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

at international level.

Early years

Tierney was born in Glasgow in 2003, and was raised in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

since childhood, which makes him a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

player and therefore holds a Malaysian passport.

Club career

Youth

Tierney started his youth career in Malaysia with Soccer Experience FC, and went on many international football trips where he would play against players from professional football academies. In his playing days with Soccer Experience FC, he would play in Europe against academy teams like

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

youth teams, Osasuna Cantera, Levante Academy,

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

academy, Rangers B Team and Academy and youth teams in Southeast Asia against teams like Barcelona's Asian academies,

JSSL Singapore JSSL Singapore (or Junior Soccer School and League Singapore) is a privately owned youth soccer academy based in Singapore which runs regular league tournaments and provides professional coaching for competitive pathway development. As of 2018, JS ...

and other regional clubs. Over the years of travelling from Malaysia to play internationally and gain exposure and experience Tierney was invited to train with clubs like,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

, Dundee,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an ol ...

and many more.

Johor Darul Ta'zim II

After the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

lockdown was eased, Tierney who was 18 years old at that time, was invited to train with the

first team. He was also invited to train with

and in early 2022, signed a professional contract with the

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malay ...

giants where he was coached by former Boca Juniors player

Mariano Echeverría Mariano Raúl Echeverría (born 27 May 1981) is a retired Argentine football defender and current coach. He is currently the head coach of Tigre. Career Club career Echeverría began his playing career in the lower leagues of Argentine footbal ...

. He was part of the squad that won the

2022 Malaysia Premier League The 2022 Malaysia Premier League is the 19th season of the Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2004. This will be the last season of Malaysia Premier League as the league ...

title.

Chonburi (Loan)

On 26 July 2024, Tierney joined

Thai League 2 Thai League 2 ( th, ไทยลีก 2), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. The top 3 are promoted to Thai League 1 at the end of the ...

side

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

on a season loan. On 9 August, 18 seconds into his debut, he scored his first goal, which is also the club's first league goal of the season in a 4–0 win against

Suphanburi Suphan Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers ''tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The town ...

. On 9 December, Tierney's loan contract was terminated alongside Charlie Clough as the club decided on a change of strategy to prepare for the second half of the season.

Nakhon Pathom (Loan)

On 5 January 2025, Tierney joined

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

club Nakhon Pathom United on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. On 11 January 2025, he made his club debut by coming off the bench in the 0–3 loss to

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat o ...

, replacing Sunchai Chaolaokhwan in the 66th minute.

International career

Being born in Scotland and raised in Malaysia since childhood, Tierney was eligible to play for either

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. He would eventually opt to represent Malaysia.

Youth

At only 19 years old, Tierney was called up to the Malaysia U23 squad in February 2023 and again called up in March 2023 for the Malaysian team that went on to win the

Merlion Cup The Merlion Cup was an invitational football tournament that was held in Singapore annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and club teams. After the 1986 tou ...

for the first time that was held in Singapore. In April 2023 Tierney was selected again to the Malaysia U23 squad for the

2023 Southeast Asian Games The 2023 Southeast Asian Games ( km, ការប្រកួតកីឡាប្រជាជាតិអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍២០២៣), commonly known as the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, or the 32nd SEA Games, and commonly know ...

in Phnom Penh,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. Tierney was again selected in August 2023 for the

AFF U-23 Championship The AFF U-23 Championship is an international football competition contested by the national under-23 teams of the member nations of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The inaugural edition was held in 2005. Background In 2005, the first e ...

held in Thailand where he scored crucial goals including a double against Indonesia U23 to help his Malaysia team win 2–1 and he also helped the team reach the 3rd & 4th Playoff. In September 2023, Tierney was selected again for the

2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification The 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification was an international men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Qat ...

held in Thailand and helped the Malaysia team advance from the AFC regional qualifiers and reach the

2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup The 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup will be the 6th edition of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup (previously the AFC U-23 Championship before rebranding from 2021), the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Conf ...

tournament to be held in Qatar in April 2024. In April 2024, Tierney was selected for the

tournament.

Senior

Tierney was selected for the training camp ahead of the international friendlies against Laos and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in November 2024, replacing the injured

Romel Morales Romel Oswaldo Morales Ramírez (born 23 August 1997) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City. Club career Morales started a Churta-Millos soccer school in Bogotá, then ...

. He made his senior debut for Malaysia on 14 November 2024 against Laos at the

PAT Stadium Port Authority of Thailand Stadium, simply known as PAT Stadium () is a stadium in the Khlong Toei District of central Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used for football matches and is the home stadium of Port F.C. The stadium holds approxima ...

. Tierney scored his first goal for the senior team on 8 December 2024 in the 2024 ASEAN Championship group stage match against

at the

Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium The National Olympic Stadium ( km, ពហុកីឡាដ្ឋានជាតិអូឡាំពិក) is a multi-purpose stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It has a capacity of 70,000. Despite its name, the stadium has never hosted an Olymp ...

, helping to equalise the score at 2–2.

Personal life

Tierney is the son of former

PDRM The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit A ...

and

Geylang International Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building ...

football player and academy coach and TV pundit for

Astro SuperSport Astro SuperSport is an English language in-house subscription satellite television network in Malaysia dedicated to broadcasting sports-related content 24 hours a day. It is available on the Astro via Channels 810 & 831 (HD) to subscribers of ...

Martin Tierney Martin Tierney (born 4 April 1966) is a Scottish TV pundit and former professional footballer. Playing career Tierney started his career in the youth ranks alongside Alan McInally at Ayr United F.C., Ayr United. In four years with the club, Tie ...

and also his mother Sharon Tierney was an elite athlete who has represented

Scottish Athletics Scottish Athletics, stylised as scottishathletics, is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Scotland. Established as a limited company on 1 April 2001, it succeeded the Scottish Athletics Federation (SAF) and is a member of the Commonwe ...

national team. Also his sisters, Murron Tierney and Grear Tierney are presently competitive footballers with Soccer Experience FC senior girls/ladies team. Both Murron and Grear are licensed

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

youth football coaches.

International statistics

International goals

Honours

JDT II *

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leagu ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

MFL Cup MFL may refer to: Football leagues England *Manchester Football League *Midland Football League (1994) * Midland Football League (2014) United States *Midwest Football League (1935–1940) * Midwest Football League (1962–1978) Elsewhere *Malay ...

runner-up:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, Fergus Living people 2003 births Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Glasgow Malaysian men's footballers 21st-century Malaysian sportsmen Malaysia men's youth international footballers Malaysia men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Malaysia Super League players Fergus Tierney Fergus Tierney Scottish expatriate men's footballers Malaysian people of Scottish descent Naturalised citizens of Malaysia Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Malaysian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Malaysian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games SEA Games competitors for Malaysia Naturalised association football players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen