Qiu Li (, born June 6, 1981, in

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

) is a naturalised Chinese-

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an former professional

association football 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 and is currently the youth coach of

Singapore Premier League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as the SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), wh ...

club Balestier Khalsa.

Playing career

Club career

Qiu started his senior career in

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Changchun, Jilin, that competes in . Changchun Yatai plays its home matches at the Changchun Stadium, located within Nanguan District. The club's founder and main ...

and transferred to Liaoning Zhongyu in 2001. He was released by the club in 2005 as he was surplus to requirements. Qiu was brought to

to play for the S. League club, Sinchi FC, in 2005. After the club decided to pull out of the S-league for the 2006 season, he stayed in Singapore and agreed on a contract with the Young Lions where he excelled with 19 goals from 25 matches played. He joined Home United in 2007 but failed to find his form and joined

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club (currently known as BG Tampines Rovers due to sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football, football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of t ...

in 2008. Impressive displays in his debuting two seasons earned him Singapore

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. In 2011, he joined Home United again and in 2013 he joined Balestier Khalsa after being released by Home United. Qiu returned to Home United for the third time in 2014. However at the end of the season, he were released by the team again, and retired from playing professionally soon after.

International career

Qiu made his debut for the Singapore national team on 28 May 2008, in a friendly against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. However, on 24 November 2008,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

banned Qiu from playing for Singapore because he did not meet the new criteria stating that a new citizen needs to reside in his new country for five years. Qiu Li had only lived in Singapore for three years. Thus he would be only eligible to represent Singapore in 2010.

lost two games by forfeit (3–0) during 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers because Qiu was lined up.Qiu ineligible for Singapore – FIFA
, the-AFC.com, 4 December 2008. Qiu Li was naturalised in 2010 under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme and was eligible to play for Singapore in 2010 under FIFA rules. On 23 July 2011, Qiu Li scored his first goal for Singapore with a free-kick in the first leg of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against

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 ...

played at a sold out crowd at

Jalan Besar Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as ...

Coaching career

After retirement from professional football in 2015, Qiu returned to his hometown and joined

China League Two The Chinese Football League 2 (), or China League Two, is the third-tier association football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional ...

(3rd division) club, Liaoning Shenyang. He helped the club to become the

2019 China League Two The 2019 Chinese Football Association Division Two League season is the 30th season since its establishment in 1989. The league was expanded to 32 teams, with 16 teams in North Group and 16 teams in South Group. Team changes To League Two T ...

champions and see them promoted to

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

for the 2020 season. On 13 January 2025, Qiu returned to Singapore to joined his former club Balestier Khalsa as the youth team academy coach.

Honours

Club

Home United *

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost prestigious cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Balestier Khalsa * League Cup:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

International

Singapore *

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

: 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qiu, Li 1981 births Living people Footballers from Shenyang Chinese men's footballers Singaporean men's footballers Singapore men's international footballers Chinese emigrants to Singapore Singaporean sportspeople of Chinese descent Liaoning F.C. players Changchun Yatai F.C. players Naturalised citizens of Singapore Men's association football forwards Lion City Sailors FC players Tampines Rovers FC players Balestier Khalsa FC players Singapore Premier League players Young Lions FC players Naturalised association football players