Muhammad Saifullah bin Muhammad Akbar (born 31 January 1999) is a Singaporean 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 lea ...

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) ** Smal ...

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

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 Geylang International, on loan from

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 ...

and the Singapore national team.

Youth and early life

At the age of six, he started playing football and quickly gained entry into the then-called Five Star Football Academy.

Club career

Touted as a prospective footballer ever since childhood, Saifullah participated in the

Lion City Cup The Lion City Cup is a youth football tournament for boys. It was founded in 1977 by then Football Association of Singapore chairman Nadesan Ganesan, who organized the only Under-16 football tournament in the world, following the recommendation o ...

with

Ikhsan Fandi Ikhsan bin Fandi Ahmad (born 9 April 1999), commonly known as Ikhsan Fandi, is a Singaporean professional association football, footballer who plays either as a Forward (association football), forward or a Forward (association football)#Winger, ...

playing for the NFA U-16. Saifullah trained with Australian side

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

in 2015, impressing their coaching staff. However, no deal was surfaced. Previously, he had a five-day training stint with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

in England. Also, he had a two-week stint at

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

, funded by the Singapore Sport School. On his debut, Saifullah scored a goal to secure a 6–4 win for

over

Hougang United Hougang United Football Club is a professional football club based in Hougang, Singapore. The club competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singaporean football. Founded in 1998 as Marine Castle United, the club changed its ...

in the

Singapore League Cup The Singapore League Cup was an annual association football competition in Singapore. It was launched in 2007 and was open to teams who competed in the S.League. Albirex Niigata (S), a satellite club of Albirex Niigata of the J League, has won t ...

. After training daily with the first team throughout the

2015 S.League The 2015 S.League was the 20th season since the establishment of the S.League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs. The league was also known as the Great Eastern Life, Great Eastern Yeo Hiap Seng, Yeo's S ...

season, he joined their

Prime League The Prime League was the reserve and youth team football league of Singapore's S.League. Teams involved in the league are primarily made up of youth players from the S.League clubs. The Prime League was founded in 1997. S.League clubs are requir ...

squad with the aim of making the

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 ...

roster for the biannual

2017 SEA Games The 2017 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 29th Southeast Asian Games, or the 29th SEA Games, and commonly known as Kuala Lumpur 2017, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event that took place from 19 to 30 August 2017 in Kuala ...

. Saifullah joined Young Lions after his national service and played the out the remainder of the 2018 campaign. While on trial at Spanish club,

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

, he did enough to be offered a contract with the club's B team, however he chose to remain with Young Lions for the

2019 Singapore Premier League The 2019 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 2nd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, sinc ...

season due to developmental reasons. Saifullah became a key member of the Young Lions squad that season, featuring regularly on the wing under

Fandi Ahmad Fandi bin Ahmad (born 29 May 1962) is a Singaporean professional Manager (association football), football manager/head coach and former Association football, player. During his professional career, he played mainly as a Forward (association fo ...

International career

Saifullah represented Singapore at the

2013 Asian Youth Games The 2013 Asian Youth Games or AYG 2013 ( zh, c=2013年亚洲青年运动会, p=Èr Líng yī sān Nián Yàzhōu Qīngnián Yùndònghuì), officially the 2nd Asian Youth Games ( zh, c=第二届亚洲青年运动会, p=Dìèr Jiè Yàzhōu Qīngni ...

in China. In 2016, he was called up for the Singapore U19s 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 ...

. On 17 May 2021, Saifullah was called up to the Singaporean national team for the Asian World Cup qualifiers in June. On 3 June, he made his senior debut in a defeat to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Hafiz Nor Mohd Hafiz bin Mohd Nor (born 22 August 1988) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a winger or a right-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team. Club career Tanjong Pagar Unit ...

in the 65th minute.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

International

U23 International goals

:''As of match played 8 June 2019. ''

U19 International goals

:''Scores and results list Singapore's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Saifullah's father is Akbar Nawas who helped him volunteer for early

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

enlistment. As a hobby, he plays guitar and sings and supports Chelsea.

Honours

International

Singapore U22 *

Merlion Cup The Merlion Cup is an invitational association football, football tournament that was held in Singapore annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019 and 2023. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual

Young Player of the Year: 2020

References

External links

Dollah Kassim Award: Saifullah targets stint in Europe
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saifullah Akbar Singapore Premier League players Singaporean men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Living people 1999 births Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games Lion City Sailors FC players Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games SEA Games competitors for Singapore Tampines Rovers FC players Young Lions FC players 21st-century Singaporean sportsmen