Muhammad Shawal bin Anuar (born 29 April 1991) 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 either as a winger or 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 ...

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

Lion City Sailors Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as the Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional association football, football club based in Bishan, Singapore, Bishan. It competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Si ...

and the Singapore national team. Shawal also holds the record for scoring the fastest goal in the history of the

AFC Champions League Two The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC Ch ...

in 18 seconds.

Club career

Geylang International

In 2014, Shawal signed a contract with

Geylang International Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, that competes in Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 and played their first season ...

earning $500 a month being signed for six months to the team's reserve

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, Shawal also managed to appear for the senior team, clocking in 69 minutes of football in the

2014 S.League The 2014 S.League was the 19th 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 Yeo's S.League due to sponsorship reas ...

season. In the following year, Shawal received his first professional contract earning $1,800 which he decided to quit his odd jobs and turn his full attention to football. Shawal went on to have a solid full debut season for the Eagles in 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 ...

, scoring 4 goals in 22 appearances, helping his team finish 8th in the league. Shawal built on his debut season and helped his team win the

2016 Singapore League Cup The 2016 Singapore League Cup (known as The New Paper League Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the tenth edition of the Singapore League Cup, Singapore's premier club football tournament organised by the Football Association of Singapore. Albirex N ...

Plate, Geylang's first trophy since 2009, while earning a call-up to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. His performances in 2016 prompted his head coach

Hasrin Jailani Hasrin bin Jailani (born 22 November 1975) is a Singaporean football manager and former footballer who is currently the assistant coach of Singapore Premier League club Geylang International. Playing career Geylang International Hasrin starte ...

to identify him as one of the players to watch for in the

2017 S.League The 2017 S.League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai S.League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the S.League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1996. The ...

season. Shawal started in the season open against

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 ...

and scored his first goal of the season in the following match, helping his team to 3 points over

Balestier Khalsa Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Toa Payoh, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League. Founded in 1898, the club is considered as the oldest Football in Singapore, foot ...

. He got his second of the season in a 2–0 win over the Garena Young Lions in Geylang's 5th game of the season. As the end of the

2018 Singapore Premier League The 2018 Singapore Premier League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for associat ...

season, Shawal has notched 22 goals in 77 appearances for Geylang International in his time with the club.

Matsumoto Yamaga trials

Shawal started the 2017 season on a good note. Following

and

Matsumoto Yamaga or simply Matsumoto Yamaga (松本山雅FC, ''Matsumoto Yamaga Efu Shī'') is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in the city of Matsumoto, located in the Nagano Prefecture. The club currently plays in the J3 League, Japanese third tier o ...

signing of a MOU in November 2016, Shawal, together with fellow winger Gabriel Quak, were selected to go on a one-week trial with the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

side. Both players were not offered a contract, with the Japanese side saying that the pair was good enough to play in the

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan under the organization of J.League. The league is known as the for sponsorship reasons. The third-tier nation ...

with potential to feature in the top-tier

J.League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

club if they fulfill their potential.

Hougang United

After scoring 9 goals over 16 appearances with Geylang International in 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 ...

and also being named in the 2019 Singapore Premier League Team of the Year, Shawal was snapped up by

for the

2020 Singapore Premier League The 2020 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since ...

season signing a two years contract. Shawal ended his career at Hougang with 14 goals and 10 assists, helping them win their first ever silverware in the form of the 2022 Singapore Cup.

Lion City Sailors

On 21 December 2022, Shawal was unveiled officially as part of the

squad ahead of the

2023 Singapore Premier League The 2023 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 6th season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since ...

season. On 26 July 2023, as the Sailors played their first match in their history at the

Singapore National Stadium The Singapore National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It serves as the country's national stadium. Opened in 2014, it was constructed on the site of the Former National Stadium, Singapore, former National Stadium, which ...

against Tottenham Hotspurs in a friendly match, Shawal scored first which give Lion City Sailors the lead against the English giants which caused an upset to the away fans and a roaring crowd from the Sailors fans. Shawal becomes the third Singaporean to score against an English team since

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 ...

against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in 1995 and Indra Sahdan against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 2001. On 21 October, Shawal scored his first senior hat-trick in a 7–0 win against

Tanjong Pagar United Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Queenstown, Singapore, Queenstown, Singapore. The club currently competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football leag ...

in the

2023 Singapore Cup The 2023 Singapore Cup will be the 24th edition of the Singapore Cup, Singapore's annual premier club football knock-out tournament organised by the Football Association of Singapore. Hougang United is the defending champions, having won the tou ...

. During the

2023–24 AFC Champions League The 2023–24 AFC Champions League was the 42nd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 21st and final under the AFC Champions League title, as the competition would be rebra ...

match against Korean club,

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

on 8 November, Shawal provided the assist twice to

Richairo Živković Richairo Juliano Živković (/Rišairo Žulijano Živković; born 5 September 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Thai League 1 club Bangkok United F.C., Bangkok United. Born in t ...

who sets up the goal to secure a 2–0 home win for

. On 23 November, Shawal was named in the 2023 Singapore Premier League Team of the Year. On 9 December, he scored during the

final against his former club to lift the trophy. On 4 May 2024, Shawal scored the opening goal during the 2024 Singapore Community Shield in which Lion City Sailors went on to win the match 2–0 In the 2024–25 season, Shawal was shifted to play in the striker role where on 4 May 2024, Shawal scored the opening goal during the 2024 Singapore Community Shield in which Lion City Sailors went on to win the match 2–0. Shawal would than go on to scored in 4 consecutive league matches. During the

2024–25 AFC Champions League Two The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two was the 21st edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Two. This was the fi ...

match against Thailand club

Port 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, Manch ...

on 30 October, Shawal scored a brace in within 3 minutes in the 14th and 17th minute of the match which then secured a 3–1 away win for Lion City Sailors. During the round of 16 away fixtures in the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two against Thailand club

Muangthong United Muangthong United Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League 1, the top-flight football league of Thailand. Muangthong United has pa ...

, Shawal set a record for the fastest goal in the competition history by scoring in 18 seconds which beats the previous record of 26 seconds achieved by

Musa Barrow Musa Barrow (born 14 November 1998) is a Gambian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Taawoun FC, Al-Taawoun and the The Gambia national football team, G ...

. Despite

Maxime Lestienne Maxime Christophe Lestienne (; born 17 June 1992) is a Belgian professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors FC, Lion City Sailors. Club car ...

's equaliser in the 91st minute of the

2025 AFC Champions League Two final The 2025 AFC Champions League Two final was the final match of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two, the 20th season of Asia's secondary club football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was ...

against

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

, the Sailors finished as a runner-up after conceding in the 97th minute to finish the game in a 1–2 defeat. Shawal finished the campaign with 8 goals, and was the second top scorer of the campaign.

International career

Shawal was called up for the first time to the senior team by the Singapore national team head coach V. Sundramoorthy in 2016 for matches 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 ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He made his international debut against

in the 79th minute, replacing Gabriel Quak. Shawal scored his first international goal, in his second international cap, against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He scored in the 46th minute to equalise for the Lions. However, Singapore fell to an eventual 2–1 defeat. He scored his third and fourth international goal in a 3–1 win over

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

in a final friendly game ahead of the

2022 AFF Championship The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and was the 1 ...

. Shawal then scored his fifth international goal in his next game, coolly slotting in a 74th-minute winner, from a Zaiful Nizam long punt, to help the Lions to win their

opening game against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. He notched his sixth goal in Singapore's 2–0 win over

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

in the

, nicking the ball from Laos goalkeeper, Keo-Oudone Souvannasangso in the 94th minute of the game. As the national team returned to the

after 15 months, On 16 June and 18 June 2023, he scored in both the friendly against

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

continent,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

which both games resulted in a draw. In the second legged match in the first round of the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

, he scored the only goal in the match against

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

to secure the win which see Singapore advanced to the second round. On 21 November 2023, Shawal scored a goal in the second-round of the

group stage fixtures against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

after receiving a pass from teammate Song Ui-young. During the

match against

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 ...

on 21 March 2024, he assisted teammate, Jacob Mahler who then scored the equaliser goal in a 2–2 draw. On 14 December 2024 during the

2024 ASEAN Championship The 2024 ASEAN Championship (officially the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the ASEAN Championship (formerly the AFF Championship) association football, football tournament of nations affili ...

against

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

. Shawal came on as a substitution and scored a brace giving Singapore a 3–0 win. In the next match against

3 days later, Shawal scored his fourth goal in the tournament to become the top scorer of the tournament.

Personal life

Shawal studied at Kent Ridge Secondary School where he played

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

but chose football as a co-curricular activity (CCA).

Career statistics

Club

. Caps and goals may not be correct.

International statistics

International goals

Honours

Geylang International *

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 ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Hougang 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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Lion City Sailors *

runner-up: 2024–25 *

: 2024–25 *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, 2024–25 *

Singapore Community Shield The Singapore Community Shield (also known as the AIA Community Shield due to sponsorship reasons; formerly the Charity Shield) is the curtain-raiser to the football season in Singapore. The match is contested between the champions of the previou ...

: 2024 Individual *

Team of the Year:

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 ...

, 2024–25 *

Player of the Month: June 2019 *

Goal of the Year: 2024–25

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20161115182849/http://www.fas.org.sg/news/irfan-follows-his-fathers-footsteps-make-lions-debut * https://web.archive.org/web/20161127022049/http://www.fas.org.sg/news/shawal-irfan-determined-show-what-they-can-d 1991 births Living people Singapore men's international footballers Singaporean men's footballers Geylang International FC players Singapore Premier League players Singaporean people of Malay descent Men's association football forwards Hougang United FC players