Hanafi Akbar
Singaporean professional footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mohamad Hanafi bin Mohd Akbar (born 7 February 1995) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mohamad Hanafi bin Mohd Akbar | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Singapore | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2013 | National Football Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Balestier Khalsa | 12 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Jungfrau Punggol | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2021— | Singapore | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 02:57, 23 November 2014 (UTC) | |||
Career
Youth career
Hanafi represented the Singapore national under-14 team at the 2009 Asian Youth Games, and was part of the national under-15 team which won the bronze medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.[1] He attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus for his exploits at youth level.[2]
However, he failed to capitalise on his talents, choosing the influence of bad company instead, Hanafi skipped training with the National Football Academy and quit the team in 2013.[3]
Balestier Khalsa
He eventually signed a two-year contract with S.League club Balestier Khalsa in December 2013 after being written off as a "rebel" by many coaches.[2][4][5]
However, he was arrested for drug use in 2015 and was eventually sentenced for a year's imprisonment.[2][6] Hanafi rejoined the Tigers in 2017 after his release and made his return to football in a S.League game against Garena Young Lions on 2 April 2017. Coming on as a half-time substitute, Hanafi showed his early promise by playing a part in his team's solitary goal of the game. Hanafi controlled the ball on his chest before sending a glorious cross-field volley to teammate Hazzuwan Halim, who squared the ball for Myanmar forward Aung Kyaw Naing to slot home the winner from close range.[6]
Honours
Singapore U15
- Summer Youth Olympics: bronze medalist, 2010 [5]
