Lionel Tan
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 Lionel with Lion City Sailors in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lionel Tan Han Wei | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Lion City Sailors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Singapore Sports School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | National Football Academy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Home United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Home United | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Hougang United | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → SAFSA (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Young Lions | 20 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Hougang United | 50 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Lion City Sailors | 46 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Singapore U19 | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Singapore U23 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Singapore | 27 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lionel Tan Han Wei (陈汉玮, born 5 June 1997), better known as Lionel Tan or just Lionel, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or right-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.
Lionel was with the National Football Academy after graduating from Singapore Sports School. In 2016, Lionel started his career with Home United's Prime League team. Subsequently, in 2017, he moved to Hougang United. His performance at the youth level led to him being nominated for the 2014 Dollah Kassim Award although he did not win it in the end.[1][2]
Youth
Lionel started his career with National Football Academy (NFA) U-18 team in 2015 after his graduation from the Singapore Sports School.[3] He had hoped to move on to the Garena Young Lions squad following his exploits with the NFA. However, when no such move arose, Tan jumped at the chance to be reunited with Robin Chitrakar at Home United's Prime League squad.[4]
Home United
Lionel moved to Home United in 2016 and was made the vice captain of the prime league squad. During his time with the Protectors' Prime League squad, he helped them achieve a double, winning the Prime League and the Singapore FA Cup.[1]
Lionel then made his senior debut on 14 July 2016 against Albirex Niigata (S) in the Singapore League Cup.[1] He made a total of two senior appearances for Home United before moving on the next season.[4]
Hougang United
Lionel then moved to Hougang United for the 2017 Singapore Premier League season.[1] He made his debut for the Cheetahs against Tampines Rovers, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute before earning a shock first start in the following match against Brunei DPMM in a 2–0 defeat.[4]
Loan to SAFSA
In 2018, Lionel was loaned to SAFSA while he is serving his National Services duties.
Young Lions
After spending one year with SAFSA, Lionel moved to Garena Young Lions for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season for whom he made a total of 19 league appearances.[5]
Return to Hougang United
Lionel returned to Hougang United after the completion of his National Service in the middle of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.[5] He scored the first professional goal of his career in the third match of the 2021 Singapore Premier League season, sweeping in a loose ball and helping his team to a shock 3–1 win against powerhouse Lion City Sailors.[6][7]
Lion City Sailors
On 18 January 2023, Lion City Sailors announced the arrival of Lionel on a free from Hougang United. [8] He make his debut on 24 February in a 3–1 win over Tanjong Pagar United. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 July against the same opponent in the away fixture in a thrashing 7–1 win. On 20 September, Lionel make his AFC Champions League debut in a 1–2 lost against Thailand club Bangkok United. On 9 December, he helped the club to win the 2023 Singapore Cup which is also his first back to back cup win with a different club.
On 26 February 2025, Lionel scored the only goal in the match against league rivals, Tampines Rovers which give Lion City Sailors the 9 points gap on top of the league table. Despite Maxime Lestienne's equaliser in the 91st minute of the 2025 AFC Champions League Two final against Sharjah, the Sailors finished as a runner-up after conceding in the 97th minute to finish the game in a 1–2 defeat.[9]
International career
Youth
Lionel was part of the 2015 Under-18 Squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.[10]
Lionel is also in the 2016 AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers playing in matches against Thailand which the team lost 3–0.[11] He also played against Chinese Taipei.
In 2017, Lionel was called up to the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games but failed to make a single appearance as the Republic crashed out in the group stages.[12]
He captained the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.[12]
Senior
Lionel made his senior-level debut in a 1–1 draw with Hong Kong which saw him score a goal on both ends.[13] Lionel then scored again in his second cap, a 1–0 victory over Macau.[14] On 12 September 2023, he scored again to put Singapore in the lead against Chinese Taipei at the Bishan Stadium – his third international goal.
