Saifullah Akbar
Singaporean professional footballer
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Muhammad Saifullah bin Muhammad Akbar (born 31 January 1999) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a winger or attacking-midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore national team.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Muhammad Saifullah bin Mohammad Akbar[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | January 31, 1999 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Singapore | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Hougang United | |||||||||||||
| Number | 28 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| –2016 | Tampines Rovers | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2016 | Tampines Rovers | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Young Lions | 24 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Lion City Sailors | 47 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2023– | Tampines Rovers | 36 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2024-2025 | → Geylang International (loan) | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2026– | Hougang United | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Singapore U19[1][2] | 4 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2019– | Singapore U23 | 10 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2021– | Singapore | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 February 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 December 2021 | ||||||||||||||
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.[3]
Club career
Touted as a prospective footballer ever since childhood,[3][4][5] Saifullah participated in the Lion City Cup with Ikhsan Fandi playing for the NFA U-16.[6]
Saifullah trained with Australian side Newcastle Jets in 2015, impressing their coaching staff.[7] However, no deal was surfaced.[8] Previously, he had a five-day training stint with Queens Park Rangers in England.[9][10][11] Also, he had a two-week stint at FC Metz, funded by the Singapore Sport School.[12][13]
On his debut, Saifullah scored a goal to secure a 6–4 win for Tampines Rovers over Hougang United in the Singapore League Cup.[4][14] After training daily with the first team throughout the 2015 S.League season, he joined their Prime League squad with the aim of making the Singapore roster for the biannual 2017 SEA Games.[15]
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, 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 season due to developmental reasons.[15] Saifullah became a key member of the Young Lions squad that season, featuring regularly on the wing under Fandi Ahmad.
International career
Saifullah represented Singapore at the 2013 Asian Youth Games in China.[3] In 2016, he was called up for the Singapore U19s against Bahrain.[1][2]
On 17 May 2021, Saifullah was called up to the Singaporean national team for the Asian World Cup qualifiers in June.[16] On 3 June, he made his senior debut in a defeat to Palestine, coming on as a substitute for Hafiz Nor in the 65th minute.[17]
Personal life
Saifullah's father is Akbar Nawas, who is his current head coach at Tampines Rovers. Saifullah volunteered for early national service enlistment.[18] As a hobby, he plays guitar and sings and supports Chelsea.[19]
In 2025, Saifullah started his own podcast channel on YouTube alongside his two friends interviewing local footballers on their career.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 25 October 2022[20]
| Club | Season | League | Singapore Cup | League Cup | AFC Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tampines Rovers | 2016 | S.League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Young Lions | 2018 | Singapore Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Singapore Premier League | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||
| Lion City Sailors | 2020 | Singapore Premier League | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| 2021 | Singapore Premier League | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Singapore Premier League | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 47 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 7 | ||
| Tampines Rovers | 2023 | Singapore Premier League | 21 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| 2024–25 | Singapore Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 108 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 123 | 14 | ||
- Notes
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 2021 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
U23 International goals
- As of match played 8 June 2019.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 December 2019 | Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines |  Brunei | 3–0 | 7–0 | 2019 Southeast Asian Games |
| 2 | 11 May 2022 | Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam |  Cambodia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2021 Southeast Asian Games |
U19 International goals
- Scores and results list Singapore's goal tally first.[21]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 2017 | Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar |  Laos | 2–0 | 3-0 | 2017 AFF U-18 Youth Championship |
| 2 | 8 November 2017 | MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |  Mongolia | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification |
Honours
Club
Tampines Rovers
International
Singapore U22
Individual
- Singapore Premier League Young Player of the Year: 2020 [22]