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SINGAPORE – Local football’s Young Player of the Year Ilhan Fandi is ready to fly the coop to further his development as a player. After scoring 20 goals in 27 Singapore Premier League (SPL) and Singapore Cup matches for Albirex Niigata in 2022, Ilhan confirmed he will not be playing in next season’s SPL. But he was coy when asked about his next destination. He told The Straits Times: “I think I had a good season this year, and my goal has always been to go overseas and test myself even more in a different environment. I feel it’s best to make the move now, and everything will be finalised soon.” The 20-year-old forward is with the national team in Chiba, Japan, for their Dec 1-12 training camp in preparation for the Asean Football Federation Championship, which kicks off on Dec 20. ST understands that Belgian second-tier club KMSK Deinze is the likelier of two options for him. Deinze are eighth in the 12-team Challenger Pro League with six matches left. After a rough start this season, they have suffered just one loss in their last seven games and are the only non top-flight club in the last 16 of the Belgian Cup. This is their third season in the second tier after they gained promotion in 2020 by winning the Belgian First Amateur Division. Interestingly, Deinze were taken over in January by Singapore-based investment fund ACA Football Partners, which is hoping to make the club the centre of its multi-club ownership model. It is aiming to play in the top tier when it celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026. Ilhan’s other option is Austin FC’s second team in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Next Pro league in the United States. The American side will launch their Next Pro team in 2023 to play in the second season of what is effectively the third tier of the US league system, below the MLS and United Soccer League Championship. Once Ilhan commits, he will become the first Singaporean footballer to ply his trade in the country he picks. He will also be following in the footsteps of his family members who had ventured overseas. His famous father Fandi Ahmad played for Dutch side Groningen (1983-1985) among other foreign teams, while older brothers Irfan and Ikhsan Fandi are now with Thailand’s BG Pathum. Ikhsan had also featured for Norway’s second-tier teams Raufoss (2019-2020) and FK Jerv (2020-2021). https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-singapore-starlet-ilhan-fandi-set-for-overseas-move?utm_campaign=stfb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Link Fandi Ahmad

a bit of history.... maybe it's a rebroadcast.. enjoy

Fandi Ahmad is looking for HDB flat AsiaOne Sun, Mar 06, 2011 In a 1991 interview, Singapore's favourite football icon, Fandi Ahmad, told The New Paper, 'I have enough money. Lots of money. In two years' time, I would have made enough to last the rest of my lifetime.' He was the country's first millionaire sportsman when he turned 30 in 1993. Now, however, life has dealt him a cruel twist after a decade of setbacks and he is looking for a Housing Board flat in the Yishun vicinity, near his mother's. The 48-year-old used to share a terrace house with his wife, Wendy Jacobs, and his five children. Fandi informed The Sunday Times that his wife is still recovering from a fall in the couple's Jakarta home two years ago. She had suffered temporary memory loss and was bedridden for almost a month. Although she still suffers the occasional mild seizure, she is improving, said Fandi. He told The Straits Times: 'She's getting a lot of rest at home and is much better than before, so we're all happy.' The ex-Lion, however, is on his guard when quizzed about other problems that he has faced recently. 'What's past is past, I can't do anything about it,' he stressed, adding that the constant query on these subjects is 'sickening'. A few failed businesses in the past had left him in so much debt that two parties sued in June 2006 to recover $230,000 in 'friendly loans', which were allegedly taken when Fandi started a used-car dealership in 1999. Fandi then pulled out of the partnership two years later but was still saddled with the debt of his business partners, who had been declared bankrupt. He was their guarantor. Developing young talent His focus has now turned towards helping develop young talent through his academy, which he will launch on Saturday. He is also watching over the growing maturity of his two sons in football - Irfan, 14, and Ikhsan, 12. Despite impressing major European clubs such as AC Milan and Chelsea in trials and making plans for a training stint with Italian Serie B side Vicenza earlier this year, visa issues had forced the family to put that idea on hold. Fandi is also aware that the public will be expecting his sons to fill in the shoes that he has vacated. 'It's not easy for them,' he noted. 'People will expect a lot and scrutinise them. That's why I don't put too much pressure on them. 'I'll just let them enjoy the game while they can and, if they can play good football, that would be good.' He does, however, harbour the hope that at least one of his sons will become a Lion. 'My father (Ahmad Wartam) and uncle (the late Abu Sujak) both played for Singapore. It would be good if they could carry on that tradition,' he said. Good friend and former national teammate Rafi Ali pointed out: 'During his time, everything he touched turned to gold. Everybody made money because of him - people paid to watch him play, for his endorsement, the association also used him for advertisements. 'Still, he's as cheerful as ever. He's not the kind of person who will talk about what is happening in his life. 'It's really very sad that a legend is going through this.'

sue ah sue ah. anyone got today's TNP print full report to share? http://www.tnp.sg/content/lions-icons-fand...sdp-poster-boys The Singapore Democratic Party has decided to feature two of Singapore

My turn now to salute my idol... Fandi Ahmad (born 29 May 1962) is a football coach and former professional footballer from Singapore. During his playing career, he enjoyed success playing in both Europe and Asia, and was captain of the Singapore national football team (1993