| Ilhan Fandi | |
| Fullname: | Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad |
| Birth Date: | 8 November 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Singapore |
| Height: | 1.83 m[1] |
| Position: | Forward / Attacking-midfielder |
| Currentclub: | BG Pathum United |
| Clubnumber: | 91 |
| Youthclubs1: | i2i Football Academy |
| Years1: | 2019–2022 |
| Clubs1: | Young Lions |
| Caps1: | 33 |
| Goals1: | 13 |
| Years2: | 2022 |
| Clubs2: | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Caps2: | 18 |
| Goals2: | 15 |
| Years3: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs3: | Deinze |
| Caps3: | 1 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs4: | Deinze U21 |
| Caps4: | 15 |
| Goals4: | 8 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Clubs5: | BG Pathum United |
| Caps5: | 0 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017 |
| Nationalteam1: | Singapore U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam2: | Singapore U23 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam3: | Singapore |
| Nationalcaps3: | 15 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 2 |
| Club-Update: | 20 January 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 21 November 2023 |
Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad (born 8 November 2002), better known as Ilhan Fandi or just Ilhan, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a forward or attacking-midfielder for Thai League 1 club BG Pathum United and the Singapore national team.
Ilhan embarked on his quest to become a professional footballer in Europe, by enrolling in an English school to study and train. The teenager left for England on 8 September 2017 to study at the Queen Ethelburga's College in York for the next two years. Ilhan trained with the i2i Football Academy, which has links to English football club Leeds United. The academy also has partnerships with both York College and York St John University and will assist in linking up players with English professional and semi-professional clubs.[2] [3]
After his studies, Ilhan returned to Singapore to signed with the Singapore Premier League club, Young Lions in 2019. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against DPMM on 7 August 2019. He became the third son of Fandi Ahmad to lace up his boots for the Young Lions – following in the footsteps of his brothers Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi.[4] Ilhan made his first professional start in a league game at the age of 16 years and 331 days, where he scored his first goal in a 1–4 loss against Albirex Niigata Singapore on 15 August 2019.[5]
Ilhan scored his third goal for the club in a heavy 4–1 defeat at the hands of Hougang United in the Young Lions' opening match of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.[6] As of April 2020, Ilhan has scored 3 goals in just 5 matches for the Young Lions.[7]
Ilhan scored the first goal of the Young Lions' 2021 Singapore Premier League season, helping his team to a 3–3 draw against Balestier Khalsa. He ended the 2021 Singapore Premier League season with 7 goals in 18 league matches.[8]
Ilhan notched 2 goals for the Young Lions before leaving for Albirex in the mid-season transfer window.[9] In total, Ilhan has grabbed 13 goals in 33 games, a better strike rate than his older brothers, striker-turned-defender Irfan (eight in 43) and forward Ikhsan (10 in 52), managed during their time in the league.[10]
On 21 April 2022, Albirex Niigata (S) confirmed they had signed Ilhan for the remaining 2022 season.[11] Ilhan signed the contract which runs until the end of the 2022 season.[12] [13] Ilhan made his debut on 27 May 2022 in a 8–2 win against Geylang International. His presence after coming on changed the game and he was awarded the man of the match, where he was involved in 3 of the 5 Albirex goals after coming on for 22 minutes, showing his vision, strength and composure respectively.[14] He also assisted and scored on his debut.[15] In his first four games for the White Swans, Ilhan has already racked up three goals.[16] Ilhan notched his first career hat-trick in his sixth game for the club, which included an outrageous bicycle kick that opened the scoring for Albirex.[17] He has managed 12 goals in his first 11 matches for the Japanese side. Ilhan won the 2022 Singapore Premier League title with the White Swans, with 2 games to spare, helping his team's cause by averaging almost a goal a game with 14 goals for the White Swans since his arrival at the Jurong East Stadium.[18] Ilhan was rewarded for his efforts in the season as he clinched 3 awards, the 2022 SPL 'Young Player of the Year' award, the 2022 'Goal of the Year' award and was also named in the 2022 SPL 'Team of the Year'.[19]
On 12 December 2022, it was announced that Ilhan had signed for Belgian First Division B club Deinze and will join up with his new team after the conclusion of the 2022 AFF Championship.[20] However, Ilhan sustained an ACL injury in the tournament, in which he could be out of action for six to nine months. On 23 September 2023, Ilhan made his first appearance for the club in a U21 Reserves Pro League match where he scored a goal against Lommel U21 in a 4–2 home win. Ilhan made his debut for the first team on 19 January 2024, coming on as a substitute for hat-trick hero Lennart Mertens in a 4–0 league win over Lierse.[21]
On 30 July 2024, Thai League 1 club BG Pathum United announced the signing of Fandi on a four-year contract, where he also became the third Fandi's brother to play at the club, which Irfan and Ikhsan Fandi.[22] On 21 August 2024, Ilhan make his official debut for the club during the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship fixtures against Indonesian club PSM Makassar at the Batakan Stadium in Balikpapan.
Despite being only 17, Ilhan has been invited to train with the Singapore under-22 team. Ilhan received his first senior team training session in 2021.[23] [24] Ilhan played in an unofficial closed-door friendly against Afghanistan on 29 May 2021.[25] Ilhan made his official international debut and started in the second-round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Palestine on 3 June 2021.[26]
On 26 March 2022, his two brothers, Irfan and Ikhsan, were on the first team against Causeway rivals, Malaysia in a Tri-Nations Series friendly match.[27] Ilhan came on as a substitute in the 71st minute, leading to the first time that the three Fandi brothers played in the same match for the national team together. Singapore won the match 2–1.
On 17 December 2022, Ilhan scored his first international goal in a 3–1 win over Maldives in the friendly match before the start of the 2022 AFF Championship tournament, heading in from a Christopher van Huizen’s cross from the left for his first international goal on his fifth cap.[28] He netted in back-to-back games for the Lions when he clinically headed in yet another Christopher van Huizen’s lovely floater for his second international goal in six caps, in a 3–2 win over Myanmar in the Lions' opening match of the 2022 AFF Championship.[29] After the match against Vietnam on 30 December 2022, Ilhan sustained a tear in ACL in his left knee, he is expected to be side-lined for six to nine months. On 2 October 2023, Ilhan was called up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Guam on 12 and 17 October 2023.
Ilhan plays as an attacking midfielder, noted for his footwork, coordination and composure as cited by Singapore football legend, Noh Alam Shah.[30] In the 2020 season, he was given the role as a false 9 as he "has really good technique and good reading of the game", pointed out by head coach Nazri Nasir.[31]
Ilhan is the third son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. His brothers, Irfan and Ikhsan, are also footballers playing for BG Pathum United.[32] He has an older sister Iman and a younger brother Iryan who plays for Hougang United. His grandfather, Ahmad Wartam, was an ex-national goalkeeper.[33] Hafiz Abu Sujad and the national team's physiotherapist Nurhafizah are the cousins of his father Fandi Ahmad.[34]
Ilhan is close friend with Indonesian national team footballer, Marselino Ferdinan during his time in Belgium and the duo would often meet one another on their off duty.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Young Lions | 2019 | Singapore Premier League | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| 2021 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 7 | |||
| 2022 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | |||
| Total | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 13 | ||
| Albirex Niigata (S) | 2022 | Singapore Premier League | 18 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 18 | |
| Deinze | 2022–23 | Challenger Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Deinze U21 | 2023–24 | Reserve Pro League | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 6 | |
| Career total | 51 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 31 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | ||||
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 2 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 17 December 2022 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 2. | 24 December 2022 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2022 AFF Championship | ||
Albirex Niigata (Singapore)