Will Irfan Fandi become the Cristiano Ronaldo of Singapore?

Tonight, Singapore’s football legend Fandi Ahmad and his eldest son, national Under-23 striker Irfan, lit the cauldron for the 28th SEA Games at the Sports Hub:

Every football fans in Singapore know who is Fandi Ahmad, arguably the best footballer we ever produced from this tiny nation-state.

Who is Irfan Fandi though?

Irfan Fandi, 18, was recently named as one of The Guardian’s 40 best young talents in world football. The 17-year old forward was the only one named from Singapore.

In it, writer John Duerden describes him as having “a good touch”, with football bosses here having “high hopes that he can be the striker they have been searching for”.

Irfan has also been training with Universidad Catolica, a top-tier Chilean club, since last December. Earlier this year, he was voted one of the Top 20 South-east Asian Rising Stars by online football fan site Goal.com. 

Is he Singapore’s answer to have a footballer in the league of Cristiano Ronaldo?

This is Irfan:

This is CR7:

See the similarity?

Both can play football really well and also have the best genes in looks.

Let’s not even go into underwear modelling:

Go Irfan!

Bring the Kallang Wave to the international football arena!

Along the way, it will be great if Irfan becomes an international fashion icon too. 🙂