Shahfiq Ghani

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ghani is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Shahfiq.

Shahfiq Ghani

Shahfiq Ghani playing for LionsXII in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Muhammad Shahfiq bin Ghani [1]
Date of birth	(1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Singapore
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Forward / Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Negeri Sembilan
Youth career
2005–2010	National Football Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Young Lions	37	(7)
2013–2014	LionsXII	22	(5)
2015	Young Lions	22	(4)
2016–2017	Geylang International	21	(3)
2018–2022	Hougang United	26	(6)
2023–2024	Geylang International	15	(1)
2024–	Negeri Sembilan
International career‡
2010–	Singapore U23	15	(3)
2012–	Singapore	14	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Singapore SEA Games Naypyidaw 2013 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 December 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:23, 25 November 2016 (UTC)

Muhammad Shahfiq bin Ghani (born 17 March 1992), also known as Shahfiq Shahfiq or just Shahfiq, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a forward or midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Negeri Sembilan and the Singapore national team. Shahfiq is known as a free-kick specialist.

Club career

Young Lions

Shahfiq began his club career with S.League club Young Lions in 2010. He scored 7 goals in 37 competitive matches over three Seasons from 2010 to 2012.

LionsXII

Shahfiq was selected to be in the LionsXII squad in 2013. ^{[2] [3]} He contributed with 5 goals in 13 MSL matches as LionsXII won the 2013 Malaysia Super League. He drew criticism from head coach V. Sundramoorthy for his dismissal for slapping Sarawak's Muamer Salibašić in a Malaysia Cup match on 24 August 2013. ^[4]

A spinal injury threatened to rule Shahfiq out for the start of the 2014 season. ^[5] He missed the Charity Cup match against Pahang and the Malaysia FA Cup match against DRB-Hicom, returning as a 74th-minute substitute against Selangor on 25 January. In total, he spent only 77 minutes on the pitch for his club in 2014. ^[6]

During his two-year spell with LionsXII, he scored six goals in 31 appearances.

Return to Young Lions

In 2015, Shahfiq return to the Young Lions, where he scored 5 goals in 22 league appearances for his club.

Geylang International

In 2016, it was announced that Shahfiq would be joining Geylang International at the start of the 2016 S.League season on a 2 year contract. ^[6] However, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during pre-season training and was ruled out for 6 months. ^[7] This resulted in Shafiq missing most of the games of the season although he did make a return during the second half of the season. He returned to full fitness in July and made a surprise cameo appearance in the League Cup Plate Final against Hougang United. ^[6] He marked his return from injury by scoring a goal for his club in a friendly match against the Cambodia national football team and laying off an assist for a last gasp goal in a 2-1 victory over Balestier Khalsa in the league.

He scored in his first goal for the club during the last game of the season in a 4-1 win over Home United. ^[8] He came back strongly enough to be recalled back to the national team and making the final 23 for Singapore's disappointing 2016 AFF Championship. ^[9]

Shahfiq scored his first goal of the 2017 S.League season in a 2-0 win over Brunei DPMM FC while also winning another penalty which teammate Víctor Coto converted. ^[10]

Hougang United

After being rumoured to join UKM F.C. in Malaysia, Shahfiq signed for Hougang United in 2018.

International career

Shahfiq was part of the Singapore national under-23 football team that won the bronze medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

He earned his first senior international cap in a friendly match against Hong Kong on 15 August 2012. ^[11] His first international goal came against China PR in a friendly match in 2013. ^[12]

Personal life

Shahfiq graduated from the Singapore Sports School in 2008. ^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 Feb 2022. Caps and goals may not be correct.

Club	Season	S.League		Singapore Cup		Singapore League Cup		Asia		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Young Lions	2010	16	3	4	0	-	-	—		20	3
	2011	8	2	—		—		—		8	2
	2012	13	2	—		4	0	—		17	2
	Total	37	7	4	0	4	0	0	0	45	7
Club	Season	Malaysia Super League		Malaysia FA Cup		Malaysia Cup		Asia		Total
LionsXII	2013 [14]	13	5	0	0	6	1	—		19	6
	2014 [15]	9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
	Total	22	5	0	0	6	1	0	0	28	6
Club	Season	S.League		Singapore Cup		Singapore League Cup		Asia		Total
Young Lions	2015	??	??	??	??	-	-	—		??	??
	Total	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Geylang International	2016	6	1	0	0	1	0	—		7	1
	2017	17	5	1	0	2	0	—		20	5
	Total	23	6	1	0	3	0	0	0	27	6
Hougang United	2018	12	2	2	0	0	0	—		14	2
	2019	10	8	2	0	0	0	—		12	8
	2020	11	1	0	0	1	0	3	0	15	1
	2021	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	1
	2022	15	1	4	0	0	0	2	0	21	1
	Total	59	12	8	0	2	0	5	0	73	13
Geylang International	2023	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total		137	29	9	0	15	1	3	0	155	31

• Young Lions and LionsXII are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.
• Young Lions withdrew from the 2011 and 2012 Singapore Cup and the 2011 Singapore League Cup due to their players participating in AFC and AFF youth competitions.

International

International goals

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2013	TEDA Football Stadium, Tianjin, China PR	China	1–1	6–1	Friendly

Singapore national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2012	2	0
2013	6	1
2014	1	0
Total	9	1

Statistics accurate as of match played 5 March 2014

U23 International goals

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 June 2013	Indonesia	Indonesia	1-0	1-1	U23 International Friendly
2	14 September 2013	Darul Makmur Stadium, Kuantan	Thailand	1-0	2-1	2013 Merdeka Tournament
3	2 April 2014	Hougang Stadium, Singapore	Indonesia	1-2	1-2	U23 International Friendly
4	14 September 2014	Ansan Wa~ Stadium, Korea	Palestine	1-0	2-1	2014 Asian Games
5	14 September 2014	Ansan Wa~ Stadium, Korea	Palestine	2-0	2-1	2014 Asian Games
6	16 May 2015	Shizuoka, Japan	Shizuoka Sangyo University SC	1-0	3-0	U23 International Friendly
7	16 May 2015	Shizuoka, Japan	Shizuoka Sangyo University SC	2-0	3-0	U23 International Friendly
8	22 May 2015	Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore	Laos	3-1	5-1	U23 International Friendly
9	30 May 2015	Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore	East Timor	2-0	2-0	U23 International Friendly

Honours

Club

LionsXII

• Malaysia Super League: 2013

Hougang United

• Singapore Cup: 2022

International

Singapore

• Southeast Asian Games: Bronze 2013

References

1. "FAS names 2014 LionsXII squad list". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
2. "LionsXII 2013 unveiled". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
4. "Shahfiq let the team down: LionsXII coach Sundram". Today. 25 August 2013.
5. "MSL: Another blow for Fandi as Shahfiq injures spine". The New Paper. 6 January 2014.
6. "The Forgotten Man: Shahfiq Ghani determined to win back fans' hearts". FourFourTwo. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
7. "Shahfiq out for 6 months with knee injury". TODAYonline. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
8. "Geylang come up short". The New Paper. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
9. "Sundram names final 23-man AFF Suzuki Cup squad". FourFourTwo. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
10. "Geylang International vs. Brunei DPMM - Football Match Report - April 20, 2017 - ESPN". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
11. "Football: Singapore beat Hong Kong 2–0 for first win in 9 matches".
12. "China PR 6 - 1 Singapore Match report - 9/6/13 Friendlies - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
13. "Elite Student-Athletes". Singapore Sports School. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
14. "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2013 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
15. "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2014 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.