Lionel Tan

In this Chinese name, the family name is Tan.

Lionel Tan Han Wei (陈汉玮, born 5 June 1997) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or a right-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.

Lionel Tan

Lionel with Lion City Sailors in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Lionel Tan Han Wei
Date of birth	(1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Singapore
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back, right-back
Team information
Current team	Lion City Sailors
Number	5
Youth career
2011–2014	Singapore Sports School
2015	National Football Academy
2016	Home United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016	Home United	0	(0)
2017	Hougang United	14	(0)
2018	→ SAFSA (loan)	0	(0)
2019–2020	Young Lions	19	(0)
2020–2022	Hougang United	50	(3)
2023–	Lion City Sailors	26	(2)
International career‡
2015	Singapore U19	12	(0)
2017–2019	Singapore U23	11	(1)
2023–	Singapore	17	(3)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Singapore Merlion Cup Winner 2019 Singapore Representing  Singapore Singapore Cup Winner 2022 Singapore
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 December 2024

Lionel was with the National Football Academy after graduating from Singapore Sports School. In 2016, Lionel started his career with Home United's Prime League team. Subsequently, in 2017, he moved to Hougang United. His performance at the youth level led to him being nominated for the 2014 Dollah Kassim Award although he did not win it in the end.^[1][2]

Club career

Youth

Lionel started his career with National Football Academy (NFA) U-18 team in 2015 after his graduation from the Singapore Sports School.^[3] He had hoped to move on to the Garena Young Lions squad following his exploits with the NFA. However, when no such move arose, Tan jumped at the chance to be reunited with Robin Chitrakar at Home United's Prime League squad.^[4]

Home United

Lionel moved to Home United in 2016 and was made the vice captain of the prime league squad. During his time with the Protectors' Prime League squad, he helped them achieve a double, winning the Prime League and the Singapore FA Cup.^[1]

Lionel then made his senior debut on 14 July 2016 against Albirex Niigata (S) in the Singapore League Cup.^[1] He made a total of two senior appearances for Home United before moving on the next season.^[4]

Hougang United

Lionel then moved to Hougang United for the 2017 Singapore Premier League season.^[1] He made his debut for the Cheetahs against Tampines Rovers, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute before earning a shock first start in the following match against Brunei DPMM in a 2–0 defeat.^[4]

Loan to SAFSA

In 2018, Lionel was loaned to SAFSA while he is serving his National Services duties.

Young Lions

After spending one year with SAFSA, Lionel moved to Garena Young Lions for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season for whom he made a total of 19 league appearances.^[5]

Return to Hougang United

Lionel returned to Hougang United after the completion of his National Service in the middle of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.^[5] He scored the first professional goal of his career in the third match of the 2021 Singapore Premier League season, sweeping in a loose ball and helping his team to a shock 3–1 win against powerhouse Lion City Sailors.^[6][7]

Lion City Sailors

On 18 January 2023, Lion City Sailors announced the arrival of Lionel on a free from Hougang United. ^[8] He make his debut on 24 February in a 3–1 win over Tanjong Pagar United. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 July against the same opponent in the away fixture in a thrashing 7–1 win. On 20 September, Lionel make his AFC Champions League debut in a 1–2 lost against Thailand club Bangkok United. On 9 December, he helped the club to win the 2023 Singapore Cup which is also his first back to back cup win with a different club.

International career

Youth

Lionel was part of the 2015 Under-18 Squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.^[9]

Lionel is also in the 2016 AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers playing in matches against Thailand which the team lost 3–0.^[10] He also played against Chinese Taipei.

In 2017, Lionel was called up to the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games but failed to make a single appearance as the Republic crashed out in the group stages.^[11]

He captained the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.^[11]

Senior

Lionel made his full senior debut for Singapore in a 1–1 draw against Hong Kong which saw him score his debut goal as well as an own goal.^[12] Lionel then scored again in his second cap, a 1–0 victory over Macau.^[13] Donning the unusual number 9, Lionel has made his name as a new spearhead of Singapore's defence.

On 12 September 2023, Lionel scored a goal from Zulfahmi Arifin set pieces freekick to put Singapore in the lead against Chinese Taipei at the Bishan Stadium.

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played on 23 June 2024^[14]

Club	Season	League			Singapore Cup		League Cup		AFC Cup		Community Shield		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Home United	2016	S.League	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Hougang United	2017	S.League	13	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
SAFSA (loan)	2018	Singapore National Football League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Young Lions (loan)	2019	Singapore Premier League	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
Hougang United	2020	Singapore Premier League	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	2021	Singapore Premier League	18	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	3
	2022	Singapore Premier League	21	0	6	0	0	0	3	0	0		30	0
	Total		50	3	6	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	59	3
Lion City Sailors	2023	Singapore Premier League	24	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	26	2
	2024–25	Singapore Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
	Total		26	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	29	2
Career total			104	5	9	0	3	0	4	0	1	0	123	5

International

International caps

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	23 March 2023	Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1–1 (draw)	Friendly
2	26 March 2023	Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau	Macau	1–0 (won)	Friendly
3	16 June 2023	National Stadium, Singapore	Papua New Guinea	2-2 (draw)	Friendly
4	18 June 2023		Solomon Islands	1-1 (draw)	Friendly
5	8 Sept 2023	Bishan Stadium, Singapore	Tajikistan	0-2 (lost)	Friendly
6	12 Sept 2023		Chinese Taipei	3-1 (win)	Friendly

International goals

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 March 2023	Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1–1	1–1	Friendly
2	26 March 2023	Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau	Macau	1–0	1–0
3	12 September 2023	Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore	Chinese Taipei	2–1	3–1

U23 International goals

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 March 2019	MFF Football Centre, Mongolia	Hong Kong	1–1	1–1 (draw)	2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

U23 International caps

• Result column lists Singapore U22 score first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	9 July 2017	Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore	India	0–1 (lost)	Friendly
2	12 July 2017	Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore	India	1–0 (win)	Friendly
3	22 March 2019	MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	Hong Kong	1–1 (draw)	2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
4	24 March 2019	MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	North Korea	1–1 (draw)	2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
5	26 March 2019	MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	Mongolia	3–1 (win)	2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
6	7 June 2019	Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Philippines	3–0 (win)	2019 Merlion Cup
7	9 June 2019	Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Thailand	1–0 (win)	2019 Merlion Cup
8	9 October 2019	Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore	United Arab Emirates	0–3 (lost)	Friendly
9	26 November 2019	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Laos	0–0 (draw)	2019 Southeast Asian Games
10	28 November 2019	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Indonesia	0–2 (lost)	2019 Southeast Asian Games
11	1 December 2019	Biñan Football Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Thailand	0–3 (lost)	2019 Southeast Asian Games

U19 International caps

• Result column lists Singapore U19 score first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	23 August 2015	Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Myanmar	0–1	2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
2	25 August 2015	Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Malaysia	0–4	2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
3	29 August 2015	Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Vietnam	0–6	2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
4	31 August 2015	Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	East Timor	1–1	2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
5	30 September 2015	SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand	Northern Mariana Islands	10–0	2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
6	4 October 2015	SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand	Thailand	0–3	2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
7	6 October 2015	SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand	Chinese Taipei	2–2	2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
8	11 September 2016	Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Vietnam	0–0	2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
9	15 September 2016	Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Malaysia	1–2	2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
10	17 September 2016	Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Philippines	2–1	2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
11	19 September 2016	Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	East Timor	0–2	2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
12	4 August 2017	Hartfield Park, Australia	Australia	0–4	Friendly [15]

Honours

Club

Home United

• Prime League: 2016
• Singapore FA Cup: 2016

Hougang United

• Singapore Cup: 2022

Lion City Sailors

• Singapore Cup: 2023
• Singapore Community Shield: 2024

International

Singapore U22

• Merlion Cup: 2019

References

1. "YOUNG CENTERBACK LIONEL TAN SIGNS FOR HOUGANG UNITED". 2 January 2017.
2. "Muhelmy wins The New Paper Dollah Kassim Award". 14 December 2014.
3. "S.League.com - Match Details". Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. "Lionel Tan out to become a great Chinese centre-back for the Lions". FourFourTwo. 14 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
5. "Lionel Tan returns to Hougang United - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
6. hermesauto (20 March 2021). "Football: Hougang United shock Lion City Sailors with 3-1 victory". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
7. "2021 Singapore Premier League Round 3: Roundup - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
8. Sailors, Lion City (18 January 2023). "A leap of faith and an eye for more success: Lionel". Lion City Sailors FC. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
9. "MEDIA INFORMATION FAS - Announcement of Under-18 squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers - The Football Association of Singapore". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
10. "AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2016". The-afc.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
11. "From combat to football boots: The 'crazy' 22-year-old who interrupted NS to chase a SEA Games dream". CNA. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
12. "Hong Kong draw with Singapore in football's clash of Asia's world cities". South China Morning Post. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
13. "Football Association of Singapore – Lionel Tan's 2nd goal on his 2nd cap gives Singapore the win over at Macau. | Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
14. Lionel Tan at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
15. "Squad vs OZ u20".