A Precious Experience for Young Singaporean Footballer: Forging Himself in Portugal

At the age of just 13, Putera Nur Muhammad Irfan Bin Ismail, a budding footballer from Singapore, has already shown immense promise. This is evident from the numerous competitions he has participated in, both in his home country and abroad.

Putera first discovered his passion for football when he was around 1 year old. He received a set of goalposts as a birthday gift and ever since he has been captivated by scoring goals. He joined a structured football academy when he turned 4 for formal football training.

“I love football because it allows me to be creative, especially when scoring goals. Football allows me to express myself,” said Putera.

Putera has participated in various local competitions, including JSSL League, Albirex Cup, Pesta Sukan, Activesg competitions, Espzen, Singacup, and National School Games. As for international competitions, Putera has taken part in the Phuket 7s, Bangkok Cup, Royal Selangor Cup, KL Cup, Batam Junior, and Kanga Cup.

After years of playing football, Putera has achieved many accolades. In the past two years, his team has become the champion of the JSSL league for the U12 and U13 categories. Recently, Putera also participated in the Albirex Cup U14 tournament and his team was crowned the champion.

Last year, he won the zone and overall championships in the Fandi Ahmad 4v4 competition. He was also selected for the all-star team and played in a showcase match with Singaporean legend Fandi Ahmad and his team.

His achievements are also remarkable. Putera has been the top goal scorer in the Royal Selangor Cup, the most promising player in the Yuhua tournament, the winner of the penalty shootout during the AIA camp with Teddy Sheringham, and the player of the match in the National School Games, and the pro technique 1v1 champion.

Forging Himself in Portugal

Putera was given a golden opportunity to train in Portugal. He got this chance when he participated in a camp organized by Individual Football Training (IFT) in Singapore.

All the coaches present at the camp were UEFA A licensed coaches from Portugal. Among all the participants in the camp held in June last year, Putera was selected as the best player and was allowed to train and have trials with clubs in Porto.

During his time in Porto, Putera experienced what it’s like to train like a professional footballer. He had 3 training sessions per day, with morning and afternoon sessions held at IFT and club training in the evenings. Putera felt fortunate to join Boavista FC, a renowned club in Porto. He trained with players who were more competent and faster. Moreover, Putera enjoyed the intensity and fast-paced training with Boavista FC.

In addition to training, Putera played friendly matches with players from Salgueiros FC. Overall, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience as it motivated and inspired him to work harder and strive to be the best.

Putera hopes to be given more opportunities to explore overseas for training and club assignments so that he can continue to improve, as he believes that his best career and achievements are yet to come.

“I want to represent my country one day. Hopefully, play for a renowned club overseas and ultimately play football at the highest level,” he said with determination.

Putera Irfan Awards and Achievements:

2023

• Albirex Cup U14 Champion
• JSSL U13 Division 1 Champion

2022

• JSSL League U12 Division 2 (1st place)
• AIA Tottenham Football Clinic (Selected for Elite Camp)
• Techniquepro 1v1 Tournament (1st place)
• Al Hilal U12 Football Tournament (1st Place)
• Individual Football Training (IFT) Top performer
• Pesta Sukan U12 (1st place)
• French Football Academy U14 Tournament (Quarter finals)
• Fandi Rules 4v4 Tournament (Grand Champion, District Champion)
• ActiveSG Quarterly Competition U12 (2nd Runner Up)
• National School Games Senior Division (Captain,3rd place, player of the match)
• ActiveSg Singapura Boleh Episode 1 (Dribbling challenge vs Saifullah Akbar from LCS)

2021

• Pesta Sukan 2v2 Tournament (2nd place)
• Online Ball Mastery Course by PSFC, Malaysia
• Unleash the roar video feature (https://fb.watch/h87aAzmPAU/)

2020

• JSSL 7s representing ActiveSG U11 (Knock out stage)
• National School Game, Junior Division (Team Captain)
• 1v1 Panna competition (1st place)
• AFA Player feature

2019

• Yuhua Youth U10 Tournament (2nd place, U10 Most Promising Player award)
• SingaCup representing ActiveSG U10 (Most Valuable Player Award given by Coach Daniel Bennet)
• Batam Junior U10 (2nd Place)

2018

• JSSL Phuket 7s skill challenge (2nd place)
• JSSL Phuket 7s Tournament (2nd place)
• Royal Selangor Cup (3rd place, U8 top scorer)
• ESPZEN Youth Festival U8 (2nd place)
• Shoot Football Festival U8 (2nd Place)
• ESPZEN Junior Super League U9 Premiership (2nd place)
• JSSL League Division 1 U8 (3rd place)
• SingaCup U8 (3rd place)