Afi Aminuddin

Muhammad 'Afi bin Aminuddin is a Bruneian footballer who plays as a defender for Brunei Super League club Kasuka.[1]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Aminuddin is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Muhammad 'Afi.
Afi Aminuddin
Afi with Kasuka in 2022
Personal information
Full name Muhammad 'Afi bin Aminuddin
Date of birth (1991-10-09) 9 October 1991
Place of birth Brunei
Height 1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Kasuka FC
Number 2
Youth career
2006–2011 Sports School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 DPMM 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Indera (loan)
2012–2016 Indera (4)
2017–2020 Kota Ranger (2)
2021– Kasuka 10 (0)
International career‡
2012 Brunei U21 6 (0)
2013 Brunei U23 3 (0)
2012– Brunei 16 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Club career

Afi attended Brunei Sports School, the institution that also produced Brunei international footballers such as Azwan Ali Rahman and Hazwan Hamzah.[2] He was drafted into professional club DPMM FC playing in the Singapore league in 2010, but due to the ban imposed by FIFA on Brunei he was sent on loan to Indera SC along with five other players.[3]

Afi signed full terms with Indera not long after and has won two league championships with them.[4] After four seasons, he transferred to Kota Ranger FC. He scored his first goal for the Rangers in the penultimate game of the season, a 1-1 draw with MS PDB on 18 February 2018. He was appointed club captain from the 2018-19 season, then led the team to winning the 2018-19 Brunei FA Cup on 22 April 2019 in a 2–1 victory.[5]

Afi exited Kota Ranger after three years and signed for Kasuka FC in June 2021. In the following year, he played in the final of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 to brother Wafi's team DPMM FC.[6]

International career

Afi played all six games in Brunei U21s' maiden Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy victory in 2012.[7] He also turned out for the under-23s at the 2013 SEA Games.[8]

Afi made his international debut for Brunei on 26 September 2012 in a 0–5 loss against Indonesia.[9] He was ever-present in the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification but did not play at all for the 2014 edition. He was called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chinese Taipei in March 2015, but did not take the field.[10] A year later, he was selected for the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification but only appeared once as a substitute.[11]

After Kwon Oh-son was reinstated as the national team head coach, he re-utilized Afi who had played regularly for him for his first match back at the helm at the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup held in Kuching, Malaysia.[12] Afi became the regular centre-back for fourth-placed Brunei in the tournament, appearing in four matches overall.

Afi was again selected by Kwon for the Brunei squad contesting the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification matches against Timor-Leste in early September.[13]

Helped by his impressive form for Kota Ranger in 2019, he was picked for the 2022 World Cup qualification matches against Mongolia in June.[14] He subsequently made two appearances as a substitute.

On 11 September 2023, Afi was given a starting berth for the away friendly against Hong Kong and played for 70 minutes until he was substituted by Hazwan Hamzah, the hosts were cruising 7–0 at that point.[15] He was selected for the 2026 World Cup qualification games versus Indonesia but saw no game time.[16]

Honours

Team
Indera SC
Kota Ranger FC

International
Brunei national under-21 football team

Individual
See also: Orders, decorations, and medals of Brunei
  • Meritorius Service Medal (PJK) (2012)[17]

Personal life

Afi has three brothers who are also footballers.[18] Younger brother Wafi Aminuddin plays for Brunei's professional football team DPMM FC.[19] Another brother Ulfi Aminuddin was a Brunei under-18 international and has represented the country in futsal, he is also captain of Brunei's seven-a-side football team.[20][21][22] The youngest brother, Bazli is a Brunei youth international.[23]

References
  1. "A. Aminuddin". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. "Sports School students for HBT challenge". Borneo Bulletin. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. "BPL under watchful eyes of DPMM FC". The Brunei Times. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  4. "Indera win DST Sumbangsih Cup". The Brunei Times. 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  5. "KOTA RANGER CROWNED DST FA CUP CHAMPIONS". BruSports News. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  6. "DPMM FC sink Kasuka FC to win Brunei FA Cup". Borneo Bulletin. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. "Confident despite pressure". The Brunei Times. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  8. "HBT heroes to man SEA Games team". The Brunei Times. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  9. "Garuda stung the Wasps". Ranoadidas. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. "Brunei name World Cup Qualifiers players". The Brunei Times. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  11. "Brunei thrill in defeat, suffer painful exit". Borneo Bulletin. 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  12. "Helmi, Azwan join team for AFC Solidarity Cup". The Brunei Times. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  13. "Minister urges national team to make impact at AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier". Borneo Bulletin. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  14. "Brunei football team in China for training camp". Borneo Bulletin. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  15. "Result: Hong Kong, China 10 - 0 Brunei". HKFA. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  16. @fa.bruneidarussalam (9 October 2023). "Here's the 25 players that will be representing Brunei Darussalam in the World Cup Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Instagram.
  17. "Sultan sees HBT stars as nucleus of national team". Borneo Bulletin. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  18. "KNOW YOUR ATHLETE: WAFI AMINUDDIN". BruSports News. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  19. "Under-16s' Record Opening Game Win". Khmer Times. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  20. "20th Lion City Cup (2005)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  21. "Brunei futsal squad all set for AFF challenge in Malaysia". Borneo Bulletin. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  22. "Brunei leave for 7-a-side meet in Manila". Borneo Bulletin. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  23. "Young Wasps in Saudi Arabia for training camp". Borneo Bulletin. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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