Shawal Anuar

Muhammad Shawal bin Anuar (born 29 April 1991) is a Singaporean professional footballer who mainly plays as a winger or striker for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team. Considered as one of the best players in the league, Shawal is known for his dribbling skills, speed and finishing.

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Anuar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Muhammad Shawal. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Shawal Anuar
Personal information
Full name Muhammad Shawal bin Anuar
Date of birth (1991-04-29) 29 April 1991
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) winger / striker
Team information
Current team
 Lion City Sailors
Number 7
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Keppel Monaco
2014–2019 Geylang International 108 (31)
2020–2022 Hougang United 26 (5)
2023– Lion City Sailors 21 (10)
International career‡
2016– Singapore 31 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 May 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 December 2022

Club career

Keppel Monaco

Shawal started his career with semi-professional club, Keppel Monaco in the National Football League earning $50 allowance per match while also working as a mover, cleaned glass panels at malls and delivering scooters. At this point, earning money was essential and professional football was far from his mind.

Geylang Internatioal

In 2014, Shawal signed a contract with Geylang International earning $500 a month being signed for six months for the team's reserve Prime League squad, Shawal managed to appear for the senior team, clocking in 69 minutes of football for the senior side.[1]


In the following year, Shawal received his first professional contract earning $1,800 which he decided to quit his odd jobs and turn his full attention to football. Shawal went on to have a solid full debut season for the Eagles in the 2015 S.League, scoring 4 goals in 22 appearances, helping his team finish 8th in the league.[2]

Shawal built on his debut season and helped his team win the 2016 Singapore League Cup Plate, Geylang's first trophy since 2009, while earning a call-up to the national team.[3][4][5] His performances in 2016 prompted his head coach Hasrin Jailani to identify him as one of the players to watch for in the 2017 S.League season.[3]

Shawal started in the season open against Hougang United and scored his first goal of the season in the following match, helping his team to 3 points over Balestier Khalsa.[6][7] He got his second of the season in a 2-0 win over the Garena Young Lions in Geylang's 5th game of the season.[8]

As of the end of the 2018 Singapore Premier League season, Shawal has notched 22 goals in 77 appearances for the Eagles.[9]

Matsumoto Yamaga trials

Shawal started the 2017 season on a good note. Following Geylang International and Matsumoto Yamaga signing of a MOU in November 2016, Shawal, together with fellow winger Gabriel Quak, were selected to go on a one-week trial with the J2 side.[10] Both players were not offered a contract, with the Japanese side saying that the pair was good enough to play in the J3 League with potential to feature in the top-tier J.League if they fulfill their potential.[11][12]

Hougang United

After scoring 9 goals over 16 appearances with Geylang International in the 2019 Singapore Premier League, Shawal was snapped up by the Cheetahs for the 2020 Singapore Premier League season on a 2 year contract.[13]

Shawal ended his career at Hougang with 14 goals and 10 assists, helping them win their first ever silverware in the form of the 2022 Singapore Cup.[14]

Lion City Sailors

On 21 December 2022, Shawal was unveiled officially as part of the Lion City Sailors squad ahead of the 2023 Singapore Premier League season.[15]

On 26 July 2023, as the Sailors played their first match in their history at the Singapore National Stadium against Tottenham Hotspurs in a friendly match, Shawal scored first which give Lion City Sailors the lead against the English giants which cause an upset to the away fans and a roaring crowd from the Sailors fans. Shawal becomes the third Singaporean to scored against an English team since Fandi Ahmad against Nottingham Forest in 1995 and Indra Sahdan against Manchester United in 2001. [16] [17] On 21 October, he scored his first hat-trick for the club against Tanjong Pagar United in the 2023 Singapore Cup.

International career

Shawal was called up for the first time to the senior team by Singapore's head coach V. Sundramoorthy in 2016 for matches against Malaysia and Hong Kong. He made his international debut against Hong Kong in the 79th minute, replacing Gabriel Quak.[18]

Shawal scored his first international goal, in his second international cap, against Afghanistan. He scored in the 46th minute to equalise for the Lions. However, Singapore fell to an eventual 2-1 defeat.[19]

He scored his third and fourth international goal in a 3-1 win over Maldives in a final friendly game ahead of the 2022 AFF Championship.[20] Shawal then scored his fifth international goal in his next game, coolly slotting in a 74th-minute winner, from a Zaiful Nizam long punt, to help the Lions to win their 2022 AFF Championship opening game against Myanmar.[21] He notched his sixth goal in Singapore's 2-0 win over Laos in the 2022 AFF Championship, nicking the ball from Laos goalkeeper, Keo-Oudone Souvannasangso in the 94th minute of the game.[22]


As the national team returned to the Singapore National Stadium after 15 months, On 16 June and 18 June 2023, he scored in both the friendly against Oceania continent, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands which both games resulted in a draw. In the second legged match in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, he scored the only goal in the match against Guam to secured the win which see Singapore advanced to the second round.

Personal life

Shawal studied at Kent Ridge Secondary School where he played field hockey and badminton but chose football as a co-curricular activity (CCA).

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 27 Sept 2023. Caps and goals may not be correct.
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup		 Asia Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Geylang International 2014 400000—40
2015 2033030—263
2016 1712052—243
2017 1991030—239
2018 1570000—157
2019 1482100—169
Total 8928811120010831
Hougang United 2020 134001030174
2021 183000000183
2022 24116300303214
Total 55186310606721
Lion City Sailors 2023 21102300202513
Total 21102300202513
Career total 165561671228020265

International statistics
NoDateVenueOpponentResultCompetition
111 October 2016Mong Kok Stadium, Mongkok, Hong Kong Hong Kong0–2Friendly
223 March 2017Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Doha, Qatar Afghanistan1–2Friendly
39 November 2017National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Lebanon0–1Friendly
49 November 2017National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Bahrain0–32019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round
523 March 2018Bishan Stadium, National Stadium, Singapore Maldives3–2Friendly
627 March 2018Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan Chinese Taipei0–12019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round
75 September 2019National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Yemen2–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
85 October 2019Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan Jordan0–0Friendly
910 October 2019King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia0–32022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
1015 October 2019National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Uzbekistan1–32022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
1311 November 2021Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium, Sharjah, UAE Kyrgyzstan1–2Friendly
145 December 2021National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Myanmar3–02020 AFF Championship
1514 December 2021 Timor-Leste2–0
1618 December 2021 Thailand0–2
1722 December 2021 Indonesia1–1
1825 December 2021 Indonesia4–2
1926 March 2022 Malaysia2–12022 FAS Tri-Nations Series
2029 March 2022 Philippines2–0
21 17 December 2022 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  Maldives 2–1 Friendly
22 24 December 2022  Myanmar 3–2 2022 AFF Championship
23 27 December 2022 New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos  Laos 2–0
24 30 December 2022 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  Vietnam 0-0
25 3 January 2023 Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia  Malaysia 4–1
26 16 June 2023 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore  Papua New Guinea 2–2 Friendly
27 18 June 2023  Solomon Islands 1–1
288 Sept 2023Bishan Stadium, Singapore Tajikistan0–2Friendly
2912 Sept 2023Bishan Stadium, Singapore Chinese Taipei3–1Friendly
30 12 October 2023 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore  Guam 2–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round
31 17 October 2023 GFA National Training Center, Dededo, Guam  Guam 1–0

International goals
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
123 March 2017Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Doha, Qatar Afghanistan1–11–2Friendly
229 March 2022National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore Philippines2–02–02022 FAS Tri-Nations Series
317 December 2022Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore Maldives2–13–1Friendly
43–1
524 December 2022 Myanmar3–23–22022 AFF Championship
627 December 2022New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos Laos2–02–0
7 16 June 2023 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore  Papua New Guinea 2–1 2–2 Friendly
8 18 June 2023  Solomon Islands 1–0 1–1
912 September 2023Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore Chinese Taipei3–13–1
10 17 October 2023 GFA National Training Center, Dededo, Guam  Guam 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Geylang International


Hougang United

Individual

References
  1. "Geylang's Shawal and Quak off to Japan for trials". The New Paper. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  2. "S.League.com - Shawal Wants To Build On Strong Debut Season". www.sleague.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  3. "Hasrin tips trio for greater success, Sahil in limbo". FourFourTwo. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. "Geylang hold off Cheetahs to win League Cup Plate". FourFourTwo. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. "League Cup 2016: FFT's five who defied the odds". FourFourTwo. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  6. "Eagles Floored By Cheetahs In Season Opener | Geylang International FC". gifc.org.sg. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  7. "Eagles Soar The Skies Of Bedok With A Victory Over Tigers | Geylang International FC". gifc.org.sg. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  8. "S.League.com - Garena Young Lions". www.sleague.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  9. Lee, David (1 March 2019). "Football: Three players to watch in the 2019 Singapore Premier League". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  10. "Eye-opener for Quak and Shawal in Japan". The New Paper. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  11. "Geylang wingers good enough for Japanese third tier". The New Paper. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  12. "Geylang's Shawal and Quak off to Japan for trials". The New Paper. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  13. "Hougang United Football Club (HGFC)". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  14. cue (20 December 2022). "Keep an eye out for them at the 2022 AFF Championship | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  15. "Shawal Anuar ready to make his mark with the Sailors". Lion City Sailors FC. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  16. Kwek, Kimberly (27 July 2023). "Scoring against Spurs 'one of the best moments' of Shawal Anuar's career". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  17. "Scoring against Spurs 'one of the best moments' of Shawal Anuar's career". The New Paper. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  18. "Call up for national team". Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  19. "Afghanistan vs. Singapore - Football Match Report - March 23, 2017 - ESPN". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  20. "Lions see off Maldives in final pre-tournament friendly - Football Association of Singapore". Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  21. cue (24 December 2022). "Football: Lions fight back to defeat Myanmar 3-2 in AFF C'ship opener | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  22. "Singapore beat Laos 2-0 at AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup". CNA. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

https://web.archive.org/web/20161115182849/http://www.fas.org.sg/news/irfan-follows-his-fathers-footsteps-make-lions-debut https://web.archive.org/web/20161127022049/http://www.fas.org.sg/news/shawal-irfan-determined-show-what-they-can-d

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