Zaiful Nizam

Zaiful Nizam bin Abdullah (born 24 July 1987) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for S.League club Balestier Khalsa and the Singapore national team. He is also the captain of Balestier Khalsa.

Zaiful Nizam

Personal information
Full name	Zaiful Nizam bin Abdullah
Date of birth	24 July 1987
Place of birth	Singapore
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Balestier Khalsa
Number	19
Youth career
	National Football Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–	Balestier Khalsa	127	(0)
National team^‡
2015–	Singapore	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 August 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2019

Club career

Gombak United

Zaiful began his professional football career with Gombak United in the S. League in 2009.

Balestier Khalsa

In 2013, Zaiful signed for Balestier Khalsa and is the first choice and captain for the team.[1] He made his 100 capped in the first match of the 2017 S.League against Warriors. He almost scored a goal with a free kick when the team was losing 1–2 to Warriors, his free kick came close and hit he post and the game resulted to a loss.

International career

Zaiful got his first international call up by Singapore's head coach Bernd Stange for friendlies against Bangladesh and Brunei on 30 May and 6 June 2015 respectively. He made his international debut against Brunei on the 60th minute, replacing Izwan Mahbud.

He finally collected his second cap for the Lions in a friendly against Fiji on 11 September 2018, replacing Hassan Sunny in the 60th minute.[2] Zaiful then collected his 3rd cap and pulled off a series of stunning saves against Oman in the AIRMARINE Cup Final.[3]

Zaiful made his third appearance for the national team on 23 March 2019, against Oman in the finals of the AIRMARINE Cup 2019. He started the game and played the full 90 minutes. It eventually ended in a 1–1 draw but Singapore lost to Oman in penalties.[4]

Others

Singapore Selection Squad

He was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor's Cup to be held on 6 May 2017.[5]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 Dec 2020. 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
Gombak United	2009	3	0	-	-	-	-	—		3	0
	2010	22	0	1	0	2	0	—		25	0
	2011	14	0	2	0	2	0	—		18	0
	2012	21	0	6	0	3	0	—		30	0
	Total	60	0	9	0	7	0	0	0	76	0
Balestier Khalsa	2013	22	0	6	0	3	0	—		31	0
	2014	27	0	6	0	4	0	—		37	0
	2015	27	0	2	0	4	0	6	0	39	0
	2016	23	0	5	0	0	0	6	0	34	0
	2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2018	24	0	4	0	0	0	—		28	0
	2019	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		5	0
	2020	14	0	0	0	0	0	—		14	0
	2021	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total	142	0	23	0	11	0	12	0	188	0
Career Total		202	0	32	0	18	0	12	0	264	0

International

As of 24 March 2019

Singapore national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2015	1	0
2016	0	0
2017	0	0
2018	1	0
2019	1	0
Total	3	0

Honours

Balestier Khalsa

• Singapore Cup: 2014 [6]
• League Cup: 2013 [6]

Singapore U17

• Lion City Cup: 2004 [7]

References

1. "Balestier Khalsa - Zaiful Nizam". Balestier Khalsa FC. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
2. "Singapore put two past Fiji to record first win under Fandi Ahmad". FourFourTwo. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
3. "Zulfahmi stunner earns Lions draw against Oman - Football Association of Singapore". Retrieved 24 March 2019.
4. "Zulfahmi stunner earns Lions draw against Oman - Football Association of Singapore". Retrieved 24 March 2019.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Zaiful Nizam at Soccerway
7. Ho, Stanley (21 June 2004). "Dazzling Cubs put on a show in Lion City Cup final". Today. p. 27.