Anders Aplin

Anders Aplin, better known as Anders, is a Singaporean former footballer who played as a centre-back. He was known for his long-throw-ins and defensive attributes.

Mainly a centre-back, he is also capable of playing as either a right-back, central-midfielder, and occasionally as a striker.

Club career Youth career Aplin was part of the Singapore Sports School's inaugural cohort of footballers and moved on to the National Football Academy under-18s. In 2009, he was part of the Victoria Junior College football team which won the National Schools A Division title.

Singapore Cricket Club Although Aplin was part of the Singapore Sports School's inaugural cohort of footballers, playing alongside future Lions such as Safuwan Baharudin and Madhu Mohana, his decision to focus on his studies saw him fall through the cracks of Singapore's professional football circuit. As a result, Anders played for Singapore Cricket Club in the amateur National Football League.

Geylang International Aplin started his professional football career with Geylang International in 2016 and made his debut in a League Cup game against Balestier Khalsa. He signed his first professional contract a year later. His performances in the 2017 S.League season saw him win his first call up to Singapore national team. He was also picked for a trial with J2 League side Matsumoto Yamaga in early 2018. In his time at the Japanese club, Aplin had his own cheer song from the club Ultras.

Hougang United Aplin was unveiled as a Hougang United player ahead of the 2020 season. He made his first start for the club against Tampines Rovers in the 2020 Singapore Community Shield. On 5 October 2023, Aplin assisted Đorđe Maksimović in the 89' minute of the game to settled a 2–1 win in the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage fixture against Vietnamese club, Haiphong.

After the departure of long term club captain Nazrul Nazari, Anders was chosen as the club captain ahead of the 2025–26 season.

International career Aplin was first called up by coach V. Sundramoorthy in 2017 although he did not travel with the team for the friendly against Qatar and the Asian Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan on 10 October. He made his debut on 23 March 2018 in a 3-2 win against Maldives, replacing Irfan Fandi in the 73rd minute.

Personal life Aplin is the cousin of former Singapore international footballer Tan Kim Leng. Aplin is also a graduate of Nanyang Technological University (NTU),

Career statistics Club As of match played 27 February 2022

International

As of match played 27 March 2018 Appearances and goals by national team and year

Honours

Club Hougang United

Singapore Cup Champions (1): 2022 Singapore Cup Runner-ups (1): 2023