Harith Haiqal

Harith Haiqal bin Adam Afkar (born 22 June 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Malaysia Super League club Selangor and the Malaysia national team.

Early life Harith began his career in football after being spotted by the NFDP officials while he was playing for his school's under-12 side before joining the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD). He was a striker at the beginning of his football journey, but his talent in handling the defence line as a central defender started with the AMD team and shines in that position up until now.

Club career Selangor Harith became one of the AMD players who signed his first professional contract with Selangor after graduating from high school. He then managed to be listed with the Selangor II team after displaying an impressive performance during the three cornered match against the other young Selangor players handled by German coach, Michael Feichtenbeiner at the end of 2019.

On 25 November 2021, Selangor confirmed that Harith would be definitely promoted to Selangor's first team for 2022 season.

During the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two fixture against Korean giants Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on 23 October 2024, Harith was chosen as the captain during the match as both club captains, Safuwan Baharuddin and Noor Al-Rawabdeh was out due to injury. Harith went on to score the opening goal in the match and guided the team to a historic 2–1 win against the Korean club.

International career Youth Harith was part of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship squad. He was later selected for the national under-23 team for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification, helping the squad to reach the final tournament.

In March 2023, Harith was listed for the Merlion Cup tournament held in Singapore. He successfully won the trophy for the first time with the Malaysia U22 squad.

Senior In March 2024, Harith was called up to the Malaysia national team for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. He made his debut for Malaysia on 14 October 2024 during a friendly match against New Zealand at the North Harbour Stadium.

In September 2024, Harith was listed in the 2024 Merdeka Tournament. In the tournament, Malaysia successfully won the championship for the 13th time by defeating Lebanon.

On 14 November 2024, Harith scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Laos at the PAT Stadium in Thailand.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 14 November 2024 PAT Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand. 0–1 1–3 Friendly Match

Honours Selangor Malaysia Cup runner-up: 2022 Malaysia Cup runner-up: 2022 Malaysia Super League runner-up: 2023 MFL Challenge Cup: 2024-25 Malaysia U22 Merlion Cup: 2023 Malaysia Merdeka Tournament: 2024