Saifullah Akbar

Muhammad Saifullah bin Muhammad Akbar (born 31 January 1999) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a winger or attacking-midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore national team.

Youth and early life At the age of six, he started playing football and quickly gained entry into the then-called Five Star Football Academy. Saifullah participated in the Lion City Cup with Ikhsan Fandi playing for the NFA U-16.

Saifullah trained with Australian side Newcastle Jets in 2015, impressing their coaching staff. However, no deal was surfaced. Previously, he had a five-day training stint with Queens Park Rangers in England. Also, he had a two-week stint at FC Metz, funded by the Singapore Sport School.

On his debut, Saifullah scored a goal to secure a 6–4 win for Tampines Rovers over Hougang United in the Singapore League Cup. After training daily with the first team throughout the 2015 S.League season, he joined their Prime League squad with the aim of making the Singapore roster for the biannual 2017 SEA Games.

Saifullah joined Young Lions after his national service and played the out the remainder of the 2018 campaign. While on trial at Spanish club, CD Tenerife, he did enough to be offered a contract with the club's B team, however he chose to remain with Young Lions for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season due to developmental reasons. In 2016, he was called up for the Singapore U19s against Bahrain. On 3 June, he made his senior debut in a defeat to Palestine, coming on as a substitute for Hafiz Nor in the 65th minute.

Personal life Saifullah's father is Akbar Nawas, who is his current head coach at Tampines Rovers. Saifullah volunteered for early national service enlistment. As a hobby, he plays guitar and sings and supports Chelsea.

In 2025, Saifullah started his own podcast channel on YouTube alongside his two friends interviewing local footballers on their career.

Career statistics Club