Who is Hami Syahin? The Singapore footballer who gives everything, every single time

He is warm, open, and entirely unguarded in a way that makes the conversation feel less like a formal interview and more like a catch-up. At 27, he is also one of the most experienced people in the room. You might also be surprised to learn that he’s a father of two – he welcomed his second child just earlier this year.

When asked about the game in Hong Kong, Hami shares that the memory is still vivid for him. He came back to Singapore and found a crowd of supporters waiting at Changi Airport.

“It was my first time seeing a big crowd at the airport receiving us. It was just surreal,” he recounts, a look of disbelief on his face, adding that it carried particular weight because of how young this squad is.

The renewed public attention doesn’t seem to have unsettled him so much as energised him. He notices it on social media, how clubs are expanding to include women’s sides, and notes that the general atmosphere around local football that has shifted since November. But he’s measured about what sustains it.

“The performance we put up on the pitch is definitely the key to bringing in more supporters,” he says. “As players, we know that it is our responsibility.”

What strikes me most about Hami, though, is not the footballer, but the person underneath. He doesn’t post on social media on match days. If he plays badly, he switches everything off and goes home to his family. He mentions his kids the way people do when they are the actual centre of their lives, not a talking point.

When I ask about sacrifice, he doesn’t hesitate: He took only one day off for Hari Raya this year, then it was back to training. Aside from that, he’s looking forward to the off-season of only 17 days this June, after almost a full year of playing.

He also pushes back on one of the most persistent misconceptions about local football: the idea that you can’t make it a career. He has heard the comments online, and has made a deliberate choice not to read them. “I know that if I look at it, it will just distract me,” he says with steely resolve.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DARREN GABRIEL LEOW
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING: LENA KAMARUDIN ASSISTED BY: CHARIS GAN
ART DIRECTION: RAY TICSAY
HAIR: MANISA TAN
GROOMING: ZHOU AIYI, USING SHISEIDO