Khairin Nadim

Khairin Nadim
Personal information
Full name Khairin Nadim bin Rahim
Date of birth (2004-05-12) 12 May 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Kuala Lumpur City
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2025 Young Lions 23 (6)
2023–2025 Lion City Sailors U21 0 (0)
2024–2025Young Lions (loan) 0 (0)
2025– Kuala Lumpur City
International career
2019–2021 Singapore U16 2 (2)
2022– Singapore U19 4 (1)
2021– Singapore U23 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:04, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 May 2022

Khairin Nadim bin Rahim (born 12 May 2004) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a striker or left-winger for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City. He was part of Goal Singapore's NxGn 2020 list as one of the country's biggest talents.[1]

At 16 years and 194 days, Khairin became the youngest Singapore Premier League goalscorer of all time with his opening goal against Tampines Rovers on 17 November 2020 where he also become the youngest player ever to score five goals in the history of the league at 16 years old. At 15 years and 298 days, Khairin Nadim is the third youngest Singapore Premier League debutant ever.

Club career

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Young Lions

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Khairin signed for Young Lions in 2020. He made his professional debut on 1 March 2020 in a 1–4 lost against Hougang United when he was substituted in the 75th minute.[2] At 15 years and 298 days old, he became the youngest ever debutant in Singapore Premier League history before the record was broken on 31 March 2023 by Lion City Sailors player Nathan Mao at 15 years and 5 days old.[3]

Khairin then became the third-youngest player to score in Singapore’s professional football league in the Young Lions’ 3–1 lost to Tampines in the same year, missing Singapore captain Hariss Harun’s record by just 20 days.[4] Khairin continued his fine progress and broke yet another record when he scored against Geylang International on 20 March 2021. At just 16 years and 316 days old, Khairin became the youngest player ever to score five goals in Singapore Premier League eclipsing the previous record of 17 years and 102 days set by Geylang’s Zikos Chua in 2019.[4] His performance at the start of the 2021 Singapore Premier League earned him the SPL 'Young Player of the Month' award in March 2021.[4]

In 2023, he enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces for his 2-years national services

International career

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Youth

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Khairin represent Singapore U16 at the 2020 AFC U-16 Championship qualification in 2019.[5]

Personal life

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Khairin is a childhood Liverpool fan and cited Brazilian star, Neymar as his footballing idol growing up.[6]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of December 2022[7]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Young Lions 2020 Singapore Premier League 12 3 0 0 0 0 12 3
2021 Singapore Premier League 19 3 0 0 0 0 19 3
2022 Singapore Premier League 18 1 0 0 0 0 18 1
2024–25 Singapore Premier League 11 1 0 0 0 0 11 1
Total 50 8 0 0 0 0 50 8
Career total 50 8 0 0 0 0 50 8
Notes

International

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U23 International caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 25 October 2021 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  East Timor 2-2 (draw) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
2 28 October 2021 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  Philippines 1–0 (won) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
3 7 May 2022 Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam  Laos 2-2 (draw) 2021 SEA Games
4 9 May 2022 Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam  Thailand 0–5 (lost) 2021 SEA Games
5 11 May 2022 Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam  Cambodia 1-0 (won) 2021 SEA Games
6 14 May 2022 Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam  Malaysia 2-2 (draw) 2021 SEA Games

U19 International caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 3 July 2022 Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  Cambodia 0-1 (lost) 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
2 5 July 2022 Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  East Timor 0-1 (lost) 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
3 7 July 2022 Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  Malaysia 0-0 (draw) 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
4 9 July 2022 Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  Laos 1-3 (lost) 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship

U19 International goals

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No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 July 2022 Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  Laos 1–3 1-3 (lost) 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship

U17 International caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 17 September 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  Hong Kong 1-2 (lost) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
2 19 September 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  North Korea 1–6 (lost) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

U17 International goals

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No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 September 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  Hong Kong 1–0 1-2 (lost) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
2 19 September 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore  North Korea 1–3 1–6 (lost) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

References

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  1. ^ "From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore". Goal.
  2. ^ "Tampines Rovers goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari plays starring role in win". The New Paper. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Khairin Nadim, 15, becomes youngest ever SPL debutant". Singapore Premier League. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Young Lions' Khairin Nadim, 17, out to prove age is just a number". youthopia.sg. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ^ "2020 AFC U16 Championship Qualifiers: Singapore suffer 2-1 defeat to Hong Kong; DPR Korea record 16-0 win!". FOX Sports Philippines. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Neymar admirer, record breaker & schoolboy - Meet Young Lions sensation Khairin Nadim". Goal.
  7. ^ Khairin Nadim at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 March 2020.