With his famous last name, one would expect doors to open everywhere for Iryan Fandi.
His father, local football icon. Fandi Ahmad, and family are practically football royalty here, and elder brothers Irfan, Ikhsan and Ilhan - who are 25, 23 and 20 - play professionally and have donned national colours.
But 16-year-old Iryan, the youngest of Fandi's brood of five, has already experienced rejection in the sport - twice.
Now, the former rugby player is ready to step out of his family's huge shadow to make his mark as a professional footballer.
In an interview with The Straits Times, the soft-spoken teenager talked about his early struggles. He experienced his first setback at Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), when he was cut from the school team.
This story is from the December 21, 2022 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 21, 2022 edition of The Straits Times.
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