Football: SPL players Ong Yu En, Fathullah Rahmat to train with K-League teams
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SINGAPORE – In a boost for the Singapore Premier League’s (SPL) young players, Tampines Rovers’ Ong Yu En and Tanjong Pagar United’s Fathullah Rahmat are heading to South Korea for a training stint from Dec 26 to Jan 5.
The central midfielders will spend time with the youth teams of top K-League 1 sides Incheon United and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. They will also train with K-League 2 club Cheonan City’s senior squad during their two-week attachment.
Ong, 19, who made 17 appearances for Tampines in the 2022 SPL season, said: “I am really relishing this opportunity and I will do my best to learn as much as I can. I’ve heard a lot from my teammates who have played overseas about the higher standards required...
“This may be a short training stint but the exposure is going to fuel my hunger to play overseas in the future.”
Fathullah, 20, was a regular for Tanjong Pagar and played 23 out of 28 league matches.
He said: “I’m thrilled and honoured to be given an opportunity to train with top-class players in Korea.
“I will make use of what I have learnt there and bring it back to Singapore, be it in terms of professionalism or their attitude towards training. I am really looking forward to doing my best here.”
Incheon’s academy has produced national team stars, including Jeong Woo-yeong, who is playing for Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, and Park Ji-soo.
Suwon are also noted for their youth academy, having churned out Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Jeong Sang-bin, a 20-year-old forward now on loan at Swiss side Grasshoppers.
Both Ong and Fathullah are represented by Rookbook Sports agency.
Its director of management Vikram Jayakumar said: “We hope that our Rooks (Ong and Fathullah) will be able to learn a lot from this experience, and use these as valuable references for their blossoming careers to come.”
