SINGAPORE (14 August 2026) – Singapore striker Shawal Anuar has proven himself to be the archetypal late developer; from grinding through the lower leagues in his early 20s and doing odd jobs on the side to belatedly blossoming into one of the most potent strikers at the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026.
Twenty goals in 56 appearances since making his Lions debut in late 2016 – less than two years into a professional career that started just prior to his 24th birthday – have marked Shawal out as a prolific forward driven by an appreciation of his own good fortune.
From playing in Singapore’s lower-tier National Football League for Keppel Monaco and working as a mover and glass panel cleaner to supplement his modest S$50 match fee, the career path of the Lion City Sailors FC forward is a lesson in persistence.
“The key thing in my journey is that I kept working hard,” says Shawal, who signed his first professional contract in 2014 with Geylang International having spent a year with Keppel Monaco and a season in Geylang’s reserves.
“I never ever gave up on what I wanted to do and what I wanted to achieve. So I think that’s something I have had with me since I started my journey, from before my odd jobs to when I joined football.”
It’s more than a decade since Shawal moved on from that challenging first phase of his career and into the professional ranks, but he still occasionally affords himself the time to look back on his remarkable journey, even if he is keen not to romanticise his former life.
“I went down a few times, so when I look at it, it always reminds me to stay humble,” he says of the mall where he previously worked. “It reminds me where I came from, and I just have to keep working hard.
“For me, it’s how I worked myself up from where I started. Other players started from academies, but in my time, I didn’t even start from all these academies. What I cherish is how I started and how much hard work I put into myself to be where I am now.
“I cherish all those moments and the fact that the hard work paid off for me.”
Shawal’s dedication and drive to create a professional career has carried over into a determination to make the most of the opportunities that have come along since.
While he made his debut for the national team in 2016, he had to wait until 2022 to win his first trophy when he lifted the Singapore Cup with Hougang United FC.
A switch to Lion City Sailors the following season saw him feature in the side that won the Singapore Premier League title in 2024/25 and reach the final of the AFC Champions League Two. He would retain the league title the following season.
Individually, he has been named in the Singapore Premier League’s Team of the Year on three occasions while also playing for Singapore at the 2022 and 2024 editions of the ASEAN Championship.
“(The 20-year-old Shawal) would be surprised at where I am now because back then I didn’t even dream of this,” he says. “Just representing the country and playing in this tournament was never in my dreams.”
Shawal was a member of the Singapore squad that reached the semi-finals of the competition two years ago, missing out on a place in the final to eventual champions Vietnam.
The disappointment of that defeat will help fuel Shawal’s desire to go one stage further when he and his Lions team mates face off against seven-times champions Thailand in the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ semi-final, starting with the first leg in Singapore at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday.
“For me, I would like to go as far as we can in this tournament and also help the team achieve what we haven’t achieved. For me personally, I would like to achieve a lot more during my career now,” said Shawal, who scored in the 2-1 win over Cambodia.
“This is a new year, so it’s a new semi-final, it’s a different game and maybe a different Thailand team. So I think I just have to stay focused on Saturday’s game.” – aseanutdfc.com
