Ho Wai Loon (Chinese: 何维伦; born 20 August 1993) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a central-midfielder or left-back for Singapore Premier League club Albirex Niigata (S), whom he captains and the Singapore national team.[1]

Ho Wai Loon
Personal information
Full name Ho Wai Loon
Date of birth (1993-08-20) 20 August 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Position(s) Central-midfielder / Left-back
Team information
Current team
Albirex Niigata (S)
Number 24
Youth career
2011–2012 Balestier Khalsa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2016 Balestier Khalsa 21 (0)
2017–2018 Warriors 37 (2)
2019–2021 Lion City Sailors 20 (0)
2021Balestier Khalsa (loan) 8 (0)
2022–2023 Balestier Khalsa 47 (4)
2024– Albirex Niigata (S) 0 (0)
International career
2019 Singapore U23 3 (0)
2017– Singapore 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 March 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2023

Education

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Ho studied at Canberra Primary School, Canberra Secondary School and ITE Yishun.[2] He later joined the Home United Academy.[2]

Club career

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Balestier Khalsa

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Ho started his football career in 2011, playing for Balestier Khalsa.[citation needed] Ho was released in 2013 but signed for Balestier again in 2014 for the 2014 S.League season.[2][citation needed]

In 2015, Ho tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which kept him out of play for more than a year.[3][4]

Warriors

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He then signed for Warriors FC ahead of the 2017 S.League season.[citation needed] That was where he gained his first national team call up.[citation needed]

Home United

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In January 2019, Ho joined fellow S.League club Home United.[5]

In March 2020, Ho fractured his right ankle during training.[3]

In April 2021, Ho returned to training with Lion City Sailors (formerly Home United) but found himself out of the club squad.[6] During the mid-season transfer window Ho moved to Balestier Khalsa on loan from till the end of the 2021 season to regain his match fitness.[6][7]

Balestier Khalsa

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Ho later moved to Balestier Khalsa[citation needed] where he was named the team's captain.[8]

International career

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Youth

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Ho played at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games football tournament, although he was sent off for his second yellow card offence in Singapore's must win game against Indonesia U23.[9][10]

Senior

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Ho was first called up to the senior side in 2017, as a standby player for the friendly against Afghanistan and the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Bahrain on 23 and 28 March 2017 respectively.[11]

After being included in the national set-up for a year, Ho finally won his first cap for Singapore in a friendly against Fiji on 11 September 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute.[12][13] Ho made his first start and second appearance for the national team against Cambodia on 16 October. However, he scored an own-goal and was eventually substituted early in the 46th minute.

Ho was called up in September 2022 by head coach Takayuki Nishigaya for international friendlies against Vietnam and India on 21 and 24 September.[14]

Others

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Singapore Selection Squad

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He was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor's Cup to be held on 6 May 2017.[15]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 13 March 2023.[16]
Club Season Singapore
Premier League
Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup
Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Balestier Khalsa 2011 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 5 0 2 0 0 0 7 0
2015 9 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 18 0
2016 7 0 3 0 4 0 0 0 14 0
Total 21 0 5 0 8 0 5 0 39 0
Warriors 2017 18 0 0 0 5 1 23 1
2018 19 2 2 0 0 0 21 2
Total 37 2 2 0 5 1 0 0 44 3
Club Season Singapore
Premier League
Singapore Cup Community Shield Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lion City Sailors 2019 19 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 25 0
2020 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2021 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 20 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 26 0
Balestier Khalsa (on loan) 2021 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Balestier Khalsa 2022 24 0 6 0 0 0 30 0
2023 23 4 1 0 0 0 24 4
Total 55 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 62 4
Albirex Niigata (S) 2024–25 14 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
Total 14 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
Career Total 147 6 14 0 14 0 11 0 186 7

International statistics

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Singapore national team
Year Apps Goals
2018 2 0
2022 1 0
2023 1 0
Total 4 0

International caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 11 September 2018 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore   Fiji 2-0 (won) Friendly
2 16 October 2018 Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia   Cambodia 2-1 (won) Friendly
3 21 September 2022 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam   Vietnam 0-4 (lost) 2022 VFF Tri-Nations Series
4 23 March 2023 Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong   Hong Kong 1–1 (Draw) Friendly
5 26 March 2023 Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau   Macau 1–0 Friendly

U19 International caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 8 November 2011 Petaling Jaya Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia   Indonesia 0-3 (lost) 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification

Honours

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Balestier Khalsa

References

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  1. ^ Kenneth Tan (21 July 2015). "S.League: Balestier's Ho Wai Loon ready for Albirex rematch". ESPNFC. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Leong, Kelvin (8 May 2015). "Ho Wai Loon chases family wish". ESPN.com. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Auto, Hermes (30 July 2021). "Football: After 506 days of waiting, Ho Wai Loon is just happy to be playing ball again | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  4. ^ "S.League: Tigers wary of Geylang wingers". ESPN.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Home United unveil Singapore left-back Ho Wai Loon as latest signing". Fox Sports. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b Chin, Nigel (2 July 2021). "Having learned how to walk again, Ho Wai Loon hits restart button on career | Youthopia". youthopia.sg. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Ho Wai Loon leaves Lion City Sailors to complete Balestier loan". Lion City Sailors FC. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  8. ^ Lee, David (16 March 2022). "S'pore Premier League to implement video assistant referee in 'near future'". The New Paper. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  9. ^ Tan, Carissa. "SEA Games Football: Ho Wai Loon sent off as Singapore fail to qualify for semis after losing 0–1 to Indonesia". RED SPORTS. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  10. ^ Kelvin Leong (11 June 2015). "Hosts Singapore out of SEA Games after shock 1-0 defeat to Indonesia". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Call up for national team". Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Singapore put two past Fiji to record first win under Fandi Ahmad". FourFourTwo. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  13. ^ "SG Ratings: Baihakki, Hariss and Mahler seal victory for Fandi Ahmad". FourFourTwo. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  14. ^ "WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (12-18 Sept)". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  15. ^ "SINGAPORE SELECTION SQUAD FOR THE SULTAN OF SELANGor's CUP REVEALED | the Football Association of Singapore". Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  16. ^ Ho Wai Loon at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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