Both his two elder brothers have done it, and now, Ilhan Fandi (picture), the third son of local football icon Fandi Ahmad, is set to follow in their footsteps and head overseas to continue his footballing development.
TODAY understands that Ilhan, 13, will travel to England with his parents next week to find a suitable school for him. He will then be able to stay in the country and join an English club’s youth academy in due time.
In the meantime, Ilhan will train with the England-based i2i Football Academy, which has partnerships with both York College and York St John University and will assist in linking up players with English professional and semi-professional clubs.
“Ilhan must get into a school first. He can’t get into a English football club yet because he’s underage and we (his parents) are not working there,” Fandi told TODAY.
“So we’ll need to get him a school before looking for a club for him, but I have some contacts who can recommend a suitable academy for him to join. I think he’s very talented, so I want to give him the same opportunities like what his brothers had.
“It’s all about experience for Ilhan, and he’ll probably spend about three to four years overseas, depending on how fast and strong he grows.”
Fandi is confident Ilhan can cope with the difficulty of staying overseas alone at such a young age.
“He has that mentality, he’s got the passion, he’s got the character and the skills are there,” explained Fandi.
“It’s his own desire to go to England, although we know it will be hard for him. Irfan and Ikhsan went together so at least they had each other when they were in Spain and South America. But I believe Ilhan has what it takes.”
Source: TODAY Online
