Lionel Tan Han Wei (陈汉玮, born 5 June 1997) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or right-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.
Lionel was with the National Football Academy after graduating from Singapore Sports School. In 2016, Lionel started his career with Home United's Prime League team. Subsequently, in 2017, he moved to Hougang United. His performance at the youth level led to him being nominated for the 2014 Dollah Kassim Award although he did not win it in the end.
Club career
Youth
Lionel started his career with National Football Academy (NFA) U-18 team in 2015 after his graduation from the Singapore Sports School. He had hoped to move on to the Garena Young Lions squad following his exploits with the NFA. However, when no such move arose, Tan jumped at the chance to be reunited with Robin Chitrakar at Home United's Prime League squad.
Home United Lionel moved to Home United in 2016 and was made the vice captain of the prime league squad. During his time with the Protectors' Prime League squad, he helped them achieve a double, winning the Prime League and the Singapore FA Cup.
Lionel then made his senior debut on 14 July 2016 against Albirex Niigata (S) in the Singapore League Cup. He made a total of two senior appearances for Home United before moving on the next season.
Hougang United Lionel then moved to Hougang United for the 2017 Singapore Premier League season. He made his debut for the Cheetahs against Tampines Rovers, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute before earning a shock first start in the following match against Brunei DPMM in a 2–0 defeat.
Loan to SAFSA In 2018, Lionel was loaned to SAFSA while he is serving his National Services duties.
Young Lions
After spending one year with SAFSA, Lionel moved to Garena Young Lions for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season for whom he made a total of 19 league appearances.
Return to Hougang United Lionel returned to Hougang United after the completion of his National Service in the middle of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season. He scored the first professional goal of his career in the third match of the 2021 Singapore Premier League season, sweeping in a loose ball and helping his team to a shock 3–1 win against powerhouse Lion City Sailors.
Lion City Sailors On 18 January 2023, Lion City Sailors announced the arrival of Lionel on a free from Hougang United. He make his debut on 24 February in a 3–1 win over Tanjong Pagar United. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 July against the same opponent in the away fixture in a thrashing 7–1 win. On 20 September, Lionel make his AFC Champions League debut in a 1–2 lost against Thailand club Bangkok United. On 9 December, he helped the club to win the 2023 Singapore Cup which is also his first back to back cup win with a different club.
On 26 February 2025, Lionel scored the only goal in the match against league rivals, Tampines Rovers which give Lion City Sailors the 9 points gap on top of the league table. Despite Maxime Lestienne's equaliser in the 91st minute of the 2025 AFC Champions League Two final against Sharjah, the Sailors finished as a runner-up after conceding in the 97th minute to finish the game in a 1–2 defeat.
International career
Youth Lionel was part of the 2015 Under-18 Squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.
Lionel is also in the 2016 AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers playing in matches against Thailand which the team lost 3–0. He also played against Chinese Taipei.
In 2017, Lionel was called up to the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games but failed to make a single appearance as the Republic crashed out in the group stages.
He captained the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Senior Lionel made his senior-level debut in a 1–1 draw with Hong Kong which saw him score a goal on both ends. Lionel then scored again in his second cap, a 1–0 victory over Macau. On 12 September 2023, he scored again to put Singapore in the lead against Chinese Taipei at the Bishan Stadium – his third international goal.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueSingapore CupLeague CupAFC CompetitionCommunity Shield / AFF CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Home United2016S.League000030000030 Hougang United2017 S.League13020000000150 SAFSA (loan)2018Singapore National Football League000000000000 Young Lions (loan)2019Singapore Premier League19000000000190Hougang United2020Singapore Premier League110000000001102021Singapore Premier League183000000001832022Singapore Premier League2106000300 300Total50360003000593Lion City Sailors2023Singapore Premier League242600050003522024–25Singapore Premier League160000060402602025–26Singapore Premier League1003000306 02202026–27Singapore Premier League000000000000Total5029000140110832 Career total1385200301701001775
International International caps No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition1 23 March 2023 Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong 1–1 (draw) Friendly2 26 March 2023 Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau 1–0 (won) Friendly3 16 June 2023 National Stadium, Singapore 2-2 (draw) Friendly418 June 20231-1 (draw)Friendly5 8 Sept 2023 Bishan Stadium, Singapore 0-2 (lost) Friendly6 12 Sept 2023 3-1 (win) Friendly
International goals No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 23 March 2023 Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong 1–1 1–1 Friendly2 26 March 2023 Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau 1–0 1–0 3 12 September 2023 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore 2–1 3–1
U23 International goals No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 22 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Mongolia 1–1 1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
U23 International caps Result column lists Singapore U22 score first. No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition1 9 July 2017 Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore 0–1 (lost) Friendly2 12 July 2017 Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore 1–0 (win) Friendly3 22 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification4 24 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification5 26 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 3–1 (win) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification6 7 June 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 3–0 (win) 2019 Merlion Cup7 9 June 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 1–0 (win) 2019 Merlion Cup8 9 October 2019 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore 0–3 (lost) Friendly9 26 November 2019 Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines 0–0 (draw) 2019 Southeast Asian Games10 28 November 2019 Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines 0–2 (lost) 2019 Southeast Asian Games11 1 December 2019 Biñan Football Stadium, Manila, Philippines 0–3 (lost) 2019 Southeast Asian Games
U19 International caps Result column lists Singapore U19 score first. No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition1 23 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos 0–1 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship2 25 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos 0–4 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship3 29 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos 0–6 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship4 31 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos 1–1 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship5 30 September 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand 10–0 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification6 4 October 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand 0–3 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification7 6 October 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand 2–2 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification8 11 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 0–0 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship9 15 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 1–2 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship10 17 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 2–1 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship11 19 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 0–2 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship12 4 August 2017 Hartfield Park, Australia 0–4 Friendly
Honours Home United Prime League: 2016 Singapore FA Cup: 2016
Hougang United Singapore Cup: 2022
Lion City Sailors AFC Champions League Two runner-up: 2024–25 Singapore Premier League: 2024–25 Singapore Cup: 2023, 2024–25, 2025–26 Singapore Community Shield: 2024; runner-up: 2025
Singapore U22 Merlion Cup: 2019
References