Luther Wesley Singh (born 5 August 1997) is a South African professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays as a winger for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

club Chaves, on loan from Danish club

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and the South Africa national team. Prior to making his senior international debut in 2017, Singh represented the South Africa national under-20 team, with whom he won the Golden Boot award at both the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships and the

2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, officially known as the Total U-20 Africa Cup Of Nations, Zambia 2017, was the 14th edition of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations (21st edition if tournaments without hosts are included), the biennial internationa ...

Club career

Early career

Singh is an academy graduate of the famed South-African-based Stars of Africa football academy which he joined at the age of 11, after being scouted by Farouk Khan. Through the academy, Singh was afforded the opportunity to train in Brazil when he was 16 where he spent time with

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

and

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

GAIS

Singh's success at the Stars of Africa academy caught the attention of numerous clubs and in 2015 Swedish second-division side GAIS signed him. In his first season with GAIS, Singh was employed as a winger and netted two goals in eight league appearances for the club before his season was cut short through injury. For the 2016 campaign, he was converted into a forward and scored the first professional

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

of his career on 22 May in a 7-0 win over

Ängelholm Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010. History The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600. The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...

. In July, the player confirmed that the Real Madrid B side and

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

had previously been in contact with Khan, as his agent, over a potential

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

. GAIS rejected these advances, however, in a bid to hold on to Singh until his contract expired. In August of the same year, Singh rejected a move to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

, claiming better options would become available to him once he was a

free-agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He ultimately made 28 appearances for the

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

season and scored 9 goals as GAIS ended the campaign in eighth place.

Braga

Following the expiration of his contract with GAIS, Singh signed for Portuguese

side

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

on 21 January 2017. There, he teamed up with the club's reserve side who played in the LigaPro. He scored his first goal on 15 February 2017, netting the fifth in a 5–0 win over

Vizela Vizela () is a municipality in the Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,736, in an area of 24.70 km². The present mayor is Vitor Hugo Salgado, elected as an independent. The municipal holiday is March 19. History In A ...

, and ultimately scored 14 goals in 52 appearances over the next season and a half.

Loan to Chaves

In January 2019, Singh joined fellow Primeira Liga side Chaves on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

for the remainder of the season. On 3 January, he made his debut for the club and was named man of the match for his performance in a 0–0 draw with Feirense. He scored his first goal in his third appearance for the club, netting the winner in a 2–1 league win over

Tondela Tondela () is a municipality in the central Portuguese subregion of Dão-Lafões. The population in 2011 was 28,946, in an area of 371.22 km². History Local writer and intellectual Amadeu Ferraz de Carvalho (1876–1951) wrote of the mun ...

. He ultimately scored twice in seventeen appearances but Chaves suffered relegation at the end of the campaign.

Loan to Moreirense

On 13 August 2019, he joined another Portuguese club

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

on a season-long loan.

Loan to Paços de Ferreira

On 21 September 2020, he joined another Portuguese club

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

on a loan.

Copenhagen

On 18 August 2021, Singh was picked up by perennial Danish frontrunner

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

on a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 22 August, coming on as a substitute for

Mohamed Daramy Mohamed Daramy (born 7 January 2002) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for French Ligue 1 club Reims and the Denmark national team. Club career F.C. Copenhagen Daramy joined Copenhagen from Hvidovre as ...

in the 80th minute of a 2–0 win over

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...

. In the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

game against PAOK on 21 October, he came on as a half-time substitute, but was subbed off again before the final whistle. He was heavily criticized for his performance, with Danish commentators during the game saying that "he looks like someone who ate three burgers before coming onto the pitch". He was hospitalised in November 2021 after falling ill, something his agent later attributed to depression after being subject to criticism. Singh joined former club Chaves on a season-long loan on 24 August 2022.

International career

South Africa U20

Singh represented

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships and scored in nation's 8-0 win over

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

during the group stage. After winning all three of their group stage matches, South Africa progressed to the semi-final where they beat

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

5-0, with Singh netting a

on the day. South Africa lost in the final, however, with an assist from Singh not enough to prevent the nation going down 2-1 to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. At the conclusion of the tournament Singh was awarded the Golden Boot award for his tally of five goals throughout the competition. He then represented South Africa at the

and scored a hat-trick in the nation's opening match against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He scored once more against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

before South Africa were eliminated from the competition in the semi-finals, losing out again to eventual champions

. Singh's tally of four goals for the tournament, coupled with two assists earned him the Golden Boot award and a spot in the CAF Best XI. In May the same year, Singh was named in South Africa's 21-man squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.

South Africa senior national team

Following his impressive performances at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, Singh was called up by interim

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Owen Da Gama to the senior national team in March 2018 for friendlies against

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. Though an unused substitute in South Africa's 3–1 win over the former, he made his debut for the national team on 28 March against the latter, starting in a 0–0 draw. The following year he was named in Stuart Baxter's provisional squad for the 2018 COSAFA Cup before taking part in the 2019 edition where he scored his first international goals, against

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

respectively.

Personal life

Singh is of black South African and partial Indian descent, through his

Punjabi Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

grandfather, and was raised in the

Noordgesig Noordgesig (meaning "north view/facing") is a township in Soweto, situated at the edge of area's northernmost boundary, but within its territory. It is the first township seen on entering Soweto from the frequently used New Canada Road. Noordgesig ...

township in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. His father, uncle and cousins all played football at an amateur or semi-pro level.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Singh goal.''

Honours

Copenhagen *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

: 2021–22 South Africa U23 * Africa U-23 Cup of Nations third place: 2019 Individual * 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships: Golden Boot *

: Golden Boot *

: Team of the Tournament

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Luther 1998 births Living people South African soccer players South African expatriate soccer players Association football forwards South African people of Indian descent Sportspeople of Indian descent Sportspeople from Soweto South Africa international soccer players 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations players South Africa under-20 international soccer players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players of South Africa GAIS players S.C. Braga B players G.D. Chaves players Moreirense F.C. players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players F.C. Copenhagen players Superettan players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Expatriate footballers in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Denmark South African expatriate sportspeople in Sweden South African expatriate sportspeople in Portugal South African expatriate sportspeople in Denmark