Singapore national football team captain Hariss Harun joins Lion City Sailors

Singapore national men’s football team captain Hariss Harun inked a three-and-a-half-year deal to join the Lion City Sailors, the Singapore Premier League (SPL) club announced on Monday (May 10). 

LCS said that Hariss, 30, joined on an undisclosed fee from Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), where he spent the last eight years, lifting seven league titles in a row.

His departure from JDT, where he was also captain, was announced earlier on Monday. JDT wrote in a Facebook post that Hariss wanted to return to Singapore due to family matters, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for him to travel back home on a more regular basis. 

In total, Harris made 197 appearances for JDT, notching 12 goals and five assists. He also lifted the 2015 AFC Cup with the team. 

“I’m thrilled to return home. The SPL is where I started to build my career, and it’s wildly exciting to now be a part of the Lion City Sailors’ vision of building up a club that can act as a catalyst for the SPL and Singapore football,” Hariss told the LCS club website. 

Hariss last played in the domestic competition in 2017, when he played for Home United, the previous iteration of LCS. The team finished third in the then S.League and runners’ up in the Singapore Cup. 

He will be reunited with Stipe Plazibat and Faris Ramli, who were members of the 2017 team too. 

“I’m thrilled to return home. The SPL is where I started to build my career, and it’s wildly exciting to now be a part of the Lion City Sailors’ vision of building up a club that can act as a catalyst for the SPL and Singapore football,” added Hariss. 

Hariss will link up with the club in June, after the next international break. 

LCS are currently second in the SPL table, a point behind defending champions Albirex Niigata.