Faiq Bolkiah

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Wikipedia

Faiq Bolkiah
Personal information
Full name Faiq Jefri Bolkiah[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth Los Angeles, United States
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Ratchaburi
Number 77
Youth career
2006–2009 AFC Newbury
2009–2013 Southampton
2014–2016 Chelsea
2016–2020 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Marítimo 2 (0)
2021 Marítimo B 6 (0)
2021–2023 Chonburi 32 (2)
2023– Ratchaburi 17 (2)
International career
2013 Brunei U19 5 (1)
2018 Brunei U21 3 (0)
2015–2019 Brunei U23 14 (1)
2016–2018 Brunei 6 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 October 2025

Faiq Jefri Bolkiah (born 9 May 1998) is a member of the Brunei royal family and professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ratchaburi in Thai League 1. Born in the United States, he has played as the captain of the Brunei national team.[2]

Club career

Early career

In 2009, whilst at AFC Newbury, Bolkiah signed a one-year deal with the Southampton academy.[3] He was with Southampton until at least December 2011.[4] In 2014, Bolkiah signed a two-year youth contract with Chelsea of the Premier League after previously training with Reading and trialing with Arsenal.[5] During his time with Arsenal, Bolkiah competed in the 2013 Lion City Cup against Corinthians, Eintracht Frankfurt, PSV, and a Singapore youth selection. He scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over the team from Singapore.[6] With his contract with Chelsea set to expire in summer 2016, he left the team in December 2015. After a trial with Stoke City,[7] he signed for Leicester City on a reported three-year professional contract in March 2016.[8] He further signed a one-year extension to his deal in the summer of 2019.[9]

Marítimo

On 23 September 2020, Bolkiah signed on a free transfer to Marítimo of Portugal's Primeira Liga.[10] Three months later, he made his debut with under-23 team in a 3–3 home draw against Sporting CP U23 after being named in the starting line-up.[11] Forty-five days later, he was named as a Marítimo substitute for the first time in a league match against Sporting CP.[12]

On 11 April 2021, he made his senior debut for Marítimo B, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Gondomar.[13]

Chonburi

In December 2021, Bolkiah joined Thai League 1 outift, Chonburi ahead of the second half of the 2021–22 season. He became the first-ever Bruneian to join a Thai club.[14] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory against Port on 25 November 2022.[15] He announced his departure from the club on 14 May 2023, after the conclusion of the 2022–23 Thai League 1.[16]

Ratchaburi

On 16 June 2023, Ratchaburi announced on their official Facebook page the signing of Faiq for the upcoming 2023–24 Thai League 1 season.[17] He made his debut against Nakhon Pathom United on 19 August 2023 as a substitute in a 0–1 loss.[18] A month later, he scored his first goal for Ratchaburi in a 6–1 win at home against Police Tero on 16 September.[19]

International career

Bolkiah was eligible to represent the United States and Brunei. He was scouted for the youth teams of the United States[20] but chose to represent Brunei, doing so at the U19 and U23 levels[8] including at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.[20] In that tournament, he scored in a 1–2 defeat to Timor Leste.[21] He was expected to make his senior international debut on 15 October 2016 in a 2016 AFF Championship qualification match against Timor-Leste.[22] He debuted in the match, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 victory.[23]

Personal life

Faiq was born on 9 May 1998 in Los Angeles to Prince Jefri Bolkiah and a Malaysian mother.[7] He has a twin sister named Qiana and at least 15 half siblings through his father.[24] He holds both Bruneian and American citizenship[20][25] and was educated in the United Kingdom at Bradfield College, Berkshire.[4]

Faiq has been described as "the richest footballer in the world", with an estimated net worth of US$20 billion[26] but this is actually the net worth of his uncle, Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei.[27]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 8 September 2018.[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brunei 201651
201810
Total61
As of 21 October 2016[28]
Scores and results list Brunei's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bolkiah goal.
List of international goals scored by Faiq Bolkiah
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
121 October 2016RSN Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Laos2–33–42016 AFF Championship qualification

References

  1. ↑ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Laos vs. Brunei". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "AFC Newbury Newsletter" (PDF). AFC Newbury. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Bradfield News: Christmas 2011" (PDF). Bradfield College. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Nash, Mathew (30 January 2014). "Chelsea sign the Sultan of Brunei's nephew on youth deal". HITC. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Osman, Sadat. "Bruneian royalty Faiq Bolkiah looks to improve his game". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 Tanner, Rob; Lang, Jack (2 December 2020). "The world's richest footballer". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024.
  8. 1 2 O'Rourke, Peter. "Brunei international Faiq Jefri Bolkiah joins Leicester City from Chelsea". ESPN FC. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Faiq Bolkiah signs new Leicester contract". FoxesHub. 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Faiq Bolkiah, o jogador mais rico do Mundo, é reforço do Marítimo" [Faiq Bolkiah, the richest player in the world, is an addition to Marítimo]. Record (in Portuguese). 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Recuperação do resultado após desvantagem de três golos" [Result recovery after three goals disadvantage]. C.S. Marítimo (in Portuguese). 22 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Marítimo vs. Sporting CP 0–2". Soccerway. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "GONDOMAR VS. MARÍTIMO II 1 - 2". uk.soccerway.com. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Faiq Jefri Bolkiah joins Thai outfit Chonburi". Borneo Bulletin. 26 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "เจ้าชายฟาอิกซัลโวประตูแรกไทยลีกส่งชลบุรีเชือดท่าเรือรั้งรองฝูงเลกแรก". Siamsport. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  16. ↑ @fjefrib; (14 May 2023). "Thankyou @chonburi_fc_official for the last 2 seasons. And a special Thankyou to the fans who have been amazing from day 1. Wish you all the best in the future an I hope one day we will meet again 💙🦈". Retrieved 22 May 2023 – via Instagram.
  17. ↑ "ยินดีต้อนรับ " Faiq Bolkiah" ปีกตัวรุกเสริมทัพ". Ratchaburi F.C. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "RATCHABURI VS. NAKHON PATHOM UNITED 0 - 1 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "World's richest player with greater wealth than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is back among the goals". Headtopics. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 Eubank, Mark (11 June 2015). "Chelsea FC's Royalty Faiq Bolkiah Shows Off Talent In SEA Games". International Business Times. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Tireless Timor Leste scores first victory against Brunei". SEA Games 2015. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Leicester City youngster Faiq poised for Brunei debut". AFF. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "BRUNEI VS. TIMOR-LESTE 2 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "Is the party over for runaway billionaire Prince Jefri of Brunei?". The Telegraph. 14 June 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  25. ↑ Parchman, Will. "How Chelsea's Faiq Bolkiah came to be the most interesting U.S. prospect ever". Top Drawer Soccer. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  26. ↑ "The luxurious life of Faiq Bolkiah, Leicester City footballer and richest player in the world". Marca. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  27. ↑ O'Connor, Robert (16 May 2018). "The True Story of Faiq Bolkiah—the So-Called 'Richest Player in the World'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  28. 1 2 Faiq Bolkiah at National-Football-Teams.com