The Geylang International FC of Singapore’s top-flight domestic football league, S-League, revealed through its official Facebook page the acquisition of United Football League’s Global FC and former Azkals mainstay Mark Hartmann.
The post stated, “Geylang International FC is pleased to announced the signing of Mark Hartmann from Global FC today [Friday].” Hartmann will be the first-ever Filipino to play in the Singaporean league. The club expressed its gratitude to Mark’s Filipino side Global FC for making the transfer possible. “[We] would like to thank Global FC for their kind assistance in the true spirit of ASEAN Cooperation to ensure the successful completion of this transfer,” they added.
The youngest of the Hartmann brothers first came into the limelight after playing for the Philippine national team in two tournaments in 2011: the Long Teng Cup for the seniors’ side and the Southeast Asian Games for the provisional U-23 team. Mark has scored seven goals for the senior Azkals, 4 of which came in their October 21, 2014 friendly against Papua New Guinea here at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
He started his career in the UFL with Manila Nomads FC, but his most notable stint in the local league before Global was with the Loyola Meralco Sparks. Hartmann played 41 matches and scored 20 goals with the latter. In 2013, Mark went to Global FC and continued his goal-scoring ways. He registered 29 goals in his 64 appearances with the People’s Club, helping them reap honors, the latest of which was the 2016 Cup title.
Hartmann will be donning the No. 16 when he joins Geylang International in the ongoing 2016 season of the S-League. The Singaporean side is no pushover, having won several championships. Geylang won the S-League twice in 1996 and 2001. Their most recent win is the 2009 Singapore Cup.
The S-League is also home to Tampines Rovers and Balestier Khalsa, who are notable for their clashes against UFL sides Kaya FC and Ceres-La Salle FC in the 2016 AFC Cup group stages.
