Football, Data, and Dreams: How Lee Chun Hang Found His Purpose and Made a Name for Himself

As Malaysians, we’ve all had our fair share of football nights at the mamak, waving our fists in the air and yelling vehemently at the TV alongside friends and family. 

Lee Chun Hang managed to take the universal passion that Malaysians share for the game a step further by channelling it into a distinguished and blooming career in presenting and data analytics, at only 23 years old. Being a presenter for Astro's sports division, Chun Hang hosts football shows and makes guest appearances while producing digital content for its social media platforms. He also co-hosts The Malaysian Football Pod, a podcast dedicated to discussing the contemporary state of Malaysian football alongside prominent names like Keesh Mat Stats and Aiman Sekaiichi. On top of being a freelance football data analyst, he is also currently pursuing a full-time Master’s degree in Computer Science at Taylor’s University, further developing his skills in data analytics.

Chun Hang’s life is vibrant and eventful, but it was only a couple of years ago that he was lost and searching for a purpose: still unsure if his deep passion for football could be shaped into a meaningful career, a possibility that led him to where he is now. Chun Hang’s experiences encapsulate a world of lessons and ideas from which we all could take value. 

AfterSchool.my sat down with Chun Hang to learn more about his interesting journey.

Early Life and the Spark of Passion for Football 

Chun Hang’s love for football ignited during his childhood and has been a driving force in his life ever since. 

“Football’s been my life, practically since the age of 12. It’s given me a sense of purpose and direction that I don’t know where I’d be without,” he says. This passion wasn’t just a hobby, but developed into an integral part of his identity, shaping his ambitions from an early age.

Around the same time, Chun Hang also started showing interest in computing. “I’m not the smartest kid around, but I’ve always been good with computers,” he humbly admits. This natural knack for computer-related technology, combined with his love for football, laid the perfect foundation for the career path he would eventually carve.

The Beginning of His Professional Journey: Writing During the Pandemic 

Like many of us during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chun Hang found himself stuck in his room, bored and restless. “I was bored. I couldn’t go out to play football with my friends anymore, and I felt a bit lost,” he recalls. In a bid to stay connected to his passion, Chun Hang turned to writing.

Chun Hang initially wrote for the fun of it, covering football topics he was interested in while incorporating stats he found from various websites, then opting to upload his written work primarily on the website Medium. Having a limited reach at the time, Chun Hang sought feedback from peers and persistently shared his works online, particularly on Reddit.

“I was getting good feedback from the community, and that gave me the writing bug.” 

Eventually, Chun Hang felt the importance of externalising the feedback he received to up his game before coming to an epiphany. “I decided to dive into data visualisation and data analytics. Coincidentally, I was still in college doing my diploma in IT, and I was interested in data, so I decided to put two and two together: data and football.” This realisation soon gave him the tangibility and direction he needed to pursue his educational path.

Education: Building Technical Skills 

Chun Hang’s journey into data analytics began at Sunway University, where he pursued a Diploma in IT and a degree in Data Analytics. These programmes laid a solid foundation in coding, data visualisation, and analysis — skills that would prove essential in his career. 

“I found coding, especially SQL, really intuitive during my diploma,” he shares. His aptitude for computing became a defining aspect of his academic and professional path, as he quickly applied what he learned to football-related projects, using tools like Python to create heat maps and pass maps, allowing him to “bring the data to life” and “help others see the game from a different perspective.”

A key influence during this time was his lecturer, Mr Dharmindran. “He’s a football fan too, and he always pushed me to improve, even if we didn’t support the same teams,” Chun Hang says. His mentorship not only guided Chun Hang’s technical growth but also unveiled the importance of surrounding yourself with people who challenge you to be better. This guidance helped Chun Hang refine his data analytics skills and apply them meaningfully to his passion for football.

Outside the classroom, Chun Hang was actively involved in the Sunway Analytics Society, where he connected with like-minded individuals and learned from industry experts. His role in the club’s PR department, where he emceed events, pushed him out of his comfort zone and helped him develop the public speaking skills that would later benefit his TV presenting career. More than anything, his time at Sunway showed him how to apply his knowledge of football and data in practical ways, setting the stage for his future success.

The Breakthrough: Transition to TV and Presenting

After a year of consistent writing and posting, Chun Hang finally received his big break into TV when Elli Famira, a well-regarded and long-established football presenter at Astro, contacted him. She expressed enjoyment in Chun Hang’s writing and invited him to be a guest on Berbulu dengan Burn to talk about the Premier League. As daunting as the idea of being in front of the camera and having his face broadcasted to the whole country was for Chun Hang, it was an opportunity he could not let pass by. 

Despite his fears, Chun Hang’s guest appearance was a success, and it wasn’t long before he received monumental news. Thanks to a pivotal introduction by Keesh Mat Stats, a highly esteemed personality in the world of Malaysian sports, Chun Hang was invited to meet with Ashvin Vijyakumar, the senior associate and content lead at Astro SuperSport. “They proposed the idea of a show, and at first, I hesitated,” Chun Hang recalls. 

Despite his deep knowledge of football and data analytics, on top of a successful guest appearance, public speaking and presenting on TV were still far outside his comfort zone. “Presenting isn’t one of my strengths. I enjoy talking about football, but consistently doing it on camera was a completely different challenge.” However, recognising the significance of the opportunity, Chun Hang accepted the challenge. “I realised you have no choice but to take these chances."

Now, as a presenter on the new show Gol Per 90, Chun Hang had to overcome a big hurdle: the language barrier. He was required to speak in Malay, a language he wasn’t entirely fluent in due to his international school background. “When I started, I wasn’t the best Malay speaker, and it was tough. I knew it was going to be a struggle,” he recalls. Despite the challenge, he committed himself to learning and improving his fluency over time. “I took it to heart and prepared every day like a dog, I needed to prove my worth.”

Balancing an Action-Packed Life

Pushing himself into such an immensely foreign space and working tirelessly to meet expectations, Chun Hang managed to build long-term and meaningful professional and personal relationships with big industry names. Today, he is the host of The Malaysian Football Pod alongside the man who was there from the beginning, Keesh, and commentator for Astro Arena, Aiman Sekaiichi. 

“The Malaysian Football Pod is something I’m really proud of. I get to work alongside Keesh and Aiman, two guys I respect immensely, and together, we’re trying to create conversations that haven’t really existed in English for Malaysian football fans.” Chun Hang emphasises the need to make the podcast informative yet relatable through storytelling and data analysis: his goal is to bring Malaysian football to a broader audience. 

Chun Hang is also pursuing a full-time Master’s degree in Computer Science at Taylor’s University, focusing his research on football analytics. His thesis revolves around advancing data-driven insights in football, exploring how analytics can enhance player performance and match strategy. 

Balancing his academic commitments at Taylor’s with freelance work as a football data analyst and his presenting role at Astro has been challenging for Chun Hang. “You have to make sacrifices if you want to get things done,” he admits. Despite the workload, he has found ways to integrate his roles, with his studies often complementing his professional work. 

Advice to Young Professionals

For students or young professionals trying to chase dreams and break into industries that seem intimidating, Chun Hang has a simple but powerful philosophy: share your work and embrace feedback.

“My number one advice is to just share your work. Social media is free. The moment you open yourself up to feedback is when you start learning,” he emphasises. From the very start, Chun Hang understood that vulnerability is necessary for growth. “You might feel like people are judging you, but the truth is, when people go to bed, they’re not thinking about you. Don't be so full of yourself.” 

From a kid with a passion for football to an up-and-coming trailblazer in the sports world, Chun Hang’s aspirations remain ambitious. Ultimately, he would like to work as a football data analyst for a European football team where he can apply his passion for the game and his expertise in data analytics on an international scale. 

“In five years, I see myself in Europe, contributing to the football industry with data that can truly make an impact,” he mentions. Beyond this, Chun Hang hopes to leave a legacy in Malaysia, inspiring a new generation of football data analysts. “I want to be remembered as Malaysia’s leading football data analyst and spark a wave of interest in this field here.”