Youth career Adam won the
Dollah Kassim award in 2011 which got him an overseas training stint with English Premier League side,
Newcastle United Academy. In 2011, during the 23rd edition of the
Lion City Cup in Singapore, Adam captained the
NFA Under-15 team to 3rd place with victories over
Newcastle U-15 and
Juventus U-15. Adam then competed at the
2011 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, with the
Singapore Under-15 team where they finished 4th, winning the tournament's Fair Play Award as Adam scored 5 goals to finish as top goalscorer. A year later in 2012, Adam and the Singapore Under-16 team finished in 2nd place with wins over
Ajax U-15 and
Vasco da Gama U-15, and a draw with
Porto U-15, before losing eventual to champions Ajax U-15 in the final. Adam subsequently won the Singapore Under-16 Most Valuable Player award. Domestically, the Singapore Under-16 team won the
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) U18 COE league with Adam winning the Most Valuable Player award. In March 2012, Adam was chosen along with
Muhaimin Suhaimi and four other students at the
Singapore Sports School to undergo a ten-day training camp with the youth team of
J.League club,
Albirex Niigata. Adam was the only one called back for a longer training session in August the same year as their U-18 head coach,
Nobuhiro Ueno was reportedly impressed by his control and one-touch passing, saying it was better than some of the players at the club's academy.
FC Metz On 23 February 2013, Adam signed a two-year contract with
Ligue 2 club,
FC Metz, joining their Under-19 set-up in the
Championnat National youth competitions. He had impressed the staff and coaches during his 10-day stint at Metz following his 45-day European tour which includes training spells at illustrious clubs such as
Newcastle United,
Chelsea and
Atlético Madrid. Despite offers of a one-year contract from Spanish club Atlético Madrid and Dutch club
AFC Ajax, Adam chose to sign for FC Metz as he liked what he saw and experienced, and was impressed with the quality of its renowned youth academy. The FAS provided financial assistance to the tune of S$200,000 from its Football Development Fund for Adam's education in France. During his time at Atletico Madrid, Adam had impressed the club CEO,
Miguel Ángel Gil Marín in which he would be keen to nurture Adam and would consider signing him to the youth academy however with the mandatory National Service, Gil Marín has decided not to sign the teenager.
Young Lions Adam Swandi was nominally included in the 24-man
Courts Young Lions squad which travelled to Turkey for a series of friendly matches in January 2014. Adam signed for
Courts Young Lions for the
2015 S.League season. Adam scored his first career professional goal in a
S.League match in a 1–2 defeat to
Warriors FC. He made his debut for Home United in the first leg of the
2017 AFC Cup qualifying match against Cambodian side,
Phnom Penh Crown in which he scored his first competitive goal in the second leg, helping his team advance into the group stage. Coincidentally, his second goal came in Home United final game of the
2017 AFC Cup group stage, the last goal in a 4–1 routing of Myanmar club,
Yadanarbon, sending his team into the
Zonal semi-finals. In total, Adam made 30 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the Protectors, scoring 7 goals and making 2 assists.
Albirex Niigata Singapore On 8 January 2018, Adam was announced by
Albirex Niigata (S) that they have signed him for the inaugural
2018 Singapore Premier League season. He will be the first Singaporean player to play for the club and will be joined by local goalkeeper, Shahul Rayyan after he completes his National Service. Adam made his debut for Albirex in a 2–1 win in the
2018 Singapore Community Shield against
Tampines Rovers. Adam ended his first season with the White Swans with 3 winners medal, helping his club sweep all domestic trophies on offer. He was rewarded for his effort and named as the Young Player of the Season.
Home United (Now known as Lion City Sailors) After a season with
Albirex Niigata (S), Adam decided to rejoin Home United for the
2019 Singapore Premier League season due to the lure of continental football and started in all of the first 12 games of the season for the Protectors and has already equalised his tally of 3 league goals of last season. In 2021, Adam won the
2021 SPL title with the Sailors. On 25 June 2023, Adam pulled on a performance against
Hougang United with 2 goals and 1 assist with nearly scoring a hat-trick at the very last minute of the match. He would win the
2023 Singapore Cup with the Sailors. In September 2024, during a SPL match against
Tanjong Pagar United FC, Adam scored the second goal for the Sailors and felt unwell. He was substituted at half-time and taken to
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. On 24 December, Adam announced his retirement from professional football due to
cardiomyopathy. ==International career==