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Karachi Football League

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Karachi Football League
کراچی فٹ بال لیگ
Founded1962; 62 years ago (1962)
(restarted in 2003; 21 years ago (2003))
CountryPakistan
Number of teams20
Most championshipsBurma Mohammedan
Shahzad Mohammedan (2 titles)[1]

The Karachi Football League is a city based football league held in Karachi, in Pakistan's Sindh province.[2][3][4]

History

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On a few known occasions, city league championships were played in Pakistan in Lahore stretching back to 1937 before the independence of Pakistan.[5] A league was organized in Karachi in 1962 as KDFA League, by the Karachi Division Football Association between 20 participants throughout the city.[6] Baloch XI from Lyari ultimately won the title after finishing at the top with 33 points.[6]

It wasn't until 2003 when the second edition of the league was held again, this time organised by Karachi United and sponsored by KASB Bank as the KASB Premier League.[7] From 2003 until 2008, the league was sponsored by "KASB Group of Companies" which was the Title Sponsor of the event for the first six editions. Coca-Cola Pakistan became the consequent league sponsor.

The league although regional and semi-professional, it has been compared to the top flight Pakistan Premier League, which has a dominance of department and armed forces teams, which have resulted in poor attendances, with the best supported teams being the Balochistan clubs Afghan FC Chaman, Baloch Nushki and Muslim FC.[8] In stark contrast, the Karachi Football League, despite being a third level division, routinely attracts healthy audiences with the highlight being the 2008–09 final between Shahzad Mohammadan and Nazimabad FC where a huge crowd of over 18,000 witnessed proceedings at the KMC Stadium.[8]

In February 2022, mayor of Karachi Murtaza Wahab announced the return of the league after inactivity.[9]

Format

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In 2003, the season saw 10 clubs competing on a single league basis with the famous Lyari based Hyderi Baluch crowned as champions. In the first five seasons, five different clubs won the championship until Shazad Muhammadan won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the 2008 season, the league expanded to 16 clubs, with the top eight clubs competing in a playoff.[10] In 2014 season, 20 teams were divided into two groups. After league matches, top four teams from each group progressed into the round-robin Super League phase. The top four teams of the Super League phase then made it to the semi-finals.[11][12]

Winners

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  • 1962: Baloch XI[6]
  • 2003: Hyderi Baloch Club[13]
  • 2004–05: Lyari Labour Welfare Centre[14]
  • 2005–06: Young Ansari[15]
  • 2006–07: Keamari Mohammedan[16]
  • 2007–08: Shahzad Mohammedan[17]
  • 2008–09: Shahzad Mohammedan[8]
  • 2009–10: N/A
  • 2010–11: Baloch Youth Garden
  • 2011–12: Burma Mohammedan
  • 2012–13: N/A
  • 2013–14: Khyber Muslim
  • 2014–15: Burma Mohammedan
  • 2015–16: Mauripur Baloch
  • 2022–23: N/A

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Karachi Football League". The Nation (Pakistan). 2 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Karachi Football League (KFL/K-League)". 2018-08-08. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ^ "Karachi Football League". Dawn. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Azam Sports hammer Azad XI in I am Karachi Football League". The News International. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Pakistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  6. ^ a b c "Pakistan 1962". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  7. ^ "Pakistan 2003". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  8. ^ a b c "In-depth: Pakistan football". DAWN.COM. 2013-01-13. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  9. ^ "Karachi Football League soon, says Barrister Murtaza". The Nation. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  10. ^ http://kufootballfoundation.org/ [bare URL]
  11. ^ "'I am Karachi' Football hopes to beat violence in the city". ARY News. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  12. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2014-12-30). "'Karachi Football League will help combat violence'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  13. ^ "KASB Premier League (Karachi) 2003". RSSSF. 7 February 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2004". RSSSF. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2005". RSSSF. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2006". RSSSF. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2007". RSSSF. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
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