The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system . It is organized by and named after the Pakistan Football Federation . Initially named as Inter Departmental Championship , it was introduced in 1979 as a football tournament for departmental selections and armed forces teams excluded from the National Football Championship of Pakistan .
23-510: Khan Research Laboratories have won the most titles (six). WAPDA are the current champions, winning the 2023–24 edition courtesy of a 1–0 win against SA Gardens in the final. Introduced in 1979 to offer nationwide competition to departmental selections and armed forces teams excluded from the National Football Championship , the event was named as Inter Departmental Championship . However, due to internal conflicts within
46-471: A few occasions. The competition was not held from (1980–83, 1986, 1988–89, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2006–07, 2017, 2021–22). Since its establishment, the National Challenge Cup has been won by 15 different teams. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. The possibility of unlikely victories in the earlier rounds of the competition, where lower ranked teams beat higher placed opposition in what
69-581: A further two Challenge Cups in 2015 and 2016 , becoming the most successful club in the National Football Challenge Cup, winning the tournament six times in total. Khan Research Laboratories won their fifth 2018–19 Premier League title after defeating Sui Southern Gas 4–0 on the final match day, making them the most successful club since the inception of the Pakistan Premier League. Khan Research Laboratories' first appearance in
92-593: A goal difference +32 against +22 of Pakistan Army . Khan Research Laboratories completed the double , when they won the 2009 National Football Challenge Cup defeating Pakistan Airlines 1–0 in the finals. In the 2010–11 season, they finished second to league winners WAPDA . However, they successfully defended the National Football Challenge Cup , defeating Pakistan Navy 4–0 in the finals. Khan Research Laboratories won three league titles consecutively, winning in 2011–12 , 2012–13 and 2013–14 . In
115-408: A hat-trick in the latter match. In the round of 16, they thrashed University Grants Commission 6–0, with Allah Nawaz scoring four goals. In the quarter-finals they defeated Allied Bank 3–2 and defeated their group team Pakistan Police 2–1 in the semi-finals. Khan Research Laboratories drew 1–1 to WAPDA in the finals, only to lose 4–3 on penalties. In the 2002 season, Khan Research Laboratories, top of
138-455: A spot in the 2013 AFC President's Cup. In the group stage, held in May 2013, they were drawn against Kyrgyzstan-based Dordoi Bishkek, Philippines-based Global and Bhutan-based Yeedzin . KRL drew 1–1 with Dordoi, beat Global 2–0 and also went past Yeedzin 8–0. They finished second in the group behind Dordoi based on goal difference as both clubs had 7 points from their 3 encounters. Through this result,
161-496: Is known as a "giant killing", is much anticipated by the public. Such upsets are considered an integral part of the tradition and prestige of the competition, and the attention gained by giant-killing teams can be as great as that for winners of the cup. In 2009 , non-league side Sindh Government Press defeated top-flight National Bank 3–2 in group stages. In 2011 , second-division club Ashraf Sugar Mills defeated Pakistan Premier League winners WAPDA F.C. 1–0, and they repeated
184-459: The 2004–05 season , scoring 98 goals in 30 matches (a goal ratio of 3.26 goals per match!), winning 23 and drawing and losing four and three matches respectively. They finished third in four further seasons, 2005–06 , 2006–07 , 2007–08 , and 2008–09 seasons, before winning their first-ever league and national title in the 2009–10 season , when they won the league on goal difference after being tied on 60 points. Khan Research Laboratories had
207-506: The 2005–06 PFF National League , returning to the top flight. They were relegated from Pakistan Premier League after two years in the 2007–08 Pakistan Premier League . Chaudhary Asghar was Pakistan Railways football coach till that time. The coaching was then passed to Muhammad Rasheed, the ex-national player and Pakistan Railways legend who scored the only goal in the National Championship 1984 final. Railways again qualified to
230-427: The National Football Championship in the 1998 season, where they lost 2–0 to Allied Bank in the quarter-finals. The next year they reached the semi-finals of the National Championship, after finishing top of their group and winning both their group matches 4–1 and 6–3 against Pakistan Railways and Balochistan Red, respectively. They defeated Karachi Metropolitan 4–0 and Pakistan Railways 3–2 on penalties after drawing
253-535: The PFF , the second edition occurred only in 1984 and was rebranded as the Inter Provincial Championship . Although the four provincial teams were allowed to participate, they were not factored into the final ranking in both the 1984 and 1985 tournaments. Only since 1990 has the tournament been held regularly, albeit undergoing frequent name changes. Although it is an annual competition, it has not been held on
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#1732881262389276-504: The PFF National Challenge Cup . The club has won five Pakistan Premier League titles and six National Football Challenge Cups . With these eleven trophies, they are the most successful club in the country. They are the only Pakistani club to have reach a continental club final, the 2013 AFC President's Cup , where they lost 1–0 to Balkan FK . The football team was established in 1995. Khan Research Laboratories entered
299-469: The 2011–12 and 2012–13 season, Khan Research Laboratories completed a consecutive double when they won the League and Challenge Cup. In latter seasons, they won the league after their star forward Kaleemullah Khan scored 35 goals including 7 hat-tricks. In the 2014–15 season , they finished sixth after losing their star players, Kaleemullah Khan and Muhammad Adil to Kyrgyz club FC Dordoi Bishkek . They won
322-465: The Asian competition came in the 2010 AFC President's Cup , when they finished second to Vakhsh Qurghonteppa in the group stage . In the 2012 AFC President's Cup , they finished second in the group stage after drawing both their games 0–0 against Erchim and Taiwan Power Company , thus qualifying for the final stage where they finished bottom of the group. Their win in the 2012 season qualified them for
345-622: The club play at the Railway Stadium . Nicknamed the Railwaymen, they are one of the oldest football clubs in Pakistan and were created by Pakistan Railway workers. The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and Pakistan Premier League . The club regularly participates in the PFF National Challenge Cup . Founded in 1950 by workers of the Pakistan Railways , it is one of
368-511: The club qualified for the final group stage, which was played in September 2013. In the final group stage, they were drawn against the Palestinian side Hilal Al-Quds and their rivals from the first group stage, Dordoi Bishkek. They won both of their games and progressed to the final, where they lost 1–0 to Turkmen side Balkan. In the 2014 AFC President's Cup they finished bottom of the group in
391-558: The feat again in the group stages, defeating National Bank from Pakistan Premier League 2–0, as they finished top of the group. In 2012 , second-division side Pakistan Public Work Department defeated Pakistan Air Force 2–0 in group stages. In 2013 , Pak Afghan Clearing defeated league winners and defending champions Khan Research Laboratories 2–1. At the 2023–24 PFF National Challenge Cup , Higher Education Commission, an ad-hoc team of players from different universities and colleges around Pakistan defeated Khan Research Laboratories at
414-514: The finals. In 1963, the club won its first title after winning the Aga Khan Gold Cup . In 1969, they beat Karachi to win the first of their two National Football Championship titles. The second was in 1984, when they pushed WAPDA into second. After the revamp in Pakistani football and the discontinuation of the National Football Championship , the club competed in the second-tier, winning
437-487: The first stage. Following the domestic football revamp in the country in 2023, departmental clubs including Khan Research Laboratories remained competing in the PFF National Challenge Cup . The club's competitive record since the 2004–05 season are listed below. Pakistan Railways F.C. Pakistan Railways FC serves as the football section of Pakistan Railways , a state-owned railway company. Based in Lahore ,
460-566: The game 2–2 in regulation time. They lost 1–0 to Pakistan Navy in the semi-finals. In the 2000 season, Khan Research Laboratories reached the Round of 16, when they topped the group again after defeating Punjab Greens and WAPDA 8–1 and 3–0, respectively. In the Round of 16 they lost 1–0 to that season's runners-up Karachi Port Trust . The next season, they topped the group yet again when they defeated Pakistan Police and Sindh Greens 1–0 and 5–1, respectively. Sajjad of Khan Research Laboratories scored
483-459: The group for the fourth consecutive season, defeated University Grants Commission 5–1 and drew 1–1 with Sindh Red. In the Round of 16, they defeated Balochistan Green 1–0. Khan Research Laboratories defeated Federally Administered Tribal Areas 2–1 in the quarter-finals and lost to Pakistan Army 1–0 in the semi-finals. Khan Research Laboratories became a dominant side since the inception of the re-branded Pakistan Premier League , finishing third in
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#1732881262389506-545: The oldest football clubs in Pakistan. In the 1953 National Football Championship , it finished runner-up after falling to Punjab Blue in the final. In the 1956 season of the National Football Championship, the club entered as Railway White, again finishing as runner-up after losing against Balochistan. Two years later, the club lost against Punjab Blue. Between 1963 and 1966, the club finished as runner-up three seasons consecutively, losing against Karachi in all
529-502: The quarterfinals by 1–0 at the stoppage time. Khan Research Laboratories F.C. Khan Research Laboratories Football Club , sometimes abbreviated to KRL F.C. or KRL , serves as the football section of Khan Research Laboratories . Based in Rawalpindi , the club plays their home games at KRL Stadium . The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and Pakistan Premier League . The club regularly participates in
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