| Founded | 1962; 63 years ago (1962) (restarted in 2003; 22 years ago (2003)) |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Number of clubs | 20 |
| Most championships | Burma Mohammedan Shahzad Mohammedan (2 titles) |
The Karachi Football League is a city based football league held in Karachi, in Pakistan's Sindh province.
History
On a few known occasions, city league championships were played in Pakistan in Lahore stretching back to 1937 before the independence of Pakistan. A league was organized in Karachi in 1962 as KDFA League, by the Karachi Division Football Association comprising 20 participants from the city. Baloch XI from Lyari won the title after finishing at the top with 33 points.
It was not 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. 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. 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.
In February 2022, mayor of Karachi Murtaza Wahab announced the return of the league after inactivity.
Format
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. 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.
Winners
- 1962: Baloch XI
- 2003: Hyderi Baloch Club
- 2004–05: Lyari Labour Welfare Centre
- 2005–06: Young Ansari
- 2006–07: Keamari Mohammedan
- 2007–08: Shahzad Mohammedan
- 2008–09: Shahzad Mohammedan
- 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
References
- "Karachi Football League". The Nation (Pakistan). 2 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "Karachi Football League (KFL/K-League)". 2018-08-08. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- "Karachi Football League". Dawn. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "Azam Sports hammer Azad XI in I am Karachi Football League". The News International. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "Pakistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "Pakistan 1962". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- "Pakistan 2003". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "In-depth: Pakistan football". DAWN.COM. 2013-01-13. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- "Karachi Football League soon, says Barrister Murtaza". The Nation. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
- http://kufootballfoundation.org/
- "'I am Karachi' Football hopes to beat violence in the city". ARY News. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2014-12-30). "'Karachi Football League will help combat violence'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
- "KASB Premier League (Karachi) 2003". RSSSF. 7 February 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2004". RSSSF. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2005". RSSSF. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2006". RSSSF. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Pakistan (Other Tournaments) 2007". RSSSF. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
External links
- Karachi United FC Archived 2014-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
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