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Annual semi-professional club football tournament in Pakistan
Football tournament
The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual semi-professional knockout football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system . It is organized by and named after Pakistan Football Federation .
Khan Research Laboratories have won the most titles (six). WAPDA are the current champions, winning the 2020 edition courtesy of a 1-0 win against SSGC F.C. in the final.[ 1]
Background
Although it is an annual competition, it has not been held on a few occasions. The competition was not held from (1980–83, 1986, 1988–89, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2006–07 and 2017).
The tournament has seen various name changes throughout its establishment.
Names
Season
Name
1979
Inter-Departmental Championship
1984-1985
Inter Provincial Championship
1987
President-PFF Cup
1990-1991
National Departmental Championship
1992-1994
Pakistan Inter-Departmental Championship
1996-2003
PFF President's Cup
2005-2015;
National Challenge Cup
2016
PFF Cup
2019–present
PFF National Challenge Cup
Finals
No.
Year
Champion
Score
Runner-up
Venue
1 1979
Sindh Government Press
Muslim Commercial Bank
2 1984
Pakistan Airlines
WAPDA F.C.
3 1985
Habib Bank Limited
National Bank
4 1987
Crescent Textiles Mill
Karachi Port Trust
5 1990
Karachi Port Trust
Habib Bank
6 1991
Markers Club
Karachi Port Trust
7 1992
Crescent Textiles Mill
Markers Club
8 1993
National Bank
Pakistan Steel
9 1994
General Fans
Pakistan Airforce
10 1996 Allied Bank Limited
Pakistan Army
11 1998
Allied Bank Limited
Karachi Port Trust
12 1999
Allied Bank Limited
Khan Research Laboratories
13 2000
Pakistan Army
Allied Bank Limited
14 2001
Pakistan Army
Khan Research Laboratories
15
2002
Allied Bank Limited
WAPDA F.C.
16
2003
PTCL
Karachi Port Trust
17
2005
PTCL
2-1
WAPDA F.C.
Army Sports Complex , Rawalpindi
18
2008
Pakistan Navy
3-1
Khan Research Laboratories
People's Football Stadium , Karachi
19
2009
Khan Research Laboratories
1-0
Pakistan Airlines
Hyderabad
20
2010
Khan Research Laboratories
4-0
Pakistan Navy
Qilla Kuhna Qasim Bagh, Multan
21
2011
Khan Research Laboratories
1-0
K-Electric
Bohranwali Ground, Faisalabad
22
2012
Khan Research Laboratories
0-0 (a.e.t., 3-1 pen)
K-Electric
KPT Stadium , Karachi
23
2013
National Bank
1-0
K-Electric
Dring Stadium , Bahawalpur
24
2014
Pakistan Air Force
3-1 (a.e.t)
K-Electric
KPT Stadium , Karachi
25
2015
Khan Research Laboratories
3-0
Pakistan Airlines
Railway Stadium , Lahore
26
2016
Khan Research Laboratories
1-0
National Bank
Punjab Stadium , Lahore
27
2018
Pakistan Air Force
2-1
WAPDA F.C.
KPT Stadium , Karachi
28
2019
Pakistan Army
3-2
SSGC F.C.
Tehmas Khan Football Stadium , Peshawar
29
2020
WAPDA F.C.
1-0
SSGC F.C.
Punjab Stadium , Lahore
Wins by club
Club
Wins
Winning years
Khan Research Laboratories 6
2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2015 , 2016
Allied Bank Limited
4
1996, 1998, 1999, 2002
Pakistan Army
3
2000, 2001, 2019
Crescent Textiles Mill
2
1987, 1992
National Bank
1993, 2013
Pakistan Airforce
2014 , 2018
PTCL
2003, 2005
General Fans
1
1994
Habib Bank
1985
Karachi Port Trust
1987
Marker Club
1991
Pakistan Navy
2008
Pakistan Airlines
1984
Sindh Government Press
1979
WAPDA F.C.
2020
Results by team
Since its establishment, the National Challenge Cup has been won by 15 different teams. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.[ 2]
Giant killings
The possibility of unlikely victories in the earlier rounds of the competition, where lower ranked teams beat higher placed opposition in what 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 in group stages and they repeated 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.
Records and statistics
Final
Team
Most wins: 6:
Most consecutive wins: 4:
Most consecutive/uninterrupted years as National Football Challenge Cup Champions : 6: Sindh Government Press, (1979–1984)Most Final appearances without ever winning: 4:
Most Final appearances without ever losing: 4, Khan Research Laboratories (2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 )Most Final appearances without losing (streak): 4, Khan Research Laboratories (2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 )Longest gap between wins: 18 years, Pakistan Army (2001–2019 )[ 3] Biggest win: 20 goals: City Football Club 2–18 Wohaib (13 June 2005) [ 4] Most goals in a final: 4:
Most defeats: 4, joint record:
Individual
All rounds
Biggest win: City Football Club 2–18 Wohaib (2005)Biggest away win: City Football Club 2–18 Wohaib (2005)Most clubs competing for trophy in a season: 24 (2016 & 2018 )Longest penalty shootout: 5 penalties each, Allied Bank v. Khan Research Laboratories (1999; Allied Bank won 5–4)Most rounds played in a season: 3, for:
Bhatti United (2016 : Qualifying Round – Knockout stages, 1st–3rd Rounds)
Karachi United (2016 : Qualifying Round – Knockout stages, 1st–3rd Rounds)Sui Southern Gas (2016 : Qualifying Round – Knockout stages, 1st–3rd Rounds)Most games played in a season: 7, Karachi United (2016 : three matches Qualifying Group stages, three Proper Group stages, one Quarter-finals)Fastest goal: 52 seconds, Tariq Badal (for Gwadar Port Authority v. K-Electric , Group Stages, 13 March 2012 )Most consecutive games without defeat: 25, Khan Research Laboratories (Group Stages, 2010 through Group stage, 2013 . Won three National Football Challenge Cup.)Most consecutive games without defeat: 25, Khan Research Laboratories (Group Stages, 2010 through Group stage, 2013 . Won three National Football Challenge Cup.)Fastest hat-trick: 5 minutes 51 sec, Umair Ali (for Higher Education Commission v. DFA Bahawalpur, Group Stages, 19 May 2013 )Most goals by a player in a single National Challenge Cup season: 10, Muhammad Rasool (for K-Electric , 2012 .Most goals by a player in a single National Challenge Cup game: 6, joint-record:
References
