Jump to content

Pakistan Premier League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SheryOfficial (talk | contribs) at 20:57, 31 December 2018 (→‎History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about football league. For cricket league, see Pakistan Super League.

Pakistan Premier League
File:Pakistan Premier League Logo.png
Founded1948 (Official)
2004 (Current format)
CountryPakistan
ConfederationAFC
Number of teams16 (2018–19)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toPakistan Football Federation League
Domestic cup(s)Challenge Cup
International cup(s)AFC Cup
SAFF Club Championship
Current championsK-Electric (1st title)
(2014–15)
Most championshipsKhan Research Laboratories
WAPDA
(4 titles)
TV partnersPTV Sports & Geo Super (live matches)
PTV Sports & Geo Super (highlights)
Websitepff.com.pk
Current: 2018–19 Pakistan Premier League

The Pakistan Premier League (Urdu: پاکستان پریمیئر لیگ) is a Pakistani professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Pakistan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 12 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Pakistan Football Federation League. However, the league has not been held since 2015–16 because of ongoing dispute.

The Pakistan Premier League is a corporation in which the 12 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 22 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away) totalling 264 matches in the season. Most games are played in the afternoons of Saturdays and Sundays, the other games during weekday evenings. It is commonly referred to as the PPL.

Since its inception of the Pakistan Premier League in 2004, four have won the title: WAPDA and KRL (4 each), Pakistan Army (2) and K-Electric (1).[1] The current champions are K-Electric, who won the title in 2014–15.

History

Pakistan’s first professional football league began on May 28, 1948 as the "National Football Championship". The league was a knock-out competition, which remained as the top football league in the country until 2004 with the introduction of the Pakistan Premier League. National Football Champion featured teams representing cities or provinces, unlike current format where departmental teams play, with exception of Afghan Chaman which represents the city of Chaman from Balochistan, National Football League featured teams from Dhaka (Dacca FC) and Chittagong (Chittagong FC) from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Dacca FC won two back-to-back leagues, and Chittagong FC won league only once.

National League

In August 2003, major restructuring was undertaken by the Pakistan Football Federation with support of FIFA's Goal Programme. Several new training facilities were built across the country and a new PFF Head Office was built in Lahore. Under new management, the PFF restructured the National Football Championship and in 2004 introduced the National League Division A Football League (which contained 12 clubs across Pakistan) and the National League Division B Football League (containing 5 clubs).

Premier League

In 2006–07, the National League Division A Football League was renamed to the Pakistan Premier League while the National League Division B Football League was renamed to the PFF National League. In the following 2007–08 season, the league was expanded to 14 clubs. For the 2010–11 season the league was expanded to 16 clubs. The two bottom teams at the end of each Pakistan Premier League season would to be relegated to the PFF League, while the top 2 teams in the PFF League would be promoted to the Pakistan Premier League.[2]

"Punjab Three" Dominance

Results of the 'Punjab Three' during the 2000s
Season KRL PFC WFC
2004-05 3 2 1
2005-06 3 1 2
2006–07 3 1 2
2007–08 3 2 1
2008–09 3 2 1
2009–10 1 2 3
2010–11 2 7 1
2011–12 1 3 4
2012–13 1 4 11
2013–14 1 5 3
2014–15 6 2 5
Top three 10 8 8
out of 11
  League champions
  Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup winnerss
  Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup runners-up

Since the beginning of Pakistan Premier League, Punjab clubs has been dominating the with Khan Research Laboratories, Pakistan Army (from Rawalpindi) and WAPDA (from Lahore) winning league for combined ten times in the span of eleven years, with Khan Research Laboratories and WAPDA winning four times each and Pakistan Army winning two time The "Punjab Three" also dominated the domestic cup, where Khan Research Laboratories won the cup six times (with four consecutive cup wins in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions) and were runners-up in 2008 edition, while other two clubs didn't dominated the cup, as only WAPDA being runners-up in 2005 and 2018 edition. Arif Mehmood of WAPDA is currently the top scorer of Pakistan Premier League with 102 goals, winning top scorer awards five times.

Current clubs (2018–19)

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Afghan Chaman Chaman Jamal Nasir Stadiium 12,000
Ashraf Sugar Mills Lahore Railway Stadium 3,000
Baloch Nushki Nushki Nushki Stadium 10,000
Civil Aviation Authority Karachi Korangi Baloch Stadium 5,000
K-Electric Karachi People's Football Stadium 40,000
Karachi Port Trust Karachi Karachi Port Trust Stadium 6,000
Khan Research Laboratories Rawalpindi KRL Ground 8,000
Muslim Quetta Sadiq Shaheed Stadium 5,000
National Bank Karachi Karachi Port Trust Stadium 6,000
Pakistan Airforce Islamabad PAF Complex 1,000
Pakistan Army Rawalpindi Army Stadium 7,000
Pakistan Navy Islamabad PNS Karsaz Stadium 3,000
Pakistan Airlines Karachi Korangi Baloch Stadium 5,000
Sui Southern Gas Karachi Benazir Sports Complex 20,000
Sui Northern Gas Lahore Railway Stadium 3,000
Wah Football Academy Wah Cantt Sector 26 1,000
WAPDA Lahore Railway Stadium 3,000

Champions

List of champions by season

Season Champions Runners-up Third place
2004-05 WAPDA Pakistan Army KRL
2005-06 Pakistan Army WAPDA KRL
2006–07 Pakistan Army WAPDA KRL
2007–08 WAPDA Pakistan Army KRL
2008–09 WAPDA Pakistan Army KRL
2009–10 KRL Pakistan Army WAPDA
2010–11 WAPDA KRL PIA
2011–12 KRL Afghan Pakistan Army
2012–13 KRL K-Electric Muslim
2013–14 KRL K-Electric WAPDA
2014–15 K-Electric Pakistan Army Air Force

Most successful clubs since 2004 in PPL

Team Winners Runners-up Third Place
WAPDA 4 (2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09) 2 (2005–06, 2006–07) 2 (2009–10, 2013–14)
KRL 4 (2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14) 1 (2010–11) 5 (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Pakistan Army 2 (2005–06, 2006–07) 5 (2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2014–15) 1 (2011–12)
K-Electric 1 (2014–15) 2 (2012–13, 2013–14) —
Afghan — 1 (2011–12) —
PIA — — 1 (2010–11)
Muslim — — 1 (2012–13)
Air Force — — 1 (2014–15)

Structure

The Pakistan Premier League is directly under control of the Pakistan Football Federation or PFF. The PFF oversees all aspects of the league and makes unilateral decisions over any changes to the format, funding and sponsorship.

Professionalization

The Pakistan Football Federation have announced they will try and professionalize the league by introducing city based teams and getting rid of "departmental" teams, which although are financially stable, do not have much of a fan following.[3] This has led to more professional football structure in Pakistan.

Competition format

Competition

There are currently 16 clubs in the PPL, although the competition started in 2004–05 with 14 teams. The season lasts during the winter months stretching from November to February, with each club playing the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 30 games for each club, with a total of 240 games in each season. Each teams receives three points for a win and one point for a draw. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned as PPL Champion. At the end of the season, the two worst teams are relegated directly to the PFF League, while the top two teams in the PFF League are promoted to the PPL.

Qualification for Asian competitions

The top team in the PPL automatically qualifies for the AFC President's Cup, the weakest continental club competition in Asia till 2014, and the AFC Cup in 2016. Technically, the PFF can nominate any team to represent them in Asia; however, only the team that finished top of their highest league are sent.

Sponsorship

Players

PPL clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish. There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law. However teams are restricted to not more than 2 foreign players in the squad for the season. Players move on free transfers as contracts only last for a year, but some contracts can be as long as three years, and the transfer fees are small. Due to the nature of the league, players tend to work for the company they play for during the off season and top players can command respectable football salaries. Players that earn a nominal salary need second jobs to support themselves.

Media

Pakistan Television is the official Media Partner of Pakistan Premier League. In 2008 the final of PPL was also telecasted on Star Sports India.

Awards

Top Scorer

Year Player/s Club Goals Ref.
2004-05 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA 20 [4]
2005-06 Pakistan Imran Hussain Pakistan Army 21 [5]
2006-07 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA 18 [6]
2007-08 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA 21 [7]
2008-09 Pakistan Muhammad Rasool Khan Research Laboratories 22 [8]
2009-10 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA 20 [9]
2010-11 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA 21 [10]
2011-12 Pakistan Jadeed Khan Afghan Chaman 22 [11]
2012-13 Pakistan Kaleemullah Khan Khan Research Laboratories 35 [12]
2013-14 Pakistan Muhammad Karachi Port Trust 27 [13]
2014-15 Pakistan Muhammad Rasool K-Electric 22 [14]

Most Valuable Player

Year Player/s Club Ref.
2004-05 Pakistan Khuda Bakhsh WAPDA [4]
2005-06 Pakistan Arif Mehmood WAPDA [5]
2006-07 Pakistan Adeel Ahmed Pakistan Telecommunication [6]
2007-08 Pakistan Muhammad Imran Pakistan Army [7]
2008-09 Pakistan Samar Ishaq Khan Research Laboratories [8]
2009-10 Pakistan Nasrullah Khan Pakistan Airlines [9]
2010-11 Pakistan Muhammad Haji Pakistan Airlines [10]
2011-12 Pakistan Samar Ishaq Khan Research Laboratories [11]
2012-13 Pakistan Saeed Ahmed Muslim [12]
2013-14 Pakistan Kaleemullah Khan Khan Research Laboratories [13]
2014-15 Pakistan Mansoor Khan Pakistan Airforce [14]
Pakistan Muhammad Mujahid Pakistan Airforce [14]

Goalkeeper of the year

Year Player/s Club Ref.
2004-05 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [4]
2005-06 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [5]
2006-07 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [6]
2007-08 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [7]
2008-09 Pakistan Abdul Aziz WAPDA [8]
2009-10 Pakistan Ghulam Nabi Khan Research Laboratories [9]
2010-11 Pakistan Muhammad Omer Karachi Electric Supply Corporation [10]
2011-12 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [11]
2012-13 Pakistan Jaffar Khan Pakistan Army [12]
2013-14 Pakistan Muzammil Hussain WAPDA [13]
2014-15 Pakistan Muzammil Hussain WAPDA [14]

Fair Play Trophy

Year Club Ref.
2004-05 Pakistan Telecommunication [4]
2005-06 Pakistan Telecommunication [5]
2006-07 Afghan Chaman [6]
2007-08 Pakistan Television [7]
2008-09 Afghan Chaman [8]
2009-10 Pakistan Airlines [9]
2010-11 Afghan Chaman [10]
2011-12 Pakistan Airlines [11]
2012-13 Zarai Taraqiati [12]
2013-14 Khan Research Laboratories [13]
2014-15 Muslim [14]

Criticism

The Pakistan Football Federation has been severely criticized for its non-serious attempts to increase the quality of football in the country. The PFF cites claims of lack of funds from the government, however these claims are largely rejected by players and owners alike who all agree that the PFF is severely mismanaged and corrupt. The league has an "amateurish" setup according to critics, which they claim don't allow players to develop to the level they are capable of. Pakistani clubs are considered lightweight in comparison to other Asian clubs and defeats by the opposition in the AFC President's Cup suggest that this may have some foundation. Another main criticism leveled at the PPL is the number of games played over a short period of time. One team can be forced to play 3 games in a week due to the congested fixture list. The PFF’s attempts to cut costs have led to players becoming exhausted.

Departmental Teams

The lack of independent clubs is also a major issue many football fans in Pakistan are annoyed with. Since the PFF has not made serious attempts to lure large businesses to invest in and/or sponsor teams, the league has a dominance of departmental teams run by the sports division government agencies and private businesses. This has resulted in a serious lack of public interest since nobody is willing to pay money to see departments play. However, critics suggest that if actual city-based teams are promoted with departments acting as sponsors, a fan following may develop. This is clearly evident with Afghan Chaman which has a large fan following and can see up-to 12,000 people attending matches.

References

  1. ^ "FIFA, AFC committed to promoting soccer in Pakistan: PFF president". Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. ^ "PFF approves two more teams in Premier League". Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  3. ^ "PFF approves two more teams in Premier League". Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2004 (National League and Regional Championships)". rsssf.com.
  5. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2005 (National Tournaments)". rsssf.com.
  6. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2006/07 (National Tournaments)". rsssf.com.
  7. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2007/08 (National Tournaments)". rsssf.com.
  8. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2008/09 (National Tournaments)". rsssf.com.
  9. ^ a b c d "Pakistan 2009/10 (National Tournaments)". rsssf.com.
  10. ^ a b c d "KESC secure fourth position as PPL 2010 comes to an end". footballpakistan.com.
  11. ^ a b c d "KRL has lifted the title of 8th Pakistan Premier Football League". footballpakistan.com.
  12. ^ a b c d "PIA hold champions KRL to draw as league ends". footballpakistan.com.
  13. ^ a b c d "Pakistan Premier League: KRL hold KESC and lift title". footballpakistan.com.
  14. ^ a b c d e "After four long years, K-Electric lift PPFL trophy [Express Tribune]". footballpakistan.com.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pakistan_Premier_League&oldid=876204323"