Pakistan Army F.C.

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Pakistan Army
Army Sports Directorate GHQ logo.png
Full namePakistan Army Football Club
Nickname(s)The Army
The Greens
Short nameARM
Founded1950;75 years ago (1950)
Ground Army Stadium, Rawalpindi
Capacity7,000
Owners Pakistan Army
Chairman Brig. Gen. Saleem Nawaz
Head Coach Jaffar Khan

The Pakistan Army Football Club serves as the football section of the Pakistan Army. The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and Pakistan Premier League. The club regularly participates in the National Football Challenge Cup.

Contents

The club is operated by the Pakistan Army Sports Directorate, and its players are employed in the Pakistan Army, and recruited through the Army's sports quota or selected from within the forces. [1]

History

Early years (1950–1991)

Pakistan Army football team, winners of the 1975 Inter-Services Football Championship Pakistan Army football team, winners of the 1975 Inter-Services Football Championship.jpg
Pakistan Army football team, winners of the 1975 Inter-Services Football Championship

The club was established in 1950 by the Pakistan Army. [2] It then regularly featured at the National Football Championship of Pakistan.

In the 1980 National Football Championship, it finished as runner-up after falling against Karachi Red in the final. [3]

League era reboot & first national titles (1992–1994)

In the season of 1992–93 of the Lifebuoy Soap sponsored league structured National A-Division Football Championship, the club finished as runner-up after Pakistan Airlines. [3]

The following season (1993–94), Army clinched its first national league title. [4] [5]

Domestic consistency (1995–2003)

After the National Football Championship reverted to the old knockout format, the team won their second title in 1995. [5] During this decade, Army also made its mark in multi-sport competitions, capturing the football gold medal at the National Games in 1995 and 1997. [6]

Army also won the President PFF Cup in 2000 and 2001, alongside another National Games gold in 2001. [7] [8]

Pakistan Premier League & continental participation (2004–2007)

The club was one of the founding members of newly formed Pakistan Premier League, appearing in the first edition in 2004, where the team finished runner-up after WAPDA.

Army clinched the second 2005 Pakistan Premier League title with 51 points, with striker Imran Hussain as the Golden Boot with 21 goals. As 2005 champions, Army qualified for the 2006 AFC President’s Cup in Kuching, Malaysia, [9] where they lost to Tatung and Transport United but earned a 1–1 draw with Khemara, exiting at the group stage. [10]

They repeated as champions in 2006–07, and subsequently played at 2007 AFC President's Cup on home soil in Lahore, drawing with Ratnam, and narrow defeats to Regar-TadAZ and Transport United. [11]

During this period, Army also won the National Games gold in 2004 and 2007. [12] [13]

Near misses and stability (2007–2015)

Following their two back-to-back titles, Army finished runners-up in three consecutive PPL seasons (2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10). The club later placed second again in 2014–15. In 2016, Pakistan Army defeated Pakistan Airlines in the All-Pakistan Football Tournament at the Peoples Football Stadium in Karachi. [14]

Recent years (2018–present)

After years of turmoil within the Pakistan Football Federation, resulting in domestic football inactivity, Army finished 4th in the league’s return season in 2018–19. Later on, the team won the National Football Challenge Cup in 2019. [15] [16]

Stadium

The Army Stadium in Rawalpindi serve as the team own ground. It has regularly hosted several Pakistan Premier League and National Challenge Cup fixtures. [17] [18]

Competitive record

The club's competitive record since the 2004 season are listed below.

SeasonDivTmsPos National Challenge Cup AFC President's Cup AFC Cup
2004 Pakistan Premier League162–DNPDNP
2005 Pakistan Premier League121Semi-finalsDNPDNP
2006–07 Pakistan Premier League121–Group stageDNP
2007–08 Pakistan Premier League142–Group stageDNP
2008 Pakistan Premier League142–DNPDNP
2009 Pakistan Premier League142Quarter-finalsDNPDNP
2010 Pakistan Premier League165Semi-finalsDNPDNP
2011 Pakistan Premier League163Semi-finalsDNPDNP
2012–13 Pakistan Premier League164Quarter-finalsDNPDNP
2013–14 Pakistan Premier League165Quarter-finalsDNPDNP
2014–15 Pakistan Premier League122–DNPDNP
2018–19 Pakistan Premier League–No League HeldSemi-finalsDNPDNP
2021–22 Pakistan Premier League–No League HeldSemi-finalsDNPDNP
2018–19 Pakistan Premier League164Quarter-finalsDNPDNP

Performance in AFC competitions

  Win  Draw  Loss

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubFirst legSecond legAggregate
2006 AFC President's Cup Group stage Flag of the Republic of China.svg Tatung 1–4
Flag of Bhutan.svg Transport United 0–1
Flag of Cambodia.svg Khemara 1–1
2007 AFC President's CupGroup stage Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Ratnam Sports Club 3–3
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Regar-TadAZ 1–2
Flag of Bhutan.svg Transport United 2–3

Honours

Domestic

References

  1. ↑ "When football helped break an Indo-Pak barrier". The Indian Express. 2011-12-08. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  2. ↑ "Pakistan - Foundation Dates of Clubs". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2024-02-19. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  3. 1 2 "Pakistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  4. ↑ Ahsan, Ali (December 23, 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part III". DAWN News. DAWN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Pakistan Army to face PEL in Premier Football". Brecorder. 2010-11-07. Archived from the original on 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  6. ↑ "Pakistan - List of Cup Winners". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  7. ↑ "Pakistan 2000". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  8. ↑ "Pakistan 2001". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  9. ↑ "Army to meet Tatung in AFC opener". Dawn. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  10. ↑ "Soccer: Shabbir helps Army to draw". Dawn. 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  11. ↑ "AFC President's Cup football draws held". Dawn. 2007-02-04. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  12. ↑ "Pakistan 2004". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  13. ↑ "Pakistan 2006/07". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  14. ↑ "Rangers All-Pakistan Football Tournament: Rehman, Hasnain guide Army to title – The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  15. ↑ Report, Recorder (2019-08-06). "Pakistan Army win 28th PFF National Challenge Football Cup". Brecorder. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  16. ↑ "Army stun SSGC 3-2 to win National Challenge Football Cup". The Nation. 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  17. ↑ InpaperMagazine, From (2013-01-13). "No competition!". Dawn. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  18. ↑ Andrew, Marylou (2014-07-01). "Beyond cricket". Aurora Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
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