Pakistan Railways F.C.

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Pakistan Railways
PakRailwaysFC.png
Full namePakistan Railways Football Club
Nickname(s)The Railwaymen
Short namePRFC
Founded1950;75 years ago (1950)
Ground Railway Stadium
Capacity5,000
Owner Pakistan Railways
ChairmanAamir Ali Baloch

Pakistan Railways FC serves as the football section of Pakistan Railways, a state-owned railway company. Based in Lahore, the club play at the Railway Stadium. [1] 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.

Contents

History

Early years

Pakistan Railways captain Younus Rana receiving the 1969 National Football Championship trophy from president Yahya Khan at Lahore Pakistan Railways captain Younus Rana receiving the 1969 National Football Championship trophy from president Yahya Khan at Lahore.jpg
Pakistan Railways captain Younus Rana receiving the 1969 National Football Championship trophy from president Yahya Khan at Lahore

Founded in 1950 by workers of the Pakistan Railways, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Pakistan. [2] The club was originally known as Pakistan Western Railway until the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, named after the Pakistan Western Railway division of West Pakistan. A separate club, Pakistan Eastern Railway, represented the railway division in East 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. [3] Two years later, the club lost against Punjab Blue. Between 1963 and 1966, the club finished as runner-up in three seasons consecutively, losing against Karachi in all the finals. In 1963, the club won its first title after winning the Aga Khan Gold Cup. [4] In 1969, they beat Karachi to win the first of their two National Football Championship titles. [3] The second was in 1984, when they defeated WAPDA in the final. [5]

Pakistan Premier League era: 2006–2015

After the revamp in Pakistani football and the discontinuation of the National Football Championship, the club competed in the second-tier, winning 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. Chaudhry Mohammad 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. [6]

Railways again qualified to the top-tier by winning their departmental leg of the 2013 PFF League. [7] It remained in the top tier until getting relegated again in the 2014–15 Pakistan Premier League.

2023–present

Following the domestic football revamp in the country in 2023, departmental clubs including Railways remained competing in the PFF National Challenge Cup. [8] [9]

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

Invitational

Notable players

References

  1. ↑ "Pakistan - Pakistan Railways - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  2. ↑ "Pakistan - Foundation Dates of Clubs". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2024-02-19. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  3. 1 2 3 Ali Wahidi, Syed Akber (March 17, 2016). "Pakistan – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Tom Lewis; Neil Morrison; Novan Herfiyana; Karel Stokkermans (2003). "Aga Khan Gold Cup (Dhaka, Bangladesh)". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Pakistan 1984". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  6. ↑ "Railways hold Airmen 0-0 in PFF league". Brecorder. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  7. ↑ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2013-12-22). "Railways, Baloch FC Quetta promoted to PPFL". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  8. ↑ Wasim, Umaid (2023-01-25). "Domestic football returns as Challenge Cup kicks off". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  9. ↑ "PFF National Challenge Cup kicks off today". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
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