System by period
The roots of national level football in Pakistan trace back to 28 May 1948, with the launch of the National Football Championship by the Pakistan Football Federation. [1] Held on knock-out basis and a closed format competition, this tournament brought together regional provincial and division association teams, as well as departmental and armed forces teams representing various government institutions. [1] [2]
Parallel to the championship, many separate amateur regional leagues with promotion and relegation featuring clubs were also held, like Karachi Football League, Lahore Football League, or Quetta Football League. Players frequently took part in these competitions for their local clubs, while also being selected to represent either their provincial/divisional associations or their departmental teams in the National Championship. [3]
Before the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Dhaka League was one of the strongest football competitions in the country, and many players affiliated with its clubs, both from West and East Pakistan, were chosen to represent the East Pakistan provincial team or the Dhaka Division team in the National Championship.
Under the tenure of PFF General Secretary Hafiz Salman Butt, the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons were contested in a league-style format rather than as a knockout competition. Sponsored as the National Lifebuoy A-Division Football Championship, the tournament ran across several months and introduced a system of promotion and relegation with the second-tier National Lifebuoy B-Division Football Championship. [4] [5] The A-Division titles were won by Pakistan Airlines (1992–93) and Pakistan Army (1993–94), while the B-Division was won by Crescent Textile Mills (1992), National Bank (1993), and Frontier Scouts (1994). [2]
The experiment lasted only two seasons. Following Butt’s removal from office in 1994 amid political disputes and allegations of abuse of power with PFF president Mian Muhammad Azhar, the competition reverted to its previous knockout format. [4] [5]
Pakistan Premier League (2004–present)
In August 2003, politician Faisal Saleh Hayat assumed control of the Pakistan Football Federation. Under his administration, the National Football Championship was discontinued and replaced in 2004 by the Pakistan Premier League, with the PFF League serving as the second tier. [6] [7]
In 2006, the Pakistan Football Federation introduced the National Club Championship (also called C-Division League) as a third tier beneath the PFF League. [8] [9] The competition brought together amateur and semi-professional clubs, with three teams, PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad, Baloch Nushki, and Bannu Red earning promotion to the 2006 PFF League. [10]
