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The Karachi Football League is a city based football league held in Karachi, in Pakistan's Sindh province.[2][3][4]
| Founded | 1962 (restarted in 2003) |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Most championships | Burma Mohammedan Shahzad Mohammedan (2 titles)[1] |
On a few known occasions, city league championships were played in Pakistan in Lahore stretching back to 1937 before the independence of Pakistan.[5] A league was organized in Karachi in 1962 as KDFA League, by the Karachi Division Football Association between 20 participants throughout the city.[6] Baloch XI from Lyari ultimately won the title after finishing at the top with 33 points.[6]
It wasn't until 2003 when the second edition of the league was held again, this time organised by Karachi United and sponsored by KASB Bank as the KASB Premier League.[7] From 2003 until 2008, the league was sponsored by "KASB Group of Companies" which was the Title Sponsor of the event for the first six editions. Coca-Cola Pakistan became the consequent league sponsor.
The league although regional and semi-professional, it has been compared to the top flight Pakistan Premier League, which has a dominance of department and armed forces teams, which have resulted in poor attendances, with the best supported teams being the Balochistan clubs Afghan FC Chaman, Baloch Nushki and Muslim FC.[8] In stark contrast, the Karachi Football League, despite being a third level division, routinely attracts healthy audiences with the highlight being the 2008–09 final between Shahzad Mohammadan and Nazimabad FC where a huge crowd of over 18,000 witnessed proceedings at the KMC Stadium.[8]
In February 2022, mayor of Karachi Murtaza Wahab announced the return of the league after inactivity.[9]
In 2003, the season saw 10 clubs competing on a single league basis with the famous Lyari based Hyderi Baluch crowned as champions. In the first five seasons, five different clubs won the championship until Shazad Muhammadan won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the 2008 season, the league expanded to 16 clubs, with the top eight clubs competing in a playoff.[10] In 2014 season, 20 teams were divided into two groups. After league matches, top four teams from each group progressed into the round-robin Super League phase. The top four teams of the Super League phase then made it to the semi-finals.[11][12]
- 1962: Baloch XI[6]
- 2003: Hyderi Baloch Club[13]
- 2004–05: Lyari Labour Welfare Centre[14]
- 2005–06: Young Ansari[15]
- 2006–07: Keamari Mohammedan[16]
- 2007–08: Shahzad Mohammedan[17]
- 2008–09: Shahzad Mohammedan[8]
- 2009–10: N/A
- 2010–11: Baloch Youth Garden
- 2011–12: Burma Mohammedan
- 2012–13: N/A
- 2013–14: Khyber Muslim
- 2014–15: Burma Mohammedan
- 2015–16: Mauripur Baloch
- 2022–23: N/A
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