Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is among the most popular team sports in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, Football in

has historically been among the top sports in Pakistan, together with long time number one

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Pakistan's current top domestic football league is the Pakistan Premiere League, formed with sixteen clubs to promote football in the Pakistan. The semi-professional league began in 2003 and was immediately recognised by the AFC as the official national football league, running parallel with the Pakistan Football Federation League, the 2nd division of Pakistani Football. Football in general is ran by the

Pakistan Football Federation Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in Pakistan. Founded in 1947, its headquarters are at the FIFA Football House in Lahore, Punjab near Punjab Stadium. The federation manages the men's and women's ...

History

Origins

The origin of football in Pakistan can be traced back to mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced by British soldiers in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Initially, games were played between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up around the country. Kohat FC was the first club to be established in 1930, it became the first outstation team to win the North-West India Football Championship 1937 in 1937 defeating

Government College Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

1–0 in the finals. More clubs were formed after independence which includes

Afghan FC Chaman Afghan Football Club Chaman or simply Afghan F.C. is a Pakistani professional football club based in Chaman, Balochistan, a border city near Afghanistan. The club last competed in the Pakistan Premier League. In 2000, Afghan FC Chaman played i ...

and Wohaib. The first female club to be established was Diya W.F.C. in 2002.

Foundation of PFF

Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the

(PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. PFF received recognition from FIFA in early 1948. The annual National Championship was organized shortly after. In 1950, the national team gained their first international experience in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. In 1954, the Pakistan National Team participated in the Asian Games at

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and also toured the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. In 1958, Pakistan again took part in the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Asian Games. Pakistan also took part in the annual Asian Quadrangular Tournament. However, the game could not develop as smoothly as it should have.

's participation in international competitions has not been regular. The standard achieved in the early 1950s could not be maintained because of lack of organization of the game.

National teams

The Pakistan men's national football team and

Pakistan women's national football team The Pakistan women's national football team is the female representative football team for Pakistan. The team was formed in 2010 and has not yet entered the AFC Women's Asian Cup or FIFA Women's World Cup, but has competed in four editions o ...

are members of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...

, and its sub-confederation the

South Asian Football Federation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), founded in 1997, is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia and is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Mal ...

, as well as world governing board FIFA. National

minifootball Minifootball is a ''small-sided'' variation of football. It is mainly played in 5-a-side format, with additional types of 6-a-side, 7-a-side, 8-a-side, 9-a-side and indoor soccer, all played on astro turf, or futsal played indoors on a hard cou ...

team is member of Asian Minifootball Confederation.

League system

Professional leagues

The Pakistan Premier League is the league for men's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

departments and clubs which in the

Pakistan football league system The Pakistan football league system consists of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Pakistan. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues. The system See also * Football in Pakistan Association ...

, is the country's first tier professional football league. Contested by 12 departments and clubs, it operates on a system of

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...

with the

Football Federation League The Pakistan Football Federation League ( ur, پاکستان فٹ بال فیڈریشن لیگ ; abbreviated: PFFL), also known as the 'B' Division League, is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's association football departments and club ...

Cup competitions

The

National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual semi-professional knockout football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized by and named after the Pakistan Football Federation. ...

is an annual professional football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the

, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a single-legged knockout format, and a single leg final.

Academy

In January 2019, Atlético Madrid started Pakistan's first European football academy.

References

External links

Football PakistanClassic Football League

''Dawn'', A history of football in Pakistan — Part I''Dawn'', A history of football in Pakistan — Part II
{{Football in Asia