Khan Research Laboratories Football Club, sometimes abbreviated to KRL F.C. or KRL, serves as the football section of

Khan Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. Established in 1976, the laboratory is best know ...

. Based in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

, the club plays their home games at KRL Stadium. The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and

Pakistan Premier League The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ) is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's football clubs. The top tier of the Pakistan football league system, the PPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the PFFL B Division. The ...

. The club regularly participates in the

PFF National Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual 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. Initially named as ...

. The club has won five

titles and six

National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual 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. Initially named as ...

s. With these eleven trophies, they are the most successful club in the country. They are the only Pakistani club to have reached a continental club final, the

2013 AFC President's Cup The 2013 AFC President's Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Istiqlol were the defending champions, but did ...

, where they lost 1–0 to Balkan FK.

History

Early years

KRL FC was established in 1995. Khan Research Laboratories entered the National Football Championship in the 1998 season, where they lost 2–0 to Allied Bank in the quarter-finals. The next year they reached the semi-finals of the National Championship, after finishing top of their group and winning both their group matches 4–1 and 6–3 against

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

and Balochistan Red, respectively. They defeated Karachi Metropolitan 4–0 and Pakistan Railways 3–2 on penalties after drawing the game 2–2 in regulation time. They lost 1–0 to

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

in the semi-finals. In the 2000 season, Khan Research Laboratories reached the Round of 16, when they topped the group again after defeating Punjab Greens and

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

8–1 and 3–0, respectively. In the Round of 16 they lost 1–0 to that season's runners-up

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

. The next season, they topped the group yet again when they defeated

Pakistan Police Law enforcement in Pakistan () is one of the three main components of the Pakistan Penal Code, criminal justice system of Pakistan, alongside the Judiciary of Pakistan, judiciary and the :Prisons in Pakistan, prisons. The country has a mix of fe ...

and Sindh Greens 1–0 and 5–1, respectively. Sajjad of Khan Research Laboratories scored a hat-trick in the latter match. In the round of 16, they thrashed University Grants Commission 6–0, with Allah Nawaz scoring four goals. In the quarter-finals they defeated Allied Bank 3–2 and defeated their group team Pakistan Police 2–1 in the semi-finals. Khan Research Laboratories drew 1–1 to

in the finals, only to lose 4–3 on penalties. In the 2002 season, Khan Research Laboratories, top of the group for the fourth consecutive season, defeated University Grants Commission 5–1 and drew 1–1 with Sindh Red. In the Round of 16, they defeated Balochistan Green 1–0. Khan Research Laboratories defeated Federally Administered Tribal Areas 2–1 in the quarter-finals and lost to

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

1–0 in the semi-finals.

Premier League era: 2004–2019

Khan Research Laboratories became a dominant side since the inception of the re-branded

, finishing third in the 2004–05 season, scoring 98 goals in 30 matches (a goal ratio of 3.26 goals per match!), winning 23 and drawing and losing four and three matches respectively. They finished third in four further seasons, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09 seasons, before winning their first-ever league and national title in the 2009–10 season, when they won the league on goal difference after being tied on 60 points. Khan Research Laboratories had a goal difference +32 against +22 of

. Khan Research Laboratories completed the

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, when they won the 2009 National Football Challenge Cup defeating Pakistan Airlines 1–0 in the finals. In the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, they finished second to league winners

. However, they successfully defended the

, defeating

4–0 in the finals. Khan Research Laboratories won three league titles consecutively, winning in 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and 2013–14. In the 2011–12 and 2012–13 season, Khan Research Laboratories completed a consecutive

when they won the League and Challenge Cup. In latter seasons, they won the league after their star

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Kaleemullah Khan scored 35 goals including 7 hat-tricks. In the 2014–15 season, they finished sixth after losing their star players, Kaleemullah Khan and Muhammad Adil to Kyrgyz club

FC Dordoi Bishkek Football Club Dordoi Bishkek () is a Kyrgyz professional football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier League. Founded in 1997, the club is owned by "Dordoi" Association, the group of companies that also own Dordoi Bazaar ...

. They won a further two Challenge Cups in 2015 and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, becoming the most successful club in the National Football Challenge Cup, winning the tournament six times in total. Khan Research Laboratories won their fifth

2018–19 Premier League The 2018–19 Premier League was the 27th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 120th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

title after defeating

Sui Southern Gas The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), () formerly known as Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited, is a Pakistani state-owned natural gas supply company based in Karachi, Pakistan. Sui Southern Gas Company is Pakistan's leading integrated gas comp ...

4–0 on the final match day, making them the most successful club since the inception of the Pakistan Premier League.

Asian competitions

Khan Research Laboratories' first appearance in the Asian competition came in the 2010 AFC President's Cup, when they finished second to

Vakhsh Qurghonteppa Vakhsh Bokhtar () formerly known as Khatlon Bokhtar is a professional football club based in Bokhtar, Tajikistan. They currently play in the top division of the country. History FC Vakhsh was founded in 1960. In Soviet times was the farm club of ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. In the

2012 AFC President's Cup The 2012 AFC President's Cup was the eighth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a association football, football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Teams from 11 member as ...

, they finished second in the

after drawing both their games 0–0 against Erchim and

Taiwan Power Company The Taiwan Power Company (), also known by the short name Taipower (), is a state-owned electric power industry providing electricity to Taiwan and its off-shore islands. History Taipower was established on 1 May 1946. Its origins can be trace ...

, thus qualifying for the final stage where they finished bottom of the group. Their win in the 2012 season qualified them for a spot in the 2013 AFC President's Cup. In the group stage, held in May 2013, they were drawn against Kyrgyzstan-based Dordoi Bishkek, Philippines-based

Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

and Bhutan-based Yeedzin. KRL drew 1–1 with Dordoi, beat Global 2–0 and also went past Yeedzin 8–0. They finished second in the group behind Dordoi based on goal difference as both clubs had 7 points from their 3 encounters. Through this result, the club qualified for the final group stage, which was played in September 2013. In the final group stage, they were drawn against the Palestinian side

Hilal Al-Quds Hilal Al-Quds Club () is a Palestinian sports and cultural club. Its professional football section was established in 1972 within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The club's motto is "Development, training and rehabilitation of Jerusalemit ...

and their rivals from the first group stage, Dordoi Bishkek. They won both of their games and progressed to the final, where they lost 1–0 to Turkmen side Balkan. In the

2014 AFC President's Cup The 2014 AFC President's Cup was the tenth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia, and the final edition under the AFC President's ...

they finished bottom of the group in the first stage.

2023–present

Following the domestic football revamp in the country in 2023, departmental clubs including Khan Research Laboratories remained competing in the

Competitive record

Overall

The club's competitive record since the 2004–05 season are listed below.

Honours

Domestic

: **Champions (5): 2009–10, 2011–12,

, 2013–14, 2018–19 *

Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized ...

: **Champions (6):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

*NBP President's Cup: **Winners (1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Continental

AFC President's Cup The AFC Challenge League (previously known as the AFC President's Cup, abbreviated as ACGL) is an annual third-tier continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from n ...

: **Runners-up (1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Performance in AFC competitions

Asian Cup Winners Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an Asian football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-Asian club competition organised by Asian Football Confedera ...

: 1 appearance :: 2000/01: First Round *

: 4 appearances ::

: 2° in Group Stage ::

: 3° in Final Group Stage ::

: 3° in Runners Up ::

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: 4° in Group Stage

Notable players

References

External links

KRL FC
at Global Sports Archive {{Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup 1995 establishments in Pakistan Association football clubs established in 1995 Works association football clubs in Pakistan Football in Rawalpindi