Pakistan Premier League kicks off today: Six cities to hold matches simultaneously
KARACHI, July 21: Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) Pakistan Premier Football League 2008 kicks off simultaneously all over Pakistan from today (Tuesday).
The 182-match affair, featuring 14 teams namely Wapda, Army, Navy, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Pakistan Television (PTV), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Chaman’s Afghan Club, Punjab Medical College Faisalabad and last year’s league winners Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) and runner-up Pakistan Steel, will be played at 12 venues in six cities.
Each team will play 26 matches on a home and away basis with 13 at their home ground and 13 at their hosts’.
The selected venues include two in Lahore, one in Faisalabad, two in Islamabad, two in Rawalpindi, one in Quetta and as many as four in Karachi.
Lahore’s Garhi Shahu Railway Stadium, having the honour of hosting the first ever SAFF championship 15 years ago, and Faisal Town’s lush Raiders FC Ground will serve as the home ground for Wapda and PEL.
Faisalabad’s PMC College Ground is Punjab Medical College’s ground while the soccer field near Hamidi Hall at the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Complex in Islamabad is going to hold the PTV home matches. The Naval Head Quarter Complex ground in Sector E-8, Islamabad, has been picked by the Navy while Rawalpindi’s Army Sports Complex soccer field near Saddar belongs to the Army squad as does the KRL Stadium opposite the airport in Rawalpindi to the KRL side.
In Quetta, the Govt High School Ground will be Chaman’s Afghan Club home ground.
Meanwhile, the four Karachi grounds include the Quaid-e-Azam Sports Complex soccer field inside the Pakistan Steel Township as the Pakistan Steel ground along with Saddar Town’s 18,000-capacity City District Government Karachi (CDGK) Stadium as KPT’s home ground, while Lyari’s Peoples Sports Complex has been picked by KESC and HBL and the Korangi Baloch Stadium in Landhi Town by PIA and NBP.
PFF has announced the draws of 82 of the total 182 matches to be played from July 22 to Sept 1 — a day before the start of Ramazan. Draws for the remaining 100 matches in the next phase, to be played from Oct 10 to Dec 9, will be announced later. All matches kick off at 5.30pm.
July 22: Afghan FC v PMC (Govt High School, Chaman), KPT v PIA (CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
July 23: NBP v KESC (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
July 24: HBL v Pak Steel (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
July 25: Afghan FC v PEL (Govt High School, Chaman).
July 26: PIA v PMC (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KESC v HBL
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
July 27: Pak Steel v KPT (Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi).
July 28: Afghan FC v Wapda (Govt High School, Chaman).
July29: NBP v PMC (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), HBL v PEL
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
July 30: PIA v Pak Steel (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
July 31: Afghan FC v Army (Govt High School, Chaman), KESC v Wapda (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 1: NBP v PEL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), HBL v PMC
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 2: Pak Steel v PIA (Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi), KPT v Navy (CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 3: Afghan FC v KRL (Govt High School,Chaman), KESC v PEL
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 4: Pak Steel v PMC (Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi), NBP v Army (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), HBL v Wapda (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 5: KPT v PEL (CDGK Stadium, Karachi), PIA v Navy (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 6: Afghan FC v PTV (Govt High School ,Chaman), Pak Steel v Army
(Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi), KESC v PMC (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 7: NBP v Wapda (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KPT v KRL
(CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 8: HBL v Navy (Peoples Stadium, Karachi), PIA v PEL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 9: Pak Steel v PTV (Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi), KESC v Army (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 10: NBP v KRL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KPT v PMC
(CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 11: HBL v PTV (Peoples Stadium, Karachi), Pak Steel v PEL
(Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi), PIA v Wapda (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 12: NBP v Navy (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KESC v KRL
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 13: KPT v Wapda (CDGK Stadium, Karachi), HBL v Army
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 14: PIA v PTV (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KESC v Navy
(Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 15: HBL v KRL (Peoples Stadium, Karachi), Pak Steel v Wapda
(Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi).
Aug 16: PMC v PEL (PMC Ground, Faisalabad), NBP v PTV ( Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KPT v Army (CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 17: PIA v KRL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), Pak Steel v Navy
(Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi).
Aug 18: NBP v HBL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KPT v PTV
(CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 19: PIA v Army ( Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), PEL v PMC (Railway Stadium, Lahore), Pak Steel v KRL ( Pak Steel Township Ground, Karachi).
Aug 20: Afghan FC v Navy (Govt High School, Chaman).
Aug 21: KESC v PTV (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 22: HBL v NBP (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 23: Afghan FC v KPT (Govt High School, Chaman).
Aug 24: Wapda v Army (Railway Stadium, Lahore), PEL v KRL (Raiders FC Ground, Faisal Town, Lahore).
Aug 25: PMC v Navy (PMC Ground, Faisalabad), KESC v NBP (Peoples Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 26: PIA v KPT (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), Afghan FC v Pak Steel (Govt High School, Chaman).
Aug 27: PEL v Army (Raiders FC Ground, Faisal Town, Lahore), Wapda v KRL (Railway Stadium, Lahore), PMC v PTV (PMC Ground, Faisalabad)
Aug 28: HBL v PIA (Peoples Stadium, Karachi), NBP v KPT (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi).
Aug 29: Wapda v Navy (Railway Stadium, Lahore), Afghan FC v KESC (Govt High School, Chaman).
Aug 30: PEL v PTV (Railway Stadium, Lahore), PMC v Army (PMC Ground, Faisalabad).
Aug 31: PIA v HBL (Korangi Baloch Stadium, Karachi), KPT v KESC (CDGK Stadium, Karachi).
Sept 1: Wapda v PTV (Railway Stadium, Lahore), PEL v Navy (Raiders FC Ground, Faisal Town, Lahore), PMC v KRL (PMC Ground, Faisalabad), Afghan FC v NBP (Govt High School, Chaman).