KARACHI: Five matches will be played on Thursday (today) when Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) 2010 will commence simultaneously at Nushki, Sahiwal, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.
KPT-KESC clash is being scheduled for KPT Stadium here near Custom House. Meanwhile, Lahore’s Model Town Football Academy Ground will host the match between under dogs PEL and seven-time National Champion Pakistan WAPDA.
1986 Champion Pakistan Air Force will be away team when they will take on four-time National Title holder Pakistan Army in all-services affair at Satellite Town’s Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi.
Nushki’s Baloch Club will face Afghan FC at their home territory. Two clubs will be in action at Sahiwal’s Rai Ali Nawaz Stadium when debutant Young Blood will take on PMC Athletico Club of Faisalabad.
The 240-match jumbo event will be played in three phase with 240th and final match is scheduled for December 28, 2010. The 168 matches of PFF’s blue ribbon event will be played in between until Eid Ul Adha. After nine-day break of religious festival celebrated by Muslims, further 54 matches will be held until Ashura/Muharram. After five-day break, Karachi will host final 18 matches of the marathon league.
PFF had decided to retain all fourteen teams of PPFL 2009 plus top two teams of PFF League 2009 for the 16-team event that will stand 56th National Football Champion of Pakistan.
Titlist Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) will defend the title while Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is looking for their eight title. They became third successful team of National Championship with seven titles, after table-topper Pakistan International Airlines (9 titles) and Punjab (8 titles).
Six-time winner Karachi is in fourth place. Pakistan Army collected the title four times, ABL and Balochistan won the top berth thrice, followed by two-times champion Dhaka, Sindh, Pakistan Railways, Faisalabad’s Crescent Textile Mills. Peshawar, East Pakistan, Chittagong, Habib Bank Limited, Quetta and Pakistan Air Force, KRL managed to win the national event once.