Pakistan Premier Football League From Aug 14

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2021 ) :The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was holding the 13th edition of the Pakistan Premier Football League, the second event of its activity Calendar, from August 14.

According to Secretary General of Pakistan Football Federation Mr. Muhammad Naveed Akram, the defending champions Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Rawalpindi would be the favorites to win the title for the sixth time, said a press release issued here.

The first round of the league would be played in Multan, later in Rawalpindi, Quetta and Karachi. A total of twelve teams have confirmed their participation in the event, including Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Army, Sui Southern Gas Company, Pakistan Air Force, PCCA, Muslim Club, Pakistan Navy, Wapda, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Baloch Club Quetta, Karachi United, and Huma Club Islamabad.

The teams of Baloch Club Quetta, Karachi United and Huma Club Islamabad qualified for PPL last year.

Akram said the draw and technical regulations of the league would be announced next week while preparations for holding the largest event in Pakistan in a memorable and high scale are in their final stages.

The 12th edition of Pakistan Premier League was played from September 25, 2018 to January 13, 2019 in Multan, Quetta and Karachi in which 16 teams were drawn.

Ashraf Sugar Mills and PIA teams withdrew from the event and 14 teams confirmed their participation in the event. The last match of the 182-match league was played at KPT Ground, Karachi. The interesting thing about this event was that the champion team did not come forward till the last match.

KRL and SSGC were playing their last match in this event. KRL needed a 4-0 victory and Southern Gas needed a 1-0 victory to become the champions while Pakistan Air Force would have become the champions if the match had been drawn but surprisingly KRL achieved its target and thrilling success of 4-0, they won the honor of being the National Champion for the 5th time.

A total of 398 goals were scored in 182 matches at an average of 2.19 per match. Ansar Abbas of Pakistan Army became the top scorer with 15 goals. Including a hat-trick.

KPT was ranked 13th and Baloch Club Noshki was ranked 14th while Ashraf Sugar Mills and PIA were eliminated from the race for participation in the 13th edition. Due to the demise of the former champion K. Electric's team, they also could not be a part of this edition. Fans would also not be able to see the players of the Afghan Club Chaman participating in the 12th edition in action.