Pakistan Navy F.C.

Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Navy FC Logo
Full namePakistan Navy Football Club
Nickname(s)The Navy
The Seamen
Short nameNAV
Founded1948; 76 years ago (1948)
GroundNaval Sports Complex[1]
Capacity10,000
20,000
5,000
OwnerPakistan Navy
ChairmanMunawar Hussain
ManagerKhalid Zuber

Pakistan Navy Football Club serves as a football section of the Pakistan Navy. The club was founded in 1948 and mostly plays their home games at the Naval Sports Complex. The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and the Pakistan Premier League. The club regularly participates in the PFF National Challenge Cup.

History

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Early years

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Founded in 1948, the club is the second oldest football team in Pakistan after Karachi Port Trust.[2]

Pakistan Navy first entered the competitive tournament in 1984, when they participated in 1984 Inter-provincial Championship. They reached the final of 1999 National Football Championship (then the top-tier in Pakistani football), losing 4–3 on penalties to Allied Bank. In 2000 National Football Championship Pakistan Navy reached the semi-finals, although the match was abandoned after Pakistan Navy refused to continue the match after receiving a red card and match was awarded in the favor of their opponents Habib Bank. In 2002, Pakistan Navy reached the quarter-finals of 2002 Pakistan PFF's President Cup, they were knocked out by Karachi Electric Supply Corporation after losing 1–0. They reached the 2003 National Football Challenge Cup, losing to Habib Bank 4–2 on penalties after the match ended 1–1, they also reached the 2003 PFF President's Cup semi-finals, where they lost 3–0 to Karachi Port Trust. Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Army competed for "Inter-services Championship" as Pakistan Navy lost 6–1 to Pakistan Army.

Pakistan Premier League era: 2004 to 2014

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Pakistan Navy were the founding members of newly formed Pakistan Premier League. They finished 6th in the league in 2004–05 season. They record some of the biggest victories in the season, defeating Young XI DIK and Mardan 8–1 and 10–0 respectively. In the second season, Pakistan Navy survived relegation by one point, ending the season with 21 points. Pakistan Navy won their first silverware in 2008, winning the 2008 National Football Challenge Cup, defeating Khan Research Laboratories 3–1 in the final. In the 2009–10 season Pakistan Navy got their highest ever position in Pakistan Premier League, finishing in 4th position with 57 points. They reached the finals of 2010 National Football Challenge Cup, where they lost 4–0 to defending champions Khan Research Laboratories. In 2011–12 season, the club reached the semi-finals of 2012 KPT Challenge Cup, where they once again lost 1–0 to Khan Research Laboratories. They then lost the third-place match to WAPDA on penalties. The club got relegated in 2013–14 season, when the Pakistan Football Federation decided to reduce the teams from 16 to 12 for the 2014–15 Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan Navy were the joint-highest placed team in the relegation zone with Habib Bank, sharing 35 points each. Pakistan Navy were knocked out of the group stage in the 2014 National Football Challenge Cup.

Second division

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After getting relegated in the 2013–14 season, they competed in the second division, Pakistan Football Federation League. Pakistan Navy defeated Falcon Company and Pakistan Steel 2–1 and 3–1 respectively and finished top in their group. In the second phase, they again topped their group after defeating Pakistan Television and Sui Southern Gas 5–0 and 1–0 respectively. Pakistan Navy faced Higher Education Commission in the final of departmental leg, winning 2–1 and earning promotion back to the Pakistan Premier League. They faced Baloch Nushki in the final of the second division, which they won 1–0 and were crowned the champions.

Return to top-flight: 2015–2019

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After winning the 2014-15 Pakistan Football Federation League, Pakistan Navy were to play in the 2015–16 Pakistan Premier League, but no league was held in the country until the 2018–19. They competed in the National Football Challenge Cup as it was the only top-tier of Pakistani football. They competed in the 2015 and 2016, reaching quarter-finals of the former and were knocked out at the group stage in the latter one. Domestic football returned to Pakistan in 2018–19. Pakistan Navy participated in the 2018 National Challenge Cup, reaching quarter-finals where they lost 2–0 to WAPDA. In 2018–19 Pakistan Premier League, they finished 9th. During the season the club recorded one of the bigges home victories when they defeated Baloch Nushki 6–1.

2023–present

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Following the domestic football revamp in the country in 2023, departmental clubs including Navy remained competing in the PFF National Challenge Cup.[3][4]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Football Grounds in Pakistan | Football Ground Map".
  2. ^ "Pakistan - Foundation Dates of Clubs". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  3. ^ Wasim, Umaid (2023-01-25). "Domestic football returns as Challenge Cup kicks off". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  4. ^ "PFF National Challenge Cup kicks off today". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
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