2018–19 Pakistan Premier League

Pakistan Premier League
Season2018–19
Dates25 September 2018 – 13 January 2019
ChampionsKhan Research Laboratories
5th Premier League
5th Pakistani title
RelegatedKarachi Port Trust
Baloch Nushki
Ashraf Sugar Mills
Pakistan Airlines
Matches played182
Goals scored398 (2.19 per match)
Top goalscorerAnsar Abbas (15 goals)
Best goalkeeperTanvir Mumtaz (Khan Research Laboratories)
Biggest home winPakistan Navy 6–1 Baloch Nushki
(7 December 2018)
National Bank 5–0 Baloch Nushki
(19 December 2018)
Pakistan Airforce 5–0 Baloch Nushki
(9 January 2019)
Biggest away winBaloch Nushki 0–5 Pakistan Army
(17 November 2018)
Karachi Port Trust 0–5 Pakistan Army
(17 December 2018)
Afghan Chaman 0–5 Khan Research Laboratories
(23 December 2018)
Highest scoringPakistan Navy 6–1 Baloch Nushki
(7 December 2018)
Karachi Port Trust 2–5 Civil Aviation Authority
(30 December 2018)[1]
Sui Northern Gas 4–3 Afghan Chaman
(8 January 2019)
Longest winning run5 matches
Khan Research Laboratories
Pakistan Airforce
Sui Southern Gas[2]
Longest unbeaten run13 matches
Khan Research Laboratories[2]
Longest winless run26 matches
Baloch Nushki[2]
Longest losing run8 matches
Baloch Nushki[2]
Highest attendance15,000
Khan Research Laboratories 4–0 Sui Southern Gas
(13 January 2019)[3]

The 2018–19 Pakistan Premier League was the 61st season of Pakistan domestic football and the 12th season of the Pakistan Premier League, and the first season to be played since 2014–15.

The league was reportedly not recognised by FIFA and AFC, as it was organised by two different federations.[4][5][6] Faisal Saleh Hayat controversially-led Pakistan Football Federation, which was internationally recognised, started the league and non-FIFA recognised Ashfaq Hussain Shah group, who was elected PFF president in an election ordered by the Supreme Court a month before the termination of the season completed the event.[4][5][6]

Format and overview

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The season was held in Multan, Karachi and Lahore between 25 September and 11 January 2019, with 16 teams participating (12 PPL teams and 4 winner teams of second-tier playoffs).[7] Each team would get to play each other twice, meaning in a season they would play 30 games. The bottom four teams got relegated to the second tier. The team that finished first would get qualification in the AFC Cup, but AFC denied entry of Pakistani football clubs in 2019 AFC Cup because of incomplete licensing regulations due to absence of footballing activity since the end of 2014-15 season.[8]

Controversies

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The league was reportedly not recognised by FIFA and AFC, as it was organised by two different federations. Faisal Saleh Hayat controversially-led Pakistan Football Federation, which was internationally recognised, started the league and non-FIFA recognised Ashfaq Hussain Shah group, who was elected PFF president in an election ordered by the Supreme Court a month before the termination of the season completed the event.[4][5][6] The Hayat group also initially ended the league, making final payments and forcing the referees to boycott the remaining matches.[4]

SSGC's promotion was also controversial, occurring through a one-match playoff that violated FIFA and AFC rules on team promotion and relegation.[4] Further complicating matters, one of the promoted teams, Ashraf Sugar Mills, withdrew from the league midway, citing the high costs of competing at the top level. With football effectively stalled in the country for years, SSGC took advantage by recruiting leading players from the Pakistan national team.[4] Once Hayat regained his position as PFF president in March 2018, after a six-month FIFA ban, international players along with team head coach Tariq Lutfi became hesitant to compete in the second division. Consequently, the PFF decided to promote four teams through a single-match playoff, bypassing the second-division league.[4] The leading clubs were also refused a spot in the AFC Cup mainly due to club licensing issues.[5]

The standard of the pitches, the refereeing and the introduction of qualifiers were also criticised along with spectators attacking a referee at Malir, and there was a lack of proper ambulance facilities. Referees also pulled out of the event when the new body took the league control.[5]

However, positive changes introduced were live streaming of matches, subsidy and introduction of match bonuses, 80 percent increase in dailies for referees and match commissioners, fine accommodation for referees and payment of ground fee by the PFF itself. The total cost of the league was 20 million PKR.[5]

Teams

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Promotion and relegation

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Teams relegated to FFL

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Baloch Quetta and Pakistan Railways were relegated at the end of 2014–15 season (no league was held until current season).[9]

Teams promoted from FFL

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Pakistan Navy got promoted after winning 2014–15 Pakistan Football Federation League, defeating Baloch Nushki 1–0 in the finals.[10]

Teams promoted from PPL Promotion Play-Offs 2018

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Main article: 2018 PPL Promotion Play-Offs

Civil Aviation Authority, Sui Southern Gas Company, Ashraf Sugar Mills and Sui Northern Gas Company won their matches and promoted to Pakistan Premier League.

Stadium and locations

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class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2018–19 Pakistan Premier League
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Afghan Chaman Chaman Jamal Nasir Stadiium 12,000
Ashraf Sugar Mills Bahawalpur Railway Stadium 5,000
Baloch Nushki Nushki Nushki Stadium 10,000
Civil Aviation Authority Karachi Korangi Baloch Stadium 5,000
K-Electric Karachi People's Football Stadium 40,000
Karachi Port Trust Karachi Karachi Port Trust Stadium 6,000
Khan Research Laboratories Rawalpindi KRL Ground 8,000
Muslim Quetta Sadiq Shaheed Stadium 5,000
National Bank Karachi Karachi Port Trust Stadium 6,000
Pakistan Airforce Islamabad PAF Complex 2,000
Pakistan Army Rawalpindi Army Stadium 7,000
Pakistan Navy Islamabad PNS Karsaz Stadium 5,000
Pakistan Airlines Karachi Korangi Baloch Stadium 5,000
Sui Southern Gas Karachi Benazir Sports Complex 20,000
Sui Northern Gas Lahore Railway Stadium 5,000
WAPDA Lahore Punjab Stadium 10,000

Season summary

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Afghan Chaman against Ashraf Sugar Mills on 22 October 2018

Ashraf Sugar Mills and Pakistan Airlines withdrew from league with former withdrawing after playing first phase in Multan and latter not playing a single match due to financial issues. Baloch Nushki got relegated after failing to win a single match and ended third last in relegation zone with six points from 6 draws. On 9 January 2019, Karachi Port Trust got relegated to Federation League for the first time ever, after they lost 2–0 to Muslim and 12th placed Sui Northern Gas winning their game match 4–3 against Afghan Chaman, leaving Karachi Port Trust 5 points from safe zone with only one match to play.[11]

Khan Research Laboratories won the league on the final match day. Pakistan Airforce were sitting at the top of table with 51 points, one point ahead of Sui Southern Gas and three ahead of Khan Research Laboratories, who both had to face each other on final match day. Sui Southern Gas victory would hand them the title and for Khan Research Laboratories, they to beat the Sui Southern Gas by four goals to secure the title. Khan Research Laboratories the last game of the season, defeating title contenders Sui Southern Gas 4–0, finishing first on goal difference ahead of Pakistan Airforce. This is the smallest title winning margin in the history of Pakistan Premier League, with Khan Research Laboratories winning with a goal difference of just +1, as Pakistan Airforce had a goal difference on +27 and winners Khan Research Laboratories had +28.[12]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Khan Research Laboratories (C) 26 14 9 3 40 12 +28 51
2 Pakistan Airforce 26 14 9 3 40 13 +27 51
3 Sui Southern Gas 26 15 5 6 32 16 +16 50
4 Pakistan Army 26 12 10 4 38 19 +19 46
5 WAPDA 26 13 6 7 32 18 +14 45
6 K-Electric 26 10 11 5 30 21 +9 41
7 Civil Aviation Authority 26 11 6 9 31 27 +4 39
8 National Bank 26 9 6 11 27 27 0 33
9 Pakistan Navy 26 10 3 13 30 37 −7 33
10 Muslim 26 5 13 8 16 17 −1 28
11 Afghan Chaman 26 8 4 14 24 44 −20 28
12 Sui Northern Gas 26 3 14 9 28 33 −5 23
13 Karachi Port Trust (R) 26 4 6 16 19 46 −27 18 Relegation to 2020 PFF League
14 Baloch Nushki (R) 26 0 6 20 12 69 −57 6
15 Ashraf Sugar Mills[a] (R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 Pakistan Airlines[b] (R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: Soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Ashraf Sugar Mills withdrew from the league due to financial issues. thus their results were annulled against all the teams, as per rules of Pakistan Football Federation.[13]
  2. ^ PIA didn't send the team for the league owing to financial reasons, though Pakistan Football Federation have not given walkover to any team.


Results

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Home \ Away AFG ASM BAL CAA KE KPT KRL MUS NBP PAF PAR PAN PIA SSGC SNGP WAP
Afghan Chaman — [a] 3–2 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–5 0–4 0–1 0–3 0–2 3–2 [a] 0–3 2–1 0–1
Ashraf Sugar Mills — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Baloch Nushki 0–4 [a] — 0–0 2–4 2–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–3 0–5 0–1 [a] 1–3 0–0 0–2
Civil Aviation Authority 0–1 [a] 6–1 — 0–3 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–3 1–0 1–2 1–0 [a] 1–3 1–0 2–0
K-Electric 0–0 [a] 1–1 2–0 — 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 4–1 [a] 0–2 3–0 1–0
Karachi Port Trust 0–2 [a] 2–2 2–5 0–1 — 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–3 0–5 0–1 [a] 3–2 1–1 0–2
Khan Research Laboratories 3–0 [a] 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 — 0–0 3–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 [a] 4–0 1–1 1–0
Muslim 2–0 [a] 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 — 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 [a] 0–0 0–0 0–0
National Bank 0–1 [a] 5–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 0–1 2–1 — 0–1 1–1 2–0 [a] 1–0 2–0 0–2
Pakistan Airforce 2–0 [a] 5–0 4–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 — 1–2 2–0 [a] 1–0 2–2 2–1
Pakistan Army 1–1 [a] 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 — 1–2 [a] 1–0 1–1 0–2
Pakistan Navy 0–0 [a] 6–1 1–2 1–2 5–1 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–3 1–0 — [a] 0–1 1–1 0–1
Pakistan Airlines — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Sui Southern Gas 2–0 [a] 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 [a] — 1–0 1–0
Sui Northern Gas 4–3 [a] 0–0 0–0 3–0 2–2 1–3 0–0 3–3 0–0 2–2 1–2 [a] 1–2 — 0–0
WAPDA 2–1 [a] 3–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 4–2 [a] 1–2 1–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 10 January 2019. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

^ a: Both Ashraf Sugar Mills and Pakistan Airlines withdrew from the league.[13]

Season statistics

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Scoring

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  • First goal of the season: Ahmed Faheem for WAPDA against Pakistan Army (26 September 2018).[14]
  • Last goal of the season: Izharullah for Khan Research Laboratories against Sui Southern Gas (13 January 2018)[4]
  • Most goals scored by a single team in a match: 6 goals
    • Pakistan Navy 6–1 Baloch Nushki (7 December 2018)
  • Highest scoring game: 7 goals[1]
    • Pakistan Navy 6–1 Baloch Nushki (7 December 2018)
    • Karachi Port Trust 2–5 Civil Aviation Authority (30 December 2018)
    • Sui Northern Gas 4–3 Afghan Chaman (8 January 2019)
  • Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals
    • Sui Northern Gas 4–3 Afghan Chaman (8 January 2019)

Top scorers

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As of 13 January 2019
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Pakistan Ansar Abbas Pakistan Army 15
2 Pakistan Muhammad Mujahid Pakistan Airforce 13
Pakistan Muhammad Naeem Civil Aviation Authority
3 Pakistan Muhammad Rasool K-Electric 12
Pakistan Mansoor Khan Pakistan Airforce
4 Pakistan Iftikhar Ali Khan Khan Research Laboratories 11
5 Pakistan Ahmed Faheem WAPDA 10

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Ref
Pakistan Iftikhar Ali Khan Khan Research Laboratories National Bank 3–0 (H) 28 September 2018 [15]
Pakistan Ahmed Faheem Pakistan Airforce Pakistan Navy 4–2 (H) 18 October 2018 [16]
Pakistan Ansar Abbas4 Pakistan Army Baloch Nushki 5–0 (A) 17 November 2018 [17]
Pakistan Hassan Faiz Pakistan Navy Baloch Nushki 6–1 (H) 7 December 2018
Pakistan Muhammad Waheed 4 Civil Aviation Authority Karachi Port Trust 5–2 (A) 30 December 2018 [18]

4 Player scored four goals

References

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  1. ^ a b "KARACHI PORT TRUST VS. PCAA 2 - 5". Soccerway. 30 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "PREMIER LEAGUE". Soccerway. 30 December 2018.
  3. ^ "KRL FC 4:0 Sui Southern Gas Company". Global Sports Archive. 19 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Wasim, Umaid (2019-01-14). "Contentious PPFL season ends with controversially-promoted team denied title". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "The balance sheet | TNS - The News on Sunday". 2019-01-23. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  6. ^ a b c "The need for domestic football league | Sports | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  7. ^ "Karachi, Lahore to host PPFL". The News. 30 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Ensuring entry in AFC Cup: Pak clubs bound to follow licensing regulations". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  9. ^ "Premier League". USSoccerway.com. US Soccerway. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "2nd Division". USSoccerway.com. US Soccerway. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  11. ^ "KPT relegated to second-tier as SNGPL survive". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  12. ^ "Premier League". Flash Scores. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Pakistan". 23 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Opening matches of PPFL ended in draw". The Nation. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  15. ^ "KRL outplay NBP in PPFL". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  16. ^ "Easy sailing for PAF in PPFL". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  17. ^ "KRL sink Navy to soar to top spot". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  18. ^ "Waheed runs riot as PCAA thrash KPT". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
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