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The 2023–2024 PFF National Challenge Cup was the 30th edition of domestic football cup competition in Pakistan. The cup competition, which ran from 24 January 2023 until 12 May 2024, featured 27 departmental teams from across the country vying for the title, which was defended by the 2020 champions WAPDA.

Initially scheduled to be held throughout 2023, the second phase was held in May 2024 after almost 15 months of inactivity.

Background

The tournament took place after a gap of nearly three-and-a-half years because of the Pakistan Football Federation's suspension by FIFA due to a power struggle within the Pakistan Football Federation. FIFA lifted the ban imposed on PFF after the legitimate Normalization Committee body was restored.

The tournament was announced briefly after departmental sports in Pakistan were restored in August 2022 by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Many of the departmental clubs were disbanded following the shutdown of departmental sports in Pakistan in September 2021. Departmental teams were then restricted to the PFF National Challenge Cup, following their controversial participation in the Pakistani domestic league setup in the previous years. A PFF official stated that from now on, there will be separate competitions for departments and clubs. When a domestic league is held, it will be solely for clubs.

The PFF Constitution stated that all departmental players need to be “affiliated with a club”, with some teams taking advantage of it such as POPO FC, which had their team playing the Challenge Cup under the department with the name of Mamsons Builders. Lyallpur FC competed under the name of Otto Cranes.

Format

In the first phase, teams, bracketed in seven groups, competed on home and away basis. The leading two teams from each group and the two best third-placed sides progressed to the round of 16. The first phase was held at Karachi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Chaman, Rawalpindi and Islamabad simultaneously.

The second phase was set to be conducted from May 1 to 12 in 2023 at a centre yet to be decided. It was postponed to kick off on the 21st of October until 6 November 2023. After an uncertain inactivity almost 15 months after it began, the National Challenge Cup knockout stage was finally announced to reach its end in Lahore from May 1 to 12 in 2024. The venue was ultimately shifted to Islamabad, with Jinnah Stadium hosting the semifinals and final, and the group stage and the rest of knockout round at local nearby grounds.

Teams

The 27 teams participating in the tournament are as below:

• Khan Research Laboratories
• WAPDA
• Pakistan Air Force
• Gwadar Port Authority
• Pakistan Navy
• Pakistan Army
• Pakistan Police
• Hazara Coal Company
• Asia Ghee Mills
• POF Wah
• Ashraf Sugar Mills
• NIMSO
• Otto Cranes (Lyallpur FC)
• Masha United
• Pak Afghan Clearing Agency
• SA Gardens
• Saif Textiles
• Muslim Hands
• Hussain Homes Textiles
• MILO
• Klash Mills
• Mamsons Builders (POPO FC)
• WSTC
• BHCC
• SA Farms
• Pakistan Railways
• Higher Education Commission

First phase

Group A

Gwadar Port Authority withdrew due to their internal issues.

Pakistan Navy	1–0	Pakistan Police
Noman 69'	Report

Pakistan Police	1–0	Pakistan Navy
Hasnain 46'	Report

Group B

Pak Afghan Clearing Agency	6–1	NIMSO
Sharaf ?', ?', ?'  ? ?'  ? ?'  ? ?'	Report	? ?'

MILO	1–1	Hazara Coal Company
Mohammad Saleem ?'	Report	Syed Haider 12'

MILO	0–3	Pak Afghan Clearing Agency
	Report	Sharaf 16' Yar Mohammad 36', 53'

NIMSO	1–0	MILO
Ali Reza ?'	Report

NIMSO	1–1	Pak Afghan Clearing Agency
Ali Reza 11'	Report	Manan 63'

Hazara Coal Company	1–2	MILO
Jamshed Ahmad 79'	Report	Saleem 83', 86'

MILO	0–1	NIMSO
	Report	Ali Reza ?'

Group C

Pakistan Railways	1–3	Asia Ghee Mills
Siraj Uddin 70'	Report	Fareed Ullah 12' Mohammad Jamil 62' Mohammad Hasan 75'

Hussain Textiles	0–2	Ashraf Sugar Mills
	Report	Nasir 12' Kashif ?' (pen.)

Ashraf Sugar Mills	0–1	Pakistan Railways
	Report	Asmat Khan ?'

Hussain Textile	2–4	Asia Ghee Mills
Mohammad Muawiya ?' Syed Moosa Qasim 30'	Report	Amir Sohail 13' Syed Haider Ali 51' Mohammad Hasan 55', 89'

Ashraf Sugar Mills	2–1	Asia Ghee Mills
Muhammad Umair Ashraf ?', ?'	Report	Hassan ?'

Pakistan Railways	1–1	Asia Ghee Mills
Sirajuddin 20'	Report	Mohammad Hassan 67'

Ashraf Sugar Mills	0–2	Hussain Textiles
	Report	Rehman Akhter ?' Asad Ali ?'

Group D

Masha United	3–0	Klash Mills
Musaddaq ?', ?', ?'	Report

SA Farms	2–2	Otto Cranes
Hussain 3' Sufyan 4'	Report	Haider 37' Hussain 69'

Masha United	1–1	Otto Cranes
Ikram 45'	Report	Naveed 74'

Masha United	4–2	SA Farms
Ikram ?', ?' Musaddiq ?' Ibrar ?'	Report	Hamza ?', ?'

Klash Mills	0–3	Otto Cranes
	Report	Haider ?', ?' Hasnain ?'

Klash Mills	0–1	Masha United
	Report	Nadeem ?'

Otto Cranes	2–0	SA Farms
Hussain ?' Sagar ?'	Report

Otto Cranes	2–1	Masha United
Abdul Rehman 14' Hussain Shah 58'	Report	Usman 68'

SA Farms	6–0	Klash Mills
Ali ?', ?', ?' Sufyan ?', ?' Hussain ?'	Report

SA Farms	4–2	Masha United
Ali 14', ?' Atif ?' Usama ?'	Report	Yousuf 45', 90'

Otto Cranes	4–1	Klash Mills
Haider Ali ?', ?', ?', ?'	Report	Shahraiz ?'

Group E

SA Gardens	3–0	Saif Textile
Shakeel Ahmed 48' Umair 72' Murtaza 88'	Report

SA Gardens	1–1	WAPDA
Omar Saeed 16'	Report	Faisal 86'

WAPDA	5–0	Saif Textile
Faheem 1' Dost 9', 56', 61' Uzair 74'	Report

Saif Textile	1–3	SA Gardens
Abdul Kalam 86'	Report	Mohammad Umair 32' Murtaza 42' Samnan 86'

Saif Textile	0–3	WAPDA
	Report	Adeel Ali 35' Dost 35' Faheem 41'

SA Gardens	2–2	Higher Education Commission
Murtaza ?' Touqeer ?'	Report	Waqas ?' Rehman ?'

WAPDA	1–0	SA Gardens
Adeel Ali 11'	Report

Higher Education Commission	0–1	Saif Textile
	Report	Asad ?'

Group F

Khan Research Laboratories	7–0	POF Wah
Moin Ahmed ?', ?', ?' Waheed ?', ?' ? ?' ? ?'	Report

Muslim Hands	0–2	Pakistan Army
	Report	Afzaal 64' Dabeer Hussain 72'

Muslim Hands	0–1	Khan Research Laboratories
	Report	Iftikhar Ali 90'

Pakistan Army	4–0	POF Wah
Qadeer Hussain ?', ?', ?' ? ?'	Report

POF Wah	1–0	Muslim Hands
Zain-ul-Aabdeen ?'	Report

POF Wah	0–2	Khan Research Laboratories
	Report	Iftikhar Ali ?' Waheed ?'

Pakistan Army	3–0	Muslim Hands
Afzaal 45' Sarfaraz 65' Abrar 78'	Report

Pakistan Army	0–2	Khan Research Laboratories
	Report	Waheed 17', 48'

Muslim Hands	5–3	POF Wah
Ali ?' Shahid ?' Asim ?' Tufail ?' Sajid ?'	Report	Zain ?', ?' Haider ?'

Khan Research Laboratories	2–0	Muslim Hands
Waheed 41' Najeebullah 90'	Report

POF Wah	0–3	Pakistan Army
	Report	Qadeer Hussain ?', ?', ?'

Group G

Mamsons Builders	1–1	BHCC
Mohammad Rizwan 31'	Report	Afridi 74'

Mamsons Builders	1–3	Pakistan Air Force
Waleed 32'	Report	Samad ?' Essa ?' Muhammad Mujahid ?'

WSTC	2–1	BHCC
Zahid ?' Rizwan ?'	Report	Riaz ?'

Pakistan Air Force	4–0	WSTC
Abdul Samad 46' Essa 70' Mansoor Khan 75' Faisal 88'	Report

BHCC	2–1	Mamsons Builders
Rehmatullah 53' Danish 76'	Report	Waleed 42'

Pakistan Air Force	3–0	BHCC
Fahim 45' Essa 62' Naik Alam 72'	Report

Mamsons Builders	1–3	WSTC
Adeel Younas ?'	Report	Rizwan ?', ?' Maab ?'

BHCC	0–1	WSTC
	Report	Rizwan 88'

Pakistan Air Force	1–2	Mamsons Builders
Samad ?'	Report	Taha ?' Adeel Younas ?'

Second phase

Group A

NIMSO	1–3	Higher Education Commission
Zulfiqar Ali ?'	Report	Fakhar Abbas ?' Ahmed Hassan ?' Hammad Hassan ?'

Pak Afghan Clearing Agency	0–4	Pakistan Army
	Report	Qadeer Hussain ?', ?' Abrar ?' Salman ?'

Pakistan Army	3–1	Higher Education Commission
Afzaal 15' Umair Ali 28' Haris 52'	Report	Muhammad Inam 83'

Pak Afghan Clearing Agency	2–1	NIMSO
Sharab Khan ?', ?'	Report	Musaveer ?'

Pak Afghan Clearing Agency	0–1	Higher Education Commission
	Report	Haleem ?'

NIMSO	0–3	Pakistan Army
	Report	Anees ?', ?' Hassan ?'

Group B

Khan Research Laboratories	1–3	Pakistan Navy
Ali Agha ?'	Report	Noman Dodo ?' Muhammad Naeem ?' Abdul Rehman ?'

Pakistan Navy	0–1	Masha United
	Report	Mujahid Hussain ?'

Khan Research Laboratories	3–0	SA Farms
Najeebullah 51', 90' Waqar Baloch 77'	Report

Khan Research Laboratories	4–0	Masha United
Shahzaib ?' Najeebullah ?' Waheed ?' Ali Agha ?'	Report

SA Farms	0–3	Pakistan Navy
	Report	Nauman ?' Farhanullah ?' Naveed ?'

Group C

WSTC	1–1	Pakistan Police
Mohib Ullah ?'	Report	Qurban Ali Hazara ?'

Otto Cranes	2–5	WAPDA
Sagar Masih ?', ?'	Report	Dost ?', ?' Ahmed Faheem ?', ?' Umar Hayat ?'

WAPDA	3–0	Pakistan Police
Ghazi ?', ?' Dost ?'	Report

Otto Cranes	2–3	WSTC
Muhammad Saad ?' Saddam Hussain ?'	Report	Raza ?', ?' Zaid ?'

WSTC	1–3	WAPDA
? ?'	Report	Dost ?', ?', ?'

Otto Cranes	2–1	Pakistan Police
Muhammad Saad ?' Muhammad Shahzaib ?'	Report	Fateh ?'

Group D

SA Gardens	5–3	Pakistan Railways
Roger ?', ?' Tauqeer ?' Murtaza ?' Umair ?'	Report	Abdul Rehman ?' Nabeel ?' Masood ?'

Pakistan Air Force	3–0	Asia Ghee Mills
Samad Khan Wazir ?', ?' Faisal Baloch ?'	Report

Asia Ghee Mills	1–0	Pakistan Railways
Muhammad Suleman Ali ?'	Report

Pakistan Air Force	2–3	SA Gardens
Haseeb Khan ?' Faisal ?'	Report	Murtaza Hussain ?', ?' Samnan ?'

Pakistan Air Force	3–0	Pakistan Railways
Mujahid ?', ?' Fahimullah ?'	Report

Knockout round

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Khan Research Laboratories	0–1	Higher Education Commission
	Report	Farrukh ?'

Pakistan Army	1–0	Pakistan Navy
Qadeer Hussain ?'	Report

WAPDA	1–0	Pakistan Air Force
Dost ?'	Report

SA Gardens	1–0	WSTC
Umar Sadozai ?'	Report

Semi-finals

Pakistan Army	0–2	WAPDA
	Report	Faheem 58' Dost 90'

Third position

Final

SA Gardens	0–1	WAPDA
	Report	Yousaf Ahmed 17'

Awards

As of 12 May 2024

References

1. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2024-04-06). "Over a year after it started, Challenge Cup to finally conclude". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
2. ^ "The resumption of football | Sports | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
3. "Departments reluctant to form teams before NC calendar". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
4. "PFF strives for revival of departmental football". The Nation. 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
5. ^ Wasim, Umaid (2023-01-25). "Domestic football returns as Challenge Cup kicks off". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
6. ^ "PFF National Challenge Cup kicks off today". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
7. "PFF announces dates of final round of National Challenge Cup 2023". The Nation. 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
8. Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2024-04-23). "Jinnah Stadium to host Challenge Cup knockouts". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
9. "Police edge Navy in Challenge Cup". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
10. Raza, Abdul (2024-05-12). "WAPDA wins National Challenge Cup 2023-24 Title". The Sports Side. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
11. "WAPDA retain Challenge Cup". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-05-13.

External links

• 2024 National Challenge Cup GSA

• PFF National Challenge Cup
• 2023 domestic association football cups
• 2023 Asian domestic association football cups
• 2023 in Pakistani sport
• 2020s in Pakistan