| Karachi Football League کراچی فٹ بال لیگ | |
| Founded: | (restarted in) |
| Country: | Pakistan |
| Teams: | 20 |
| Most Champs: | Burma Mohammedan Shahzad Mohammedan (2 titles)[1] |
The Karachi Football League is a city based football league held in Karachi, in Pakistan's Sindh province.[2] [3] [4]
On a few known occasions, city league championships were played in Pakistan in Lahore stretching back to 1937 before the independence of Pakistan.[5] A league was organized in Karachi in 1962 as KDFA League, by the Karachi Division Football Association between 20 participants throughout the city.[6] Baloch XI from Lyari ultimately won the title after finishing at the top with 33 points.
It wasn't until 2003 when the second edition of the league was held again, this time organised by Karachi United and sponsored by KASB Bank as the KASB Premier League.[7] From 2003 until 2008, the league was sponsored by "KASB Group of Companies" which was the Title Sponsor of the event for the first six editions. Coca-Cola Pakistan became the consequent league sponsor.
The league although regional and semi-professional, it has been compared to the top flight Pakistan Premier League, which has a dominance of department and armed forces teams, which have resulted in poor attendances, with the best supported teams being the Balochistan clubs Afghan FC Chaman, Baloch Nushki and Muslim FC.[8] In stark contrast, the Karachi Football League, despite being a third level division, routinely attracts healthy audiences with the highlight being the 2008–09 final between Shahzad Mohammadan and Nazimabad FC where a huge crowd of over 18,000 witnessed proceedings at the KMC Stadium.
In 2003, the season saw 10 clubs competing on a single league basis with the famous Lyari based Hyderi Baluch crowned as champions. In the first five seasons, five different clubs won the championship until Shazad Muhammadan won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the 2008 season, the league expanded to 16 clubs, with the top eight clubs competing in a playoff.[9] In 2014 season, 20 teams were divided into two groups. After league matches, top four teams from each group progressed into the round-robin Super League phase. The top four teams of the Super League phase then made it to the semi-finals.[10]