| PFF National Challenge Cup | |
| Organiser: | Pakistan Football Federation |
| Related Comps: | Pakistan Premier League PFF League B Division |
| Region: | Pakistan |
| Number Of Teams: | 27 (2023) |
| Current Champions: | WAPDA (2nd title) |
| Most Successful Club: | Khan Research Laboratories (6 titles) |
| Current: | 2023 PFF National Challenge Cup |
The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized by and named after the Pakistan Football Federation. Initially named as Inter Departmental Championship, it was introduced in 1979 as a football tournament for departmental selections and armed forces teams excluded from the National Football Championship of Pakistan.
Khan Research Laboratories have won the most titles (six). WAPDA are the current champions, winning the 2023–24 edition courtesy of a 1–0 win against SA Gardens in the final.
Introduced in 1979 to offer nationwide competition to departmental selections and armed forces teams excluded from the National Football Championship, the event was named as Inter Departmental Championship. However, due to internal conflicts within the PFF, the second edition occurred only in 1984 and was rebranded as the Inter Provincial Championship. Although the four provincial teams were allowed to participate, they were not factored into the final ranking in both the 1984 and 1985 tournaments. Only since 1990 has the tournament been held regularly, albeit undergoing frequent name changes.
Although it is an annual competition, it has not been held on a few occasions. The competition was not held from (1980–83, 1986, 1988–89, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2006–07, 2017, 2021–22).
| Seasons | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Inter-Departmental Championship | |
| 1984–1985 | Inter Provincial Championship | |
| 1987 | President-PFF Cup | |
| 1990–1991 | National Departmental Championship | |
| 1992–1994 | Pakistan Inter-Departmental Championship | |
| 1996–2003 | PFF President's Cup | |
| 2005–2015; 2018 | National Challenge Cup | |
| 2016 | PFF Cup | |
| 2019–present | PFF National Challenge Cup |
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 | |
| Allied Bank Limited | 4 | 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 |
| Pakistan Army | 3 | 2000, 2001, 2019 |
| Crescent Textiles Mill | 2 | 1987, 1992 |
| National Bank | 1993, 2013 | |
| Pakistan Airforce | 2014, 2018 | |
| PTCL | 2003, 2005 | |
| WAPDA | 2020, 2023–24 | |
| General Fans | 1 | 1994 |
| Habib Bank | 1985 | |
| Karachi Port Trust | 1987 | |
| Marker Club | 1991 | |
| Pakistan Navy | 2008 | |
| Pakistan Airlines | 1984 | |
| Sindh Government Press | 1979 |
Since its establishment, the National Challenge Cup has been won by 15 different teams. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.
| Wins | First final won | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Research Laboratories | 6 | 2009 | 2016 | 3 | 2008 | 10 | |
| Allied Bank Limited | 4 | 1996 | 2002 | 1 | 2000 | 5 | |
| Pakistan Army | 3 | 2000 | 2019 | 1 | 1996 | 4 | |
| WAPDA | 2 | 2020 | 2023–24 | 4 | 2018 | 6 | |
| National Bank | 2 | 1993 | 2013 | 2 | 2016 | 4 | |
| Pakistan Air Force | 2 | 2014 | 2018 | 1 | 2010 | 3 | |
| Crescent Textiles Mill | 2 | 1987 | 1992 | 0 | – | 2 | |
| PTCL | 2 | 2003 | 2005 | 0 | – | 2 | |
| Karachi Port Trust | 1 | 1987 | 1987 | 3 | 2003 | 4 | |
| Habib Bank | 1 | 1985 | 1985 | 1 | 1990 | 2 | |
| Marker Club | 1 | 1991 | 1991 | 1 | 1992 | 2 | |
| Pakistan Airlines | 1 | 1984 | 1984 | 1 | 2015 | 3 | |
| Pakistan Navy | 1 | 2008 | 2008 | 1 | 2010 | 2 | |
| General Fans | 1 | 1994 | 1994 | 0 | – | 1 | |
| Sindh Government Press | 1 | 1979 | 1979 | 0 | – | 1 | |
| K-Electric | 0 | – | – | 4 | 2014 | 4 | |
| Sui Southern Gas | 0 | – | – | 2 | 2020 | 2 | |
| Muslim Commercial Bank | 0 | – | – | 1 | 1979 | 1 | |
| Pakistan Steel | 0 | – | – | 1 | 1993 | 1 | |
| SA Gardens | 0 | – | – | 1 | 2023–24 | 1 |
The possibility of unlikely victories in the earlier rounds of the competition, where lower ranked teams beat higher placed opposition in what is known as a "giant killing", is much anticipated by the public. Such upsets are considered an integral part of the tradition and prestige of the competition, and the attention gained by giant-killing teams can be as great as that for winners of the cup.
In 2009, non-league side Sindh Government Press defeated top-flight National Bank 3–2 in group stages.[1] In 2011, second-division club Ashraf Sugar Mills defeated Pakistan Premier League winners WAPDA F.C. 1–0, and they repeated the feat again in the group stages, defeating National Bank from Pakistan Premier League 2–0, as they finished top of the group.[2] In 2012, second-division side Pakistan Public Work Department defeated Pakistan Air Force 2–0 in group stages. In 2013, Pak Afghan Clearing defeated league winners and defending champions Khan Research Laboratories 2–1. At the 2023–24 PFF National Challenge Cup, Higher Education Commission, an ad-hoc team of players from different universities and colleges around Pakistan defeated Khan Research Laboratories at the quarterfinals by 1–0 at the stoppage time.