2004 National A Division Football League

Formation

In August 2003, the PFF came under new management, as the politician Faisal Saleh Hayat took over. Under the new management, the Pakistan Football Federation phased out the group stage based National Football Championship, and in 2004 introduced the National A Division Football League, With the inception of the newly formed league, provincial and divisional teams were phased out from the top tier and continued their participation in the National Games of Pakistan. In contrast, departmental and armed forces teams remained active in the new league format.

After completion of the season in October 2004, PFF launched the second tier PFF League. In the next 2005 season of the top tier, the National A Division Football League was renamed to the Pakistan Premier League.

Venues

The inaugural 2004 National A Division League was staged in hub rounds rather than strict club-specific home stadiums; Rawalpindi used Army Stadium and KRL Stadium, Islamabad round used Naval Sports Complex, with PTCL hosting in the twin cities. The Lahore round used Punjab Stadium, the Karachi round used KMC Stadium and Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground, a Quetta round followed later.

Teams

Eight departmental teams automatically qualified for the league from the 2003 President PFF Cup. They were:

Other eight club teams qualified via regional tournament. Following are the teams qualified from regional tournament:

Season summary

Season started on 28 May 2004, Khuda Bakhsh of WAPDA was the first player to score a goal in new Pakistan Premier League when he scored a brace against Allied Bank.

The season saw many one-sided high-scoring matches, as some of the teams lacked in quality and financially. On 28 June, Habib Bank defeated Naka Muhammden 15–0, the highest scoring match and the biggest victory and loss and most numbers of player (7) scoring in a single match in the history of Pakistan Premier League.

During June, Allied Bank disbanded their team, after refusing to renew the contracts of seven players; but they were able restored their team and returned playing. Bankruptcy hit Naka Muhammadan who withdrew before their 14 July match, they did however returned to complete the season.

The season was dominated by Khan Research Laboratories, Pakistan Army and WAPDA, as they scored a combined goals of 294, each scoring 98 goals, highest ever in Pakistan Premier League.

Due to fixture congestion, WAPDA had to play both their final two matches on the same day, which just happened to be against title rivals Pakistan Army and Khan Research Laboratories. WAPDA and Army drew 2-2, meaning Army were three points ahead at the top of the table, but both shared the same goal difference, and WAPDA still had one match to play.

It meant WAPDA needed to win to finish first, and their opponents, KRL, also needed to win to finish first. In this top of the table clash, it was WAPDA who were victorious, thrashing KRL 4–0 to win the title by a superior goal difference, and be crowned as the first winners of the Pakistan Football League.

Arif Mehmood of WAPDA took the honours as the league's top scorer, with over 20 goals.

At the end of the season, 6 teams were relegated and 2 promoted as league reduced to 12 teams for 2005 after the number of one sided matches. Panther Club escaped relegation thanks to the withdrawal of Allied Bank from the 2005–06 season. National Bank and Pakistan Public Work Department were promoted to the 2005–06 season.

WAPDA represented Pakistan at the 2005 AFC President's Cup by virtue of being the national champions.

WAPDA, Pakistan Army and KRL set a new national record of 98 goals in a season. WAPDA only conceding 12 goals is also a new record.

League table

Results

Statistics

Top scorers

4 Player scored 4 goals 5 Player scored 5 goals.

References

References

1. (2004-01-10). "PFF abolishes national championship".
2. (2004-05-14). "National soccer league kicks off from May 28".
3. (2004-05-20). "Revised League schedule announced".
4. (2004-05-16). "PFF announces 1st round schedule of National League".
5. (2004-06-02). "Asad stars in ABL's victory: National League".
6. (2004-06-17). "PFF threatens disciplinary action against its official".
7. "Pakistan 2004".
8. Ahsan, Ali. (2011-02-02). "A history of football in Pakistan — Final part".
9. Sohail, Shahrukh. (2020-08-09). "FOOTBALL: A LEAGUE FOR PAKISTAN FOOTBALL".
10. (2024-06-26). "Rising Popularity of Football in Pakistan Reflects Growing Interest in the Sport".
11. "Pakistan - List of Champions".
12. "Pakistan 2005 (National Tournaments)".
13. (2004-05-16). "PFF announces 1st round schedule of National League".
14. (2004-05-20). "Revised League schedule announced".
15. (23 July 2005). "Pakistan 2004 (National League and Regional Championships)". RSSSF.
16. "Pakistan 2004 (National League and Regional Championships)". rsssf.