Lahore, 13 April: Two former National Champions of 80s, Pakistan Air Force and Habib Bank Limited will clash with each other when 21st National Bank Football Cup will commence on Thursday, 14 April 2011 at Bohranwali Ground (4 PM).
PFF issued the draws of 32-match soccer fiesta and approved two venues for the event under the aegis of Pakistan’s Tier I PMC Athletico Club Faisalabad. Bohranwali Ground, situated on Club Road, near Bagh-i-Jinnah, will act as main venue with 19 matches while PMC Ground will be utilized as Ground No.2 for rest of 32-match event.
Grouping
Group A: Pakistan WAPDA (represented by MEPCO, Multan), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan Navy, Bahawalpur’s Ashraf Sugar Mills (ASM)
Group B: Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL)
Group C: Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Television (PTV), Pakistan Police
Group D: Faisalabad’s PMC Athletico Club, Pakistan Army, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Pakistan Railways
Schedule
14 April: Pak Air Force v Habib Bank (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM),
15 April: PIA v Pakistan Television (Bohranwali Ground 2 PM), ZTBL v KRL (PMC Ground 2 PM), KPT v Police (PMC Ground 4 PM),
16 April: WAPDA v Ashraf Mills (PMC Ground 2 PM), Navy v NBP (Bohranwali Ground 2 PM), KESC v PMC (PMC Ground 4 PM), Army v Railways (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM),
17 April: Police v PIA (Bhranwali Ground 2 PM), KPT v Pakistan Television (PMC Ground 2 PM), Habib Bank v KRL (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM), Pak Air Force v ZTBL (PMC Ground 4 PM),
18 April: WAPDA v NBP (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM), Navy v Ashraf Mills (PMC Ground 4 PM), KESC v Railways (Bohranwali Ground 2 PM), Army v PMC (PMC Ground 2 PM),
19 April: KPT v PIA (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM), Pak Television v Police (PMC Ground 4 PM), Pak Air Force v KRL (Bohranwali Ground 2 PM), ZTBL v Habib Bank (PMC Ground 2 PM),
20 April: WAPDA v Navy (Bohranwali Ground 2 PM), NBP v Ashraf Mills (PMC Ground 2 PM), KESC v Army (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM),
Railway v PMC (PMC Ground 4 PM)
Quarter Finals:21 April: B1 v C2(Bohranwali Ground 4 PM), C1 v B2 ((PMC Ground 4 PM)
22 April: A1 v D2 (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM)
23 April: D1 v A2 (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM)
Semi-Finals :
24, 25 April (Bohranwali Ground 4 PM)
3rD Place Match:
26 April : Bohranwali Ground 4.30 PM
Final
27April: Bohranwali Ground 3.30 PM
PFF Media Centre adds:
Rawalpindi’s Khan Research Laboratories will go all out to compete hat-trick of triumphs after gold at Hyderabad 2009 and Multan 2010. The 21st National Bank Cup will run from 14-27 April 2011 at Faisalabad with Bohranwali Ground act as main center.
Sixteen teams are being called to show their mettle as Tier One team of Pakistan Domestic soocer PMC Athletico Club Faisalabad earned the hosting rights, thus created history and became the first club ever to host National event in the entire 63-year history of PFF.
The Commissioner of Faisalabad, Syed Tahir Hussain Shah, head of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) responsible for the two-week event praised the efforts of PMC Management for handsome achievement within few years. In the past Lahore’s Model Town Academy, Wohaib Club and Khanewal’s Crown Club organized the PFF events but those were age-limit tournies while PMC will tackle a full fledge open event.
PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad’s President and Organising Secretary Rai Saif Ur Reman Bhatti thanked Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat for reposing confidence on PMC who is among 16 A-Division teams of Pakistan.
Youth International way back in 1992, Bhatti also confirmed that arrangements for the transportation and lodging of all football officials and players have been made. He and his colleagues, as well as DCO Faisalabad Naseem Sadiq, LOC Vice Chairman, PMC’s Secretary Chaudhry Khalil Ahmed are ready to tackle the historical tourney in befitting manner and styled themselves to make the National Bank Cup a success chapter that firmly allotted Faisalabad as one of the top football centres in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Rana Ahmed Hassan, the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) for Faisalabad Division, vowed to take all necessary security measures to ensure safety of teams, venues, and spectators throughout the event because of the entrance of all three services teams. “We committed to provide necessary medical assistance for all 32 encounters as well as authorizing a Rescue 1122 ambulance for quick care of any kind of injury in all games.” added Zubair Anwar, the Divisional Emergency Officer for Faisalabad.
Bhatti, a PFF Congress member, also praised the participation and interest of all senior officials in order to make the coming event a success for the people of Faisalabad and for football.
Champions of National Bank Football Cup 1979-2010
4 : Allied Bank Limited
2 : Pakistan Army, Faisalabad’s Crescent Textile Mills, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)
1 : Karachi Port Trust, Quetta’s Marker Club, National Bank of Pakistan, Frontier Constabulary, Habib Bank Limited, Pakistan International Airlines, Sindh Government Press, Pakistan Navy.