The Punjab football team is a Pakistani football team representing Punjab in Pakistan regional football competitions including the National Games of Pakistan. The team competed at the National Football Championship, the premier football competition of Pakistan from 1948 till 2003.
History
The team competed at the National Football Championship, the premier football competition of Pakistan from 1948 till 2003. With 8 titles, Punjab is the second most successful team of the competition after Pakistan Airlines. On occasions, the team has played under different names, such as Punjab Blue in 1954 and 1958, Punjab A in 1975, or Punjab Red in 1989 and 1990.
In the early editions of the National Football Championship, the team participated under the name "West Punjab football team".
In April 1952, during the Iran national team visit to Pakistan, Punjab played against the visitors in Lahore, losing 1–3.
The team also competed in Asian competitions. At the 1989–90 Asian Club Championship, the team failed to get past the group stage. At the 1990–91 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, they lost in the first round against Persepolis in both legs.
At the National Games Football, the team has won two golds in 1990 and 1998. At the 1992 National Games, the team also competed with Punjab Reds as their name, while Punjab Greens comprised a separate selection composed mainly of players from Crescent Textile Mills football team.
In 2010, the provincial teams including Punjab competed in the 2010 KPT-PFF Cup, a cup competition organised by the Pakistan Football Federation featuring provincial and departmental teams, similar to the previous National Championship.
Squads
1951 National Football Championship
Mohammad Yaqoob, Riasat Ali, Haroon, Niaz Ali, Aziz, Ibrahim, Aslam, Majid, Muhammad Sharif, S.A. Dara, Masood, G. M. Din, Abbas, lqbal, S. M. Akhtar, Ghulam Muhammad Sr., Ghulam Muhammad Jr., Munir, Malik, Masood Fakhri, Jamil Akhtar, Qadir, Iqbal, Saleem Akhtar.
1955 National Football Championship
S. A. Dara, Muhammad Abdul Malik, Fazal, Riasat Ali, Masood, Iqbal, Sabar, Shams-ud-Din, Talib Ali, Salam, Saif, Muhammad Hanif, Mazhar, Noor Ahmad.
1957 National Football Championship
Sharafuddin, S. A. Dara, Riasat Ali, Niamat Ullah Durrani, Muhammad Abdul Malik, Masood, Muhammad Nazir, Shaukat, Talib Ali, Mazhar, Saiful Huq, Muhammad Hanif, Ghulam Rabbani, Faqir Muhammad.
1958 National Football Championship
Sharafuddin; Axis; Iqbal, Salam, Saif, Rehman, Ghulam Rabbani, Ashiq Haider, Riasat Ali, Khushi Muhammad, Shaukat Muhammad, Nstair, Ghulam Sabir, Talib Ali, Atique, Ismail, Ghulam Rasul, Noor Muhammad, Yousaf, Inayet, Muhammad Hanif, and Aslam, Ibrahim, Ghulam Sabir.
1959 National Football Championship
Coach: Saeed Mirza
Sharafuddin, Latif, Din Muhammad, S. A. Dara, Azizullah, Khushi Muhammad, Niamat Ullah Durrani, Anwar, Shaukat, Naseer, Waseem, Masoodul Hassan Butt, Noor Nazir, Ghulam Sabir, Shafiuddin, Khalid, Talib Ali, Sher Muhammad, Salam, Abid, Aziz, Khalid Butt, M.N. Jehan, Hamid, Hafizullah.
Honours National Football Championship Winners (8): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1989, 1990 Runners-up (1): 1975
National Games Gold medal (2): 1990, 1998 Silver medal (2): 1992, 2001 Performance in AFC competitions
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubFirst legSecond legAggregate1989–90Asian Club ChampionshipGroup stage Fanja0–2 Salgaocar0–0 Kathmandu SC1–11990–91Asian Cup Winners' CupFirst Round Persepolis0–9 Persepolis2–4
See also
Sindh football team Khyber Pakhtunkhwa football team Balochistan football team East Pakistan football team Karachi football team
References