KRL F.C.
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| Full name |
Khan Research Laboratories Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 | ||
| Ground |
KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Chairman | Muhammad Ayaz Butt | ||
| Head Coach | Tariq Lutfi | ||
| League | Pakistan Premier League | ||
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KRL F.C. are a Pakistani football club who play in the Pakistan Premier League. They play their home games at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi and are founding members of the PPL. They are the best funding team and have the best training facilities in the country.
History
Before the creation of the PPL, they were runners up in the national champions in 2001, losing to WAPDA F.C. After qualifying for the new Pakistan Premier League in the 2003 season, they fought with Pakistan Army FC and WAPDA F.C. throughout the whole of the 2004 for the top of the league, losing out in the final day of the season by a point and finishing third. They repeat this feat, finish third in the follow four seasons. KRL pulled off a major coup when they signed Muhammad Essa in 2006, but even this wasn’t enough, and despite challenging, they were never able close the gap with the other two dominate sides Pakistan Army FC and WAPDA F.C.
The Rawalpindi based side finally broke their duck when they did the Double in 2009 by winning both the 2009 National Football Challenge Cup and the 2009 Pakistan Premier League. The represented Pakistan for the first time in the third tier of Asian club football at the AFC President's Cup but apart from a solitary win again Cambodian champions Naga Corp, they fell at the group stage.
Even though they could not defend their premier league title in next season, finishing in second place, they crushed Pakistan Navy F.C. 4-0 in the final of the National Football Challenge Cup.
KRL F.C. came back strongly in the 2011 when they hired Tariq Lutfi as head coach to replace Sajjad Mahmood Khan, first winning the National Football Challenge Cup for the third time in a row and following that up by losing only once during the whole PPL season and finishing 20 ahead of second placed Afghan F.C. In Asia, they represent the nation a second time in the AFC President's Cup, and were undefeated in the first group stage, qualifying for the next group stage, but finished bottom of their group.
The 2012 season was a continuation of the previous season’s supremacy of Pakistani club football, with their fourth straight win of the National Football Challenge Cup, and again in the PPL, KRL F.C. lost only one game as they took third title.
Their win in the 2012 season qualified them for a spot in the 2013 AFC President's Cup. In the group stage, held in May 2013, they were drawn against Kyrgyzstan-based Dordoi Bishkek, Philippines-based Global and Bhutan-based Yeedzin. KRL drew 1-1 with Dordoi, beat Global 2-0 and also went past Yeedzin 8-0. They finished second in the group behind Dordoi based on goal difference as both clubs had 7 points from their 3 encounters (2 wins, 1 draw). Through this result, the club qualified for the final stage of the Cup to be played in September 2013.[1]
Honors
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1 appearance
- 2000/01: First Round
- AFC President's Cup: 3 appearances
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
- ↑ "Schedule and Results, 2013 AFC President's Cup" The AFC.com. Retrieved July 12th 2013.
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