KRL F.C.
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| Full name | Khan Research Laboratories Football Club | ||
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| Founded | 1995 | ||
| Ground | KRL Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Owner | Khan Research Laboratories | ||
| Chairman | Muhammad Ayaz Butt | ||
| Manager | Tariq Lutfi | ||
| League | Pakistan Premier League | ||
| 2013–14 | 1st | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Khan Research Laboratories Football Club, also known simply as KRL FC, or (especially locally) KRL, is a Pakistani professional association football club based in Rawalpindi. The club is affiliated with Khan Research Laboratories and the team play their home games at KRL Stadium. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are dark green and white. Formed on 1995, Khan Research Laboratories FC is the most successful club in Pakistan in terms of trophies won. The club have won the most league titles of any Pakistani club with four and a record four national cup titles. They were runners-up in the 2013 AFC President's Cup final, which they lost 1–0 to Turkmen club Balkan.
The reigning champions, the club are currently playing in Pakistan Premier League, where the season lasts from September to February. Khan Research Laboratories are the leaders of the overall Pakistan Premier League table as of the end of the 2013–14 season. The club first won Pakistan Premier League in 2009 season. KRL were most successful during the from 2009–2013, when they won four Pakistani championships and four National Challenge Cup titles. The main rivals of the club are Water & Power Development Authority and K-Electric.
Khan Research Laboratories is the richest football club in terms of revenue and the most valuable football team in Pakistan. It is one of the most widely supported football teams in Pakistan.
History
Before the creation of the PPL, they were runners-up in the national championship 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 2004 for the top of the league, losing out on the final day of the season by a point and finishing third. They repeated this feat, finishing third in the following 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 dominant 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. They represented Pakistan for the first time in the third tier of Asian club football at the AFC President's Cup but with only a solitary win against Cambodian champions Naga Corp, they fell at the group stage.
Even though they could not successfully defend their premier league title the 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 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 points ahead of second placed Afghan F.C. In Asia, they represented the nation for 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 their 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 group stage of the Cup which was played in September 2013.[1] In the final group stage, they were drawn against the Palestinian side Hilal Al-Quds and their rivals from the first group stage, Kyrgyzstani side Dordoi Bishkek. They won both of their games and progressed to the final, where they lost 1-0 to Turkmen side Balkan.[2]
Honors
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1 appearance
- 2000/01: First Round
- AFC President's Cup: 4 appearances
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1 appearance
- 2000/01: First Round
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as 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.
- ↑ "Match summary." The-AFC.com.
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