Army jump to second place

KARACHI: Former champions Army jumped to the second spot after they were held by Chaman’s Afghan FC to a 1-1 draw in their match of the 12th Pakistan Premier Football League at the floodlit Qasim Bagh Stadium in Multan on Saturday night.

Army have nine points, two behind leaders Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (PAF).

Iftikhar provided the lead to Afghan FC in the 73rd minute. Army levelled it in the 84th minute through Zaid Naveed.

Afghan FC moved to five points from five matches.

In the other show of the night, Muslim FC held National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to a goalless draw.

It was an action-packed game with both sides making concerted efforts to get the upper hand but failed because of some performance from the defenders.

Navy were scheduled to face K-Electric and WAPDA were set to take on Bahawalpur’s Ashraf Sugar Mills on Sunday night with which the Multan round would end.

This was the first time in the Premier League history that Multan hosted PPFL matches. It was also the first time that the matches of the top-tier league were held under floodlights.

The next round will start at Lahore on October 18.

The teams have already started moving to Lahore where the outings will be conducted at the Punjab Football Stadium. It is an international venue.

In the middle of the next month the league will enter its third stage which will be held here at the KPT Sports Complex.

Organisers say they are seeking another suitable venue for the Karachi round in which 129 matches are to be conducted.

The winners of the league will feature in the AFC Cup qualifiers to be held next year. K-Electric, WAPDA and KRL have the experience of taking part in the AFC club championships.