{{about|men's team|the women's team|Pakistan Army women's football team}} {{Short description|Pakistani football club}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Pakistan Army | image = Army Sports Directorate GHQ logo.png | image_size = | fullname = Pakistan Army Football Club | nickname = The Army <br> The Greens | short name = ARM | founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1950}} | ground = Army Stadium, Rawalpindi | capacity = 7,000 | coordinates = | owntitle = Owners | owner = Pakistan Army | chrtitle = Chairman | chairman = Brig. Gen. Saleem Nawaz | mgrtitle = Head Coach | manager = Jaffar Khan | league = | season = | position = | kit_alt1 = | pattern_la1 = | pattern_b1 = | pattern_ra1 = | pattern_sh1 = | pattern_so1 = _redhalf2 | leftarm1 = FF0000 | body1 = FF0000 | rightarm1 = FF0000 | shorts1 = FF0000 | socks1 = FF0000 | kit_alt2 = | pattern_la2 = | pattern_b2 = | pattern_ra2 = | pattern_sh2 = | pattern_so2 = | leftarm2 = FFFFFF | body2 = FFFFFF | rightarm2 = FFFFFF | shorts2 = FFFFFF | socks2 = FFFFFF | current = | website = }}
The '''Pakistan Army Football Club''' serves as the football section of the Pakistan Army. The club used to compete in the National Football Championship and Pakistan Premier League. The club regularly participates in the National Football Challenge Cup.
The club is operated by the Pakistan Army Sports Directorate, and its players are employed in the Pakistan Army, and recruited through the Army's sports quota or selected from within the forces.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2011-12-08 |title=When football helped break an Indo-Pak barrier |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/when-football-helped-break-an-indopak-barrier/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815202106/https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/when-football-helped-break-an-indopak-barrier/ |archive-date=2023-08-15 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Early years (1950–1991) === left|thumb|Pakistan Army football team, winners of the 1975 Inter-Services Football Championship The club was established in 1950 by the Pakistan Army.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Pakistan - Foundation Dates of Clubs |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pakifound.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219140415/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pakifound.html |archive-date=2024-02-19 |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref> It then regularly featured at the National Football Championship of Pakistan.
In the 1980 National Football Championship, it finished as runner-up after falling against Karachi Red in the final.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Pakistan - List of Champions |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pakichamp.html |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=www.rsssf.org |archive-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412080915/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pakichamp.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== League era reboot & first national titles (1992–1994) === In the season of 1992–93 of the Lifebuoy Soap sponsored league structured National A-Division Football Championship, the club finished as runner-up after Pakistan Airlines.<ref name=":2" />
The following season (1993–94), Army clinched its first national league title.<ref name="History III">{{cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Ali |date=December 23, 2010 |title=A history of football in Pakistan — Part III |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/593100 |access-date=October 8, 2018 |website=DAWN News |publisher=DAWN |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816061850/https://www.dawn.com/news/593100 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-11-07 |title=Pakistan Army to face PEL in Premier Football |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3817127 |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=Brecorder |language=en |archive-date=2024-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818141001/https://www.brecorder.com/news/3817127 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Domestic consistency (1995–2003) === After the National Football Championship reverted to the old knockout format, the team won their second title in 1995.<ref name=":0" /> During this decade, Army also made its mark in multi-sport competitions, capturing the football gold medal at the National Games in 1995 and 1997.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Pakistan - List of Cup Winners |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pakicuphist.html |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref>
Army also won the President PFF Cup in 2000 and 2001, alongside another National Games gold in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2000 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki00.html |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2001 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki01.html#quaid |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref>
=== Pakistan Premier League & continental participation (2004–2007) === The club was one of the founding members of newly formed Pakistan Premier League, appearing in the first edition in 2004, where the team finished runner-up after WAPDA.
Army clinched the second 2005 Pakistan Premier League title with 51 points, with striker Imran Hussain as the Golden Boot with 21 goals. As 2005 champions, Army qualified for the 2006 AFC President’s Cup in Kuching, Malaysia,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-05-09 |title=Army to meet Tatung in AFC opener |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/191430/army-to-meet-tatung-in-afc-opener |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref> where they lost to Tatung and Transport United but earned a 1–1 draw with Khemara, exiting at the group stage.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-05-15 |title=Soccer: Shabbir helps Army to draw |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/192376/soccer-shabbir-helps-army-to-draw |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref>
They repeated as champions in 2006–07, and subsequently played at 2007 AFC President's Cup on home soil in Lahore, drawing with Ratnam, and narrow defeats to Regar-TadAZ and Transport United.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-02-04 |title=AFC President’s Cup football draws held |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/231266/afc-president-s-cup-football-draws-held |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref>
During this period, Army also won the National Games gold in 2004 and 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2004 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki04.html#quaid |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2006/07 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki06.html#games |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref>
=== Near misses and stability (2007–2015) === Following their two back-to-back titles, Army finished runners-up in three consecutive PPL seasons (2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10). The club later placed second again in 2014–15. In 2016, Pakistan Army defeated Pakistan Airlines in the All-Pakistan Football Tournament at the Peoples Football Stadium in Karachi.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 March 2016 |title=Rangers All-Pakistan Football Tournament: Rehman, Hasnain guide Army to title – The Express Tribune |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1070841/rangers-all-pakistan-football-tournament-rehman-hasnain-guide-army-to-title/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112224839/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1070841/rangers-all-pakistan-football-tournament-rehman-hasnain-guide-army-to-title/ |archive-date=12 November 2018 |access-date=12 November 2018 |website=tribune.com.pk}}</ref>
=== Recent years (2018–present) === After years of turmoil within the Pakistan Football Federation, resulting in domestic football inactivity, Army finished 4th in the league’s return season in 2018–19. Later on, the team won the National Football Challenge Cup in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Report |first=Recorder |date=2019-08-06 |title=Pakistan Army win 28th PFF National Challenge Football Cup |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/4713258 |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-06 |title=Army stun SSGC 3-2 to win National Challenge Football Cup |url=https://nation.com.pk/06-Aug-2019/army-stun-ssgc-3-2-to-win-national-challenge-football-cup |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=The Nation |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Stadium == The Army Stadium in Rawalpindi serve as the team own ground. It has regularly hosted several Pakistan Premier League and National Challenge Cup fixtures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=InpaperMagazine |first=From |date=2013-01-13 |title=No competition! |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/778372/no-competition |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrew |first=Marylou |date=2014-07-01 |title=Beyond cricket |url=https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1140582 |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Aurora Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
==Competitive record== The club's competitive record since the 2004 season are listed below. {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !Season !{{abbr|Div|Division}} !{{Abbr|Tms|Number of Teams}} !{{abbr|Pos|Position in League}} !National Challenge Cup !colspan=1|AFC President's Cup !colspan=1|AFC Cup |- |align=center| 2004 |align=center|Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |align=center bgcolor= Silver |'''2''' |align=center|– |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2005 |align=center|Pakistan Premier League |align=center|12 |align=center bgcolor= Gold |'''1''' |align=center|Semi-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2006–07 |align=center|Pakistan Premier League |align=center|12 |align=center bgcolor= Gold |'''1''' |align=center|– |align=center|Group stage |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2007–08 |align=center|Pakistan Premier League |align=center|14 |align=center bgcolor= Silver |'''2''' |align=center|– |align=center|Group stage |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2008 |align=center|Pakistan Premier League |align=center|14 |align=center bgcolor= Silver |'''2''' |align=center|– |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2009 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|14 |align=center bgcolor= Silver |'''2''' |align=center|Quarter-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2010 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |'''5''' |Semi-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2011 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |align=center bgcolor= Bronze |'''3''' |Semi-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2012–13 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |'''4''' |Quarter-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2013–14 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |'''5''' |Quarter-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2014–15 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|12 |align=center bgcolor= Silver |'''2''' |– |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2018–19 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|– |''No League Held'' ||Semi-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2021–22 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|– |''No League Held'' ||Semi-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |- |align=center| 2018–19 |align=center | Pakistan Premier League |align=center|16 |'''4''' ||Quarter-finals |align=center|DNP |align=center|DNP |}
== Performance in AFC competitions == {{See|Pakistani football clubs in Asian competitions}} {{legend2|#CCFFCC|Win|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#FFFFCC|Draw|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#FFCCCC|Loss|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {| class="wikitable" !Season !Competition !Round !Club !First leg !Second leg !Aggregate |- | rowspan="3" |2006 | rowspan="3" |AFC President's Cup | rowspan="3" |Group stage | align="left" |{{flagicon|TAI}} Tatung | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" | 1–4 |- | align="left" |{{flagicon|BHU}} Transport United | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" | 0–1 |- | align="left" |{{flagicon|CAM}} Khemara | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC" | 1–1 |- | rowspan="3" |2007 | rowspan="3" |AFC President's Cup | rowspan="3" |Group stage | align="left" |{{flagicon|SRI}} Ratnam Sports Club | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC" | 3–3 |- | align="left" |{{flagicon|TJK}} Regar-TadAZ | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" | 1–2 |- | align="left" |{{flagicon|BHU}} Transport United | colspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" | 2–3 |}
== Honours ==
=== Domestic === * '''National Football Championship''' ** '''Winners (2):''' 1993–94, 1995
* '''Pakistan Premier League''' ** '''Winners (2):''' 2005–06, 2006–07
* '''National Football Challenge Cup''' ** '''Winners (3):''' 2000, 2001, 2019
* '''National Games''' ** '''Winners (5):''' 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007
* '''Inter-Services Football Championship''' ** '''Winners (1):''' 1975
==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links==
*[https://globalsportsarchive.com/team/soccer/pakistan-army-fc/14167/ Pakistan Army FC] at Global Sports Archive
Category:Pakistan Army F.C. Category:Pakistan Army Category:Military football clubs in Pakistan Category:1950 establishments in Pakistan Category:Association football clubs established in 1950 Category:Military sport in Pakistan Category:Football in Rawalpindi {{Pakistan Premier League}}