NFC Cup 2023 kicks off from January 1

KARACHI: National Football Challenge Cup 2023 will explode into action in various parts of the country from January 1.

As many as 32 teams are set to feature in the event which will be conducted by the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee.

The NC on Wednesday briefed media about the event at Lahore at a news conference conducted by the NC chairman Haroon Malik.

WAPDA will defend the crown.

The 32 teams have been clubbed in eight groups of four teams each. The stage one will be conducted from January 1 to February 11 at eight cities including Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Chaman, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur. The venue for the final stage will be announced later, NC said.

The group stage will be conducted on a home and away basis which means that each outfit will play six matches each. The top two teams from each pool will progress to the round of 16.

The winners will receive a hefty purse of Rs1 Million with the runners-up to get Rs500,000 and the bronze medallists will claim Rs250,000.

"The National Challenge Cup is back now and it brings the best departmental teams and players in the country and hopefully it will give a major boost to the domestic structure," NC chairman Haroon Malik said. "We were striving for this for a long time and I am glad that our efforts started yielding results in the shape of success," added Malik.

Manager Competition PFF Qamar Ali Qureshi said that PFF will assure the best possible facilities to the teams featuring in the mega event.

Participating teams: KRL, WAPDA, PAF, KPT, Navy, Army, SNGPL, Karachi United, Police, Falcon Group, Hazara Coal Company, Asia Ghee Mills, POF Wah, Gwadar Port Authority, Ashraf Sugar Mills, State Life Insurance, NISMO, Otto Cranes, Masha United, PACA, SA Garden, Saif Textile, Aqua Pure Water, Muslim Hands, Hussain Homes Textiles, Milo, Kalash Mills, Masons Builders, BHCC, SA Farms, Railways and Higher Education Commission (HEC).