National Football Challenge Cup from April 14

KARACHI: The National Football Challenge Cup will be held at Lahore from April 14-28.
National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will sponsor the event, which features the leading sides of the country.
Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said on Thursday that 16 departmental sides would feature in the 15-day affair.
PFF’s Director Development and Competitions Pervez Saeed Mir appreciated the step of NBP of sponsoring the event, which is the second biggest football competition in the country — after the Premier League.
“NBP has always played a productive role in the promotion of sports at all levels and continuing that role it has once again come forward to sponsor a major national event,” Mir was quoted as saying.
“I particularly thank the bank’s sports chief and former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim for taking great interest in the development of football,” he said.
Iqbal visited PFF’s secretariat in Lahore to finalise the sponsorship matters with the PFF officials.
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will defend the title.
Participating teams: K-Electric, Army, PAF, PIA, WAPDA, KRL, NBP, KPT, Railways, Navy, HEC, SSGC, Gwadar Port Authority, Ashraf Sugar Mills, PACA and PTV.