KARACHI, Oct 24: The ninth edition of the National Women’s Football Championship will kick off from Monday at four centres across the country.

Sixteen participating teams have been divided into four groups with the group stage, which concludes on Nov 2, set to be held in four cities, namely Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.The top two teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals which will be played in Lahore along with the semi-finals and the final on Dec 2.

Groups (venue in parentheses): Group ‘A’ (Karachi): Balochistan United, Diya Women FC, Balochistan, Sindh. Group ‘B’ (Lahore): Wapda, Vehari United, LSE, Punjab.

Group ‘C’ (Rawalpindi): Young Rising Star, Army, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan.

Group ‘D’ (Islamabad): Islamabad, Higher Education Commission, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Fata.—Sports Reporter