CHITRAL: In the final match of ‘Marka-i-Haq Chitral Football League Season 5’, played in the Scouts Stadium Drosh, KRL Islamabad team emerged as champions after a thrilling competition with Chitral Markhor, which was decided on penalty kicks.

Inspector General Frontier Corps Major General Rao Imran Sartaj gave away shields and prizes to the teams and players drawn from all the four provinces.

The final match featured a thrilling contest throughout in which Chitral Markhor took lead in the first half but the KRL got a crucial equaliser in the second half push. However, no team could score any goal even during the additional time.

In the penalty shootout, all the five KRL players scored goals while one of the opponents failedto score, making the score 5-4 in favour of the KRL.

The winner team received special prize of Rs300,000 from Talha Mahmood Foundation from the chief guest along with the champions trophy while runners-up team was given Rs150,000.

This year’s event has been dedicated to commemorating the historic “Marka-i-Haq” victory against Indian aggression.

The event brought together 12 prominent teams from across the country, including KRL Islamabad, Afghan TV Peshawar, Pakistan Police Quetta, KP Police, GAPCO WAPDA (Punjab), Asifa Bhutto Football Academy (Mirpurkhas, Sindh), Hajira United FC (Azad Kashmir), alongside local teams such as Chitral Markhor, Chitral Sarkar, HQ Jughur FC, Lyger FC, and Torkhow Sheersham.

The chief organiser, Kamal Abdul Jamil, expressed his gratitude to Chitral scouts, district administration, Chitral police, district sports Office, Talha Mehmood Foundation and all other supporting institutions.

Over the years, the Chitral Football League has become one of Pakistan’s most celebrated football events. Its past champions included Chitral Falcon (Season 1), Pakistan Army (Season 2), Chitral Sarkar (Season 3), and Afghan TV Peshawar (Season 4).

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2025