KARACHI, Dec 27: The league phase of Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) departmental competition explodes into action on Sunday with Pakistan Public Works Department (PPWD) taking on Police at Karachi’s Peoples Sports Complex.

The Group ‘A’ match kicks off at 2.45pm. Other teams in the group are Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Sindh Government Press (SGP).

PFF had earlier requested all the Karachi teams to pick a field for their home matches and all of them — PPWD, SGP and SSGC — chose the famous complex that hosted the SAFF Championship 2005, besides holding the 47th National Championship 2000 and the 15th National Football Challenge Cup (NFCC) 2002.

PPWD, who played the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) 2005, will be the favourites on Sunday as they have already won the hearts of many football fans during 1998 when they reached the last four of the 11th NFCC at CDGK Stadium, Karachi.

All six Group ‘A’ matches will be played at the Peoples Sports Complex while the Group ‘B’ matches are to be held at different venues. The 1986 national champions Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will be using the PAF Complex in Peshawar and Islamabad while the Model Town Academy field in Lahore’s Model Town will become the home ground for the debutant ELBA Pure Water Team. Higher Education Commission (HEC) and two-time national champion Pakistan Railways have decided on the Peshawar University Ground and Lahore’s Railway Stadium, respectively, for their home encounters.

Meanwhile, ELBA Pure Water has hired the services of Model Town Academy’s Chief Coach Chaudhry Mohammad Asghar, who coached the Railway’s team during PPFL 2006 and 2007 and helped them pocket the gold medal in the 1969 National Championship at Lahore.

Asghar, who also represented Pakistan in the 1969 RCD Cup, was coach of the Pakistan U-19 team in the 30th Asian Youth Championship 1996 at New Delhi. He will be up against his former organisation when ELBA take on Railways on January 3.

The event comprising 15 matches will see the top team earning a slot in 2009’s PPFL, replacing one of the two teams relegated during the 2008 event. —Agencies