KARACHI: The Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) will kick off on Sept 20 after the draws were announced by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Wednesday.

The opening match will see last season’s runners-up K-Electric face 2013 National Challenge Cup winners National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) here at the KPT Stadium.

The KPT Stadium is one of four centres here which will host games of the country’s elite league along with the KMC Stadium, Korangi Baloch Stadium and the Dr Mohammad Ali Shah Stadium.

The three-time defending champions Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) begin their campaign at home turf on Oct 14 at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad.

The start to the season for Tariq Lutfi’s side has been delayed as most of their players would be with the national team at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea which start from Sept 19.

Apart from Karachi and Islamabad, matches of the PPFL will also be held in Lahore with Faisal Town Football Ground and the Railways Stadium named as the venues.

The 12-team event will conclude on Jan 10 next year with the final round of matches set to be played in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2014