PFL Pakistan: Football League Teams, Launch and Latest News
The Pakistan Football League — the PFL — was supposed to do for Pakistani football what the PSL did for cricket. Launched with Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Benfica’s backing in June 2024, it has instead become a story of big promises and a kick-off that never came. Here is the complete, verified picture as of October 2026.
Quick answer: The PFL (Pakistan Football League) is a franchise-based league launched on 4 June 2024 in Lahore by PFL UK Holdings, with Michael Owen as global ambassador and SL Benfica as official partner. Five franchises were announced — Zalmi FC (Peshawar), Liyari Tigers FC (Karachi), Lahore FC, Sialkot FC, Faisalabad Lions FC — but the league has not kicked off as of October 2026. Its latest move: an April 2026 venue-development deal with Dream Sports Group.
In this guide
What the PFL Is
The Pakistan Football League is the first franchise-based football league in Pakistan’s history — city teams owned by franchisees, playing a short, televised season, explicitly modelled on cricket’s Pakistan Super League. It is organised by PFL UK Holdings, a UK-based group led by chairman Farhan Ahmed Junejo and president & CEO Ahmer Kunwar. Crucially, it is a standalone entity — not sanctioned by the Pakistan Football Federation — though it had government backing, with Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani meeting its delegation at Parliament House in June 2024.
The June 2024 Launch
The PFL was unveiled at a gala launch in Lahore on 4 June 2024, and the guest list was genuinely starry. Former England strikers Michael Owen — named the league’s global ambassador — and Emile Heskey attended, alongside a 25-plus-member foreign delegation: SL Benfica executives (Benfica signed on as official partner and technical consultant for the “Pearl Project”), Barcelona and River Plate representatives, Atlético de Madrid invitees, and Sky broadcaster Alison Bender as the league’s official presenter.
The promises were sweeping: eight to ten franchises, a season in November 2024, 100,000 free footballs for children across Pakistan’s districts, and a “state-of-the-art soccer city stadium” in Karachi. The organisers’ pitch cited Pakistan’s scale — a population near 250 million, 63 million football fans and 3.4 million registered players, in their figures — and Owen’s verdict on Pakistani passion for the game.
The Five Announced Teams
| Franchise | City |
|---|---|
| Zalmi FC | Peshawar |
| Liyari Tigers FC | Karachi (named for Lyari, the city’s football nursery) |
| Lahore FC | Lahore |
| Sialkot FC | Sialkot (the city that makes the world’s footballs) |
| Faisalabad Lions FC | Faisalabad |
The remaining franchises — the organisers spoke of up to ten — were never formally announced. A launch-week football carnival at Kakri Ground in Lyari honoured the area’s unsung football heroes, a nod to where much of Pakistan’s street football talent comes from.
Why It Never Kicked Off
The November 2024 kick-off came and went. Then, in September 2024, came the blow: partner company Redstrike Sports — the firm that had helped bring the foreign stars to the launch — pulled out, telling Dawn it had not received scheduled monthly payments from PFL UK Holdings for three months, amid “growing concerns regarding the league’s funding and unpaid invoices to key suppliers”. Zabe Khan, the former chief operating officer of Global Soccer Ventures (the league’s earlier guise), had already distanced himself from the project.
Dawn’s verdict at the time captured the mood: a grand launch, but persistent questions about whether the league could actually deliver. Without PFF sanction, without its delivery partner, and with funding in doubt, the PFL went quiet.
Latest News: The 2026 Venue Deal
The league resurfaced in April 2026, when the PFL inked a deal with Dream Sports Group (DSG) to upgrade football venues across Pakistan — aiming to build 100 sports grounds by 2028 plus modern football academies, creating structured pathways for young players. Chairman Junejo framed it as removing the single biggest obstacle to launching the league: the absence of FIFA-standard venues, which the PFL calls Pakistan’s most pressing football challenge.
Status as of October 2026: still no season played, no confirmed kick-off date. The venue deal is real, but a league needs teams, players, broadcasters and a sanctioning framework — none of which have been confirmed since. Treat any “PFL live” claims online with scepticism until an official fixture list appears. For the historic league this project aims to succeed, see our Pakistan Premier League history and champions guide.
FAQs
Has the PFL Pakistan started?
No. As of October 2026, the Pakistan Football League has not played a season. It was launched in June 2024 and originally slated for November 2024, but the kick-off never happened.
Who owns the PFL?
The league is organised by PFL UK Holdings, led by chairman Farhan Ahmed Junejo and president & CEO Ahmer Kunwar. Michael Owen serves as global ambassador and SL Benfica signed on as official partner.
Is the PFL recognised by the PFF or FIFA?
No. The PFL was launched as a standalone entity, not sanctioned by the Pakistan Football Federation. It did receive government backing at launch.
