The Pakistan football league system consists of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Pakistan. The two-tier system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues. The top-tier Pakistan Premier League features 12 teams, while the second-tier PFFL B Division comprises 18 teams.
The National Football Championship served as the highest level football competition from 1948 to 2003, held on knock-out basis and a closed format competition rather than league system. Under the tenure of PFF General Secretary Hafiz Salman Butt, the 1992âÂÂ93 and 1993âÂÂ94 seasons of National Football Championship were contested in a league-style format rather than as a knockout competition, becoming Pakistan's first ever national league format competition. Sponsored as the National Lifebuoy A-Division Football Championship, the tournament ran across several months and introduced a system of promotion and relegation with the second-tier National Lifebuoy B-Division Football Championship. The A-Division titles were won by Pakistan Airlines (1992âÂÂ93) and Pakistan Army (1993âÂÂ94), while the B-Division was won by Crescent Textile Mills (1992), National Bank (1993), and Frontier Scouts (1994).
The experiment lasted only two seasons. Following ButtâÂÂs removal from office in 1994 amid political disputes and allegations of abuse of power with PFF president Mian Muhammad Azhar, the competition reverted to its previous knockout format.
In August 2003, politician Faisal Saleh Hayat assumed control of the Pakistan Football Federation. Under his administration, the National Football Championship was discontinued and replaced in 2004 by the Pakistan Premier League, with the PFF League serving as the second tier.
In 2006, the Pakistan Football Federation introduced the National Club Championship as a third tier beneath the PFF League. The competition brought together amateur and semi-professional clubs, with three teams, PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad, Baloch Nushki, and Bannu Red earning promotion to the 2006 PFF League.
There has never been a national women league in Pakistan. The National Women Football Championship, the first national women tournament in Pakistan, was held in 2005. It is held on knock-out basis and a closed format competition.