AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MALTESE PREMIER LEAGUE

SOME FACTS ABOUT MALTA BEFORE THE FOOTBALL 

(1) It became a British colony in 1813 serving as a headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. 

(2) The Republic of Malta lies around 50 miles South of Italy. 

(3) During World War II it was an important base for Allied operations in the area. 

(4) In 1964 British Parliament passed the Malta Independence Act granting independence as the State of Malta -The country became a republic in 1974.

(5) It's Capital is Valetta which is the smallest in the European Union by area. 

(6) The three islands of the Republic of Malta are Malta, Gozo and Comino.

(7) The total population is around 514,000 - Gozo makes up around 32,000 with Comino only having a handful of people living on the island at various times of the year.  

(8) The Isle of Wight (380 sq km) is bigger than Malta (316 sq km) but the IOW has a smaller population around 141,000. 

(9) The official main language is Maltese with English serving as a second language - Around 90% of people can speak English.  

The 2020–21 Maltese Premier League is the one hundred and sixth season of top flight football in Malta.  There is also a First, Second and Third Division as well as a National Amateur League which has three groups and Gozo having it's own First Division. 

Due to COVID football was put on hold in Malta in March with Floriana announced as Champions in May which was their 26th title. There was no relegation to the First Division. Here we meet the teams of the Premier League - 

BALZAN were formed in 1937 and represents the village of Balzan. The club have been members of the top tier since 2010. They won their first major honour in 2019 winning the     Maltese FA Trophy after 4-4 draw with Valletta and a 5-4 win on penalty kicks.  From 2015/16 to 2019/20 they qualified for the UEFA Europe League with only one victory against Azerbaijani side Kelsa FK in the 18/19 competition. 

Mark Miller signed a two year contract as Manager in June 2020 - He was born in England and played for Whitley Bay, Gillingham, Doncaster Rovers and Darlington in his playing career before moving to Malta where he won the title whilst playing for Floriana in 1993. He has been very successful in management winning the title three times so far with Hibernians (twice) and Valletta. 

Like many of the clubs in Malta they have numerous nationalities in their squad with Brazil, Chinese Taipei, USA, Netherlands, Serbia, Cyprus and Gambia represented. 

Will Donkin, 19, joined the club in September. He was born in Oxford and played academy football at Barnet, Chelsea and Crystal Palace before joining Norwegian side Stabæk in September 2019. The attacking midfielder has an English father and Taiwanese Mother so qualifies for Chinese Taipei for whom he has 18 full International caps for. He made his full debut as a sixteen year old. 

Alfred Effiong, 35, was born in Nigeria but moved to Malta in 2005. He has since played for many Maltese clubs and has been with Balzan since 2015. He was granted Citizenship in 2015 and has since been capped over 30 times for the national side. 

BIRKIRKARA are known as The Stripes and have been champions four times as well as winning the Maltese FA Trophy five times. They were last champions in 2013 and finished fifth last season. 

They have a reach history of playing in Europe and famously beat Scottish side Heart of Midlothian in the 2016/17 Europa League second qualifying round. They also played West Ham United at the same stage in 2015/16 - The Hammers lead 1-0 from the first leg in London thanks to a last minute goal from James Tomkins in front of 33,048 people at Upton Park. In the second leg both sides had a man sent off with Italian striker Fabrizio Miccoli scoring the only goal of the game to make the aggregate score 1-1 - The Hammers won 5-3 on penalty kicks. 

Dutchman Andre Paus took over as coach in September 2019. He was manager of Valetta in 2013/14 when they won the league and cup double. 

Goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, 35, has over 60 caps for the national side. 

Roderick Briffa is most definitely classed as a veteran. He is 39 years old and has 100 caps for the national side - He is still a regular first team player. 

They have two Argentinian players in defender Oscar Carniello, 32 and attacker Federico Falcone, 30, who came through the youth ranks at Newell's Old Boys in his home country. 

FLORIANA are one of the most successful clubs in Maltese football having won the title 26 times. They are the reigning champions having been awarded the title following football being put on hold due to the pandemic. Fans gathered to celebrate their title first title win since the 92/93 season which caused outrage from many people due to social distancing rules being broken.

They are the only club in Malta to reach the 'proper rounds' of the modern day UEFA Champions League when in 93/94 they won against Lithuanian side Ekranas and then lost to Porto in the first round. 

 

GUDJA UNITED have played in the lower division of Maltese football since 1949. 2019/20 was their first season in the top tier where they finished 11th - this season has been excellent for them with four wins in seven games so far. 

GZIRA UNITED were formed in 1947. They are most well known for their UEFA Europa League tie against Hadjuk Split in 2019. They lost the first leg at home by a 0-2 score line and travelled to Croatia as huge underdogs to get through. It was an even more of an uphill challenge when they were went in at half time 1-0 down and 3-0 down on aggregate. However in what is known as the 'Hadjuk Miracle' Brazilian forward Jefferson Assis scored followed by two goals from Ivorian Hamed Kone made the final score 3-3 allowing The Maroons to go through on away goals on a historic night for Maltese football.

HAMRUN SPARTANS have won the title seven times and were giants of the game in the 1980s and early 90s with title wins in 83, 87, 88 and 91 and Trophy wins in 83, 84, 87, 88, 89 and 92. 

They have not played in Europe since 1992/93. They finished 9th last season. 

HIBERNIANS are twelve times champions of Maltese football with their last win being in 16/17. 

They have a rich history of playing in European competitions with famous ties against Manchester United in 1967, Real Madrid in 1970 and Red Star Belgrade in 1981. 

They have only ever won three ties - Shelbourne FC (3-2 02/03), FCI Tallinn (3-0 17/18) and this season against Swiss Super League side Vaduz (2-0 in one leg game). This was only their third win away from home in Europe.

They have defender Leandro Almeida Silva, 33, in their ranks. He has played for Dynamo Kiev and Palmeiras in his career. Centre forward Jurgen Degabriele, 24, has made an excellent start to the season - He has seven International caps for Malta and scored in their recent win against Andorra.

LIJA ATHLETIC moved back up to the Premier League for the 20/21 campaign after a second place finish in the First Division last season.  Since 2000 they could be described as a 'yo-yo' team as they've gone up and down several times and even played in the Third Division form 2006 to 2010. Albanian centre forward Erjon Beu has been top scorer over the last few seasons - He has played in Malta since 2011. 

 

MOSTA were formed in 1935 and have mainly played in the lower divisions during that time aside from 1974/75, 1987/88, 2002/03 and 2005/06. Since 2011 they have played in the Premier League. There is a real International feel to the squad at The Charles Abela Memorial Stadium which is named in honour of the former president of the club. 

Players from Gabon, Republic of Congo, Brazil, Cameroon, Montenegro, Benin, Colombia, Argentina, Nigeria, Italy and Japan are currently in Croatian manager Davor Filipovic's squad. 

Fans of Blackpool and Morecambe will know goalkeeper Christoffer Mafoumbi, 26, who has played for both clubs. He is a Congo International player 

 

SANTA LUCIA were formed in 1974 and currently have six Brazilian players in their playing squad - Alan, Glaucio, Leandro Motto, Andrea, Kevin and Victor Luiz. 

SENGLEA ATHLETIC are another side to have played most of their history in the lower divisions of Maltese football with their most famous moments being runner's up in the 1981 Maltese Trophy where they narrowly lost to Floriana. 

Last season was the first time SIRENS FC had played in the top tier of football in Malta and it was an impressive one as they finished in fourth place to gain a place in the UEFA Europa League where they narrowly lost to CSKA Sofia 2-1. 

Fans of Coventry City and Barnsley will recognise the name of striker Michael Mifsud, 39, who is in Siren's squad. Mifsud who has the record number of (143) caps for the National side joined from Birkirkara in the summer. 

SLIEMA WANDERERS are the most successful team in Maltese football history  with 26 league titles and 21 trophy wins. However their last title came back in 2005. Since 2014 they have finished in 6th, 9th, 6th, 7th, 5th and 10th places. 

They have played regularly in European competition with their only success being in the 1968/69 Cup Winner's Cup First Round against US Rumelange (of Luxembourg), 1971/72 in the European Cup against IA Akranes (of Iceland), 1996/97 against Georgian side FC Margveti Zestafoni in the UEFA Cup and in 2003/04 against Latvian side Skonto Riga in the UEFA Champions League. 

TARXIEN RAINBOWS have been in the top tier since 2008. Last season they were bottom of the division when football ended with just one win in their 20 games played - There was no relegation due to football ending because of the pandemic. 

Winston Muscat (former Maltese u17 and u19 manager) has been brought in to manage the Rainbows for the 2020/21 campaign. He has also been manager of Pembroke Athleta, Naxxar Lions, Marsaxlokk and Vittoriosa in the past.

VALLETTA are one of the biggest sides in Malta with a strong supporter base and also being league winners 25 times previously and the Trophy 14 times. They were runner's up last season. They lost to Cymru Premier League Bala Town in the UEFA Europa League this season. 

Jesmond Zerafa took over as manager in June which is his second spell with the club having been boss between 2010 to 2012. He represented Valetta for the most part of his playing career. 

ZEJTUN CORINTHIANS were promoted from the First Divison for this season. Zejtun is a town in the south east region of Malta and has a population of around 11,000. 

Another club with a large number of Brazilian players within their ranks. 

From 2010 the title has been won by Valletta five times along with Hibernians (twice), Brikikara and Floriana last season. 

For the 2020/21 season the Maltese Football pyramid will consist of the Premier League, the Challenge League (second tier) and the National Amateur League (third tier) consisting of a Group A, B and C. 

The Island of Gozo also has a First and Second Division - there is hope that sometime in the future clubs (or a club) from Gozo will join up into the Maltese football pyramid. This has happened in the past. 

GOZO FOOTBALL CLUB were formed in 1987 to represent the Island in the Maltese leagues. 1999/2000 saw them play in the Maltese Premier League but despite a strong showing having the fourth best defensive record they were relegated back down to the second tier after only one season. 

After playing in the lower divisions the club unfortunately folded in 2011. 

MALTESE PREMIER LEAGUE - CURRENT TABLE 

TOP SIX ONLY

POS	TEAM	P	GF-GA	PTS	FORM
1.	GZIRA	8	21-10	17	WWWDW
2.	HIBERNIANS	8	22-12	17	DWWWD
3.	SILEMA	8	16-9	16	WLWWD
4.	HAMRUN	8	19-10	15	WLDDD
5.	GUDJA	8	13-6	14	LWLWD

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES 

Tuesday 24th November 

Valletta v Sirens 

Saturday 28th November 

Birkirkara v Gudja 

Hibernians v Sirens 

Gzira v Santa Lucia 

Sliema v Lija Athletic 

Sunday 29th November 

Balzan v Senglea Athletic

Hamrun v Zejtun Corinthians

Floriana v Mosta 

Tarxien v Valletta

The Maltese Football Association have an excellent YOUTUBE channel with many games from all levels of the game streamed live. Check it out here