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Maltese Premier League

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Maltese Premier League
Organising bodyMalta Football Association (MFA)
Founded1909; 115 years ago (1909)
Country Malta
ConfederationUEFA
Number of clubs12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toMaltese Challenge League
Domestic cup(s)Maltese FA Trophy
Maltese Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Conference League
Current championsĦamrun Spartans (10th title)
(2023–24)
Most championshipsSliema Wanderers and Floriana (26 titles each)
TV partnersTVMSport+ (Live Matches)
Websitemfa.com.mt/premier-league
Current: 2024–25 Maltese Premier League

The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquially known as Il-Kampjonat Premjer), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Association, the Premier League is contested by 12 teams and operates on a promotion and relegation system with the Challenge League. As of June 2022, the Premier League ranks 46th out of 55 members in the UEFA coefficient.[1]

The league was first contested in 1909 as the First Division, before switching to its current name in 1980;[2] the First Division in turn replaced the Second Division. Sliema Wanderers and Floriana have won the title a record 26 times. The current champions are Ħamrun Spartans who won their 10th title in the 2023–24 season.

Format

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Current design of Maltese Premier League Trophy since 2018

In a Premier League the league format, which will come into being from the 2024–25 season, the Maltese Premier League will be made up of 12 teams and be split into an Opening Round and Closing Round in a way that is similar to domestic footballing systems used in South America.[3][4] The Opening Round will see each of the 12 teams play each other once before the league is then split between a Top 6 and a Bottom 6, allowing for the teams in each of those splits to play each other another time. Once the ranking is set, each team will return to 0 points and start from scratch in the Closing Round, where the same process will be repeated. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. The club with the most points is crowned champions. Suppose two teams are level on points at the end of the season (to decide champions, for relegation or for UEFA competitions). In that case, there will be a play-off to decide the finishing order of the teams. If three or more teams are tied on points (to determine champions, for relegation or UEFA competitions), teams are ranked by Head-to-head points and the best two teams will play a play-off. The four lowest placed teams are relegated into the Challenge League

Clubs finishing the season in the top positions of the Premier League are granted qualification to compete in one of UEFA's European competitions. This is determined by Malta's position in the UEFA coefficient ranking system.

The league winner qualifies for the first qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League. The second- and third-placed teams qualify for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. An additional Europa Conference League place is available through the country's domestic cup competition, the FA Trophy. If the winner of the FA Trophy qualifies for Europe through their league position, the fourth-placed team in the league qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League's first qualifying round.

League committees

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The Premier Division Standing Committee (PDSC) is a body composed of the Premier League club presidents who represent their club on a board. These do not have executive powers but are a formal body that has official influence with regards to rules, regulations and issues that relate to the league. From time to time the committee makes proposals to the respective and MFA bodies for approval.

Venues

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 Ta' Qali Ta' Qali Paola Hamrun Xewkija
Ta' Qali National Stadium Centenary Stadium Tony Bezzina Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium Gozo Stadium
Capacity: 16,997 Capacity: 1,732 Capacity: 2,968 Capacity: 1,962 Capacity: 1,644

Clubs

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Seasons in Maltese Premier League

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Location of Maltese clubs played in Maltese Premier League

37 teams have taken part in the Maltese Premier League since the 1945-46 season (i.e. the season that introduced promotion and relegation, and during which the MFA changed the rules of the clubs that every locality they have to represent one club) until the 2024-25 season. Hibernians F.C. is the only team that has played Maltese Premier League football every season. Teams in bold participate in the 2024-25 season.


  • Teams in italics are defunct.

Champions

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Main article: List of Maltese football champions

In total, ten clubs have won the Maltese championship, including titles in the old First Division which was replaced in 1980 by the Premier League.[5] Of the winners, three clubs have been champions more than 20 times: Sliema Wanderers (26 titles), Floriana (26 titles), and Valletta (25 titles).

The honour of Golden Stars was introduced in football to recognize sides that have won multiple championships. In Malta, clubs are permitted to place a golden star above their crest for every ten national championships won. Sliema Wanderers, Floriana and Valletta boast two golden stars, and Hibernians and Ħamrun Spartans have one golden star placed above their crest on their jerseys.

Club Winners[5] Runners-up Third Place Winning years
Sliema Wanderers 26 31 19 1919–20, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1948–49, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05
Floriana 26 14 11 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1992–93, 2019–20
Valletta 25 17 20 1914–15, 1931–32, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Hibernians 13 14 14 1960–61, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2021–22
Ħamrun Spartans 10 11 13 1913–14, 1917–18, 1946–47, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
Birkirkara 4 9 10 1999–2000, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2012–13
Rabat Ajax 2 1 1 1984–85, 1985–86
St. George's 1 4 5 1916–17
Marsaxlokk 1 1 1 2006–07
The King's Own Malta Regiment 1 0 0 1918–19

Bold teams are currently in the Maltese Premier League.

Italic: Season Unbeaten.

League appearances

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Player Matches
Mario Muscat 529
Andrew Cohen 508
Roderick Briffa 491
Paul Fenech 487
David Camilleri 484
Clayton Failla 470
Gilbert Agius 453
Ivan Woods 446
Brian Said 429
Tyrone Farrugia 425
Malcolm Licari 425
Stefan Sultana 424
Jeffrey Chetcuti 414
Manolito Micallef 400

Bold denotes still active players.

References

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  1. ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2019". kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl. July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Premier League Is 25 years old". The Malta Independent. August 14, 2005. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Galea, Albert (April 24, 2024). "New Premier League explained: 'New format will not be damnation or salvation of Maltese football". Malta Independent.
  4. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (April 13, 2023). "Number of Premier League teams down to 12 from 2024-25". SportsDesk. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Malta - List of Champions and Runners-Up". RSSSF. May 2, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
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