Football in Malta

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Maltese Football Association logo

Football ( Futbol in Maltese ) isthe most popular sport in Malta . The Maltese Football Association , the Malta Football Association , was founded in 1900, making it one of the oldest football associations still in existence today; He joined FIFA in 1959and UEFA in1960, although Malta did notgainindependence from Great Britain until 1964.

The association essentially organizes the Maltese soccer championship , the national cup competition as well as the Maltese national soccer team , all youth national teams and the national women's team .

The country's most internationally known football player is Carmel Busuttil , who was the first Maltese to establish himself in a European professional league; he played for six years in the Belgian league with KRC Genk , four of them as captain.

The football fans of the Maltese population are roughly divided into two groups due to the different cultural influences on Malta: on the one hand, fans of English football clubs , on the other hand, fans of Italian teams .

Beginnings of Maltese football

As in many countries, football in Malta was introduced by the English. Football appeared in England in the mid- 19th century , and a short time later it was "exported" to the British colony of Malta, where it was intended as a kind of entertainment for the soldiers stationed there.

When the English Football Association was founded in 1863, the rules of the game, now for the first time in writing, were also adopted in Malta. The Maltese Football Association MFA was founded in 1900, and a Maltese football champion has been determined in league format since 1909. The first national champion was FC Floriana .

Club competitions

History of club football

The Maltese championship was first played in the 1909/10 season. The first game of the season between the eventual champions and the Sliema Wanderers was watched by 5,000 people - as the Mile End Ground only had 1,000 spectators, mostly from nearby viewpoints. So the industrialist Carmelo Scicluna decided to build the Empire Sports Ground . After a brief decline in enthusiasm for football, this stadium also became too small, so that the Empire Stadium was built on the same site in 1933 . The “golden years” followed, the time of professional football in Malta: entrepreneurs invested large sums in football, the clubs hired players from England, Yugoslavia, the Czechoslovak Republic and Austria. The Sliema Wanderers and FC Floriana dominated Maltese football during this period; only four championships went to other teams until 1940. The Maltese National Cup was first played in 1935 and was initially dominated by the Sliema Wanderers.

At the end of the 1937/38 season it became apparent that Malta's clubs had taken over financially. Riots and bribery scandals did the rest, so that a large number of sponsors withdrew. Most foreigners had to be dismissed for financial and political reasons - the ruling Nationalist Party called for "foreigner-free sport" - the rest left Malta with the beginning of the Second World War . From then on, football in Malta only had a semi-professional character.

Until the 1939/40 season there was only one football league, the Maltese division one , the composition of which only changed as a result of withdrawals and the formation of new clubs. Then the championship was suspended for four years due to the Second World War, only games were played against British soldiers. Even after the war, football was dominated by the Sliema Wanderers and FC Floriana for many years. Interest in the sport increased again during this time, in the 1940s fifteen new clubs joined the MFA, including today's top teams Hibernians Paola and FC Valletta . It was these two teams that presented serious competition to the pioneers from Sliema and Floriana in the following years . Due to the strong increase in participants, the league system was expanded to several levels from 1946.

Only in the 1980s did the supremacy of Sliema Wanderers and FC Floriana end, three other clubs, the Hibernians Paola, the Ħamrun Spartans and Rabat Ajax , were able to win the most titles during this time. FC Floriana, which won the cup again in 1981, was relegated to the second division in 1985. In December 1980, the new National Stadium of Malta was opened with the Ta 'Qali Stadium , which replaced the Empire Stadium in Gżira ; While the old stadium was played on a hard-rolled clay court until the end, the games were now played on a grass pitch.

In the 1990s, the league system was expanded to four leagues, and it still exists in this form today. The Valletta FC celebrated its greatest successes during this time, winning five championships and four cup wins. There are currently a large number of clubs that regularly fight for the championship. In addition to FC Valletta, Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians Paola, these are above all FC Birkirkara , which became national champions for the first time in 2000, and FC Marsaxlokk , which won their only championship title to date in 2007.

League system

The Maltese league system consists of four leagues, with the lowest division being played in two groups. The Maltese football champions take part in the first qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League , the teams in second and third place in the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Europa League . If the runner-up is already qualified for the Europa League through the national cup competition, the starting place is transferred to the next best in the league. In the event of a tie, the goal difference is not consulted, but a decision game is set. If the national champion is also a cup winner, the defeated cup finalist will compete in the Europa League.

All play classes are currently sponsored by the Bank of Valletta , which is why they have the suffix "BOV".

Premier League

The BOV Premier League , known colloquially as Il-Kampjonat, Il-Lig or Il-Premjer , is the top division in Maltese football and currently consists of twelve teams. Before 1980 the first division was called First Division , today it is the name of the second division.

The season extends from August to May of the following year and is played in two rounds. In the first round (First Round) all teams compete against each other twice, resulting in a total of 18 days game result. In the second round, the league is divided into two groups. The teams in first place with 6 games in a championship pool for the championship and international business, while the four remaining teams in a relegation pool determine two teams that are relegated to the Maltese First Division . In the second round, too, all teams within their group play two games against each other.

First Division

The BOV First Division is Malta's second highest division and has existed since 1946. Ten teams take part in it.

In contrast to the Premier League, the First Division only plays one round in which all teams compete against each other twice. The teams in places 1 and 2 are promoted to the Premier League after each season, while the ninth and tenth places relegate to the second division.

Second Division

The BOV Second Division is the third highest division in the island state. Twelve teams take part in it.

All teams compete against each other twice in the season, so that there are 22 game days. The two most successful teams are promoted to the first division after each season, the two most unsuccessful teams are relegated directly to the third division. The tenth placed will play in a relegation round against the second and third placed of the two third division groups. First, the two third-placed players in the third division compete against each other, then the two third-division runners-up play against each other in a semi-final, as well as the winner of the first game against the tenth-placed second division. The semi-final winners then play for the last remaining place in the second division.

Third Division

The BOV Third Division is Malta's lowest division. It is divided into two groups, Section A and Section B. Ten teams played in both groups in 2009/10.

All teams compete against each other twice in the season within their group, the champions of both groups advance directly to the second division at the end of the season. In addition, they play the cross-group champions in a final. The second and third placed play against the tenth of the second division for a place in the third highest division (for details see there ) .

Since it is the lowest division, there are no relegated teams in the third division. The last two teams, however, have to re-apply to participate in the following season. Most recently, the application of FC Ta 'Xbiex was rejected for the 2007/08 season, mainly due to the consistently poor sporting performance over many years; the club was replaced by FC Mtarfa, founded in 2006. For the 2009/10 season Swieqi United was added to the third division as the twentieth club.

Cup competitions

The FA Trophy

The FA Trophy (officially U * Bet FA Trophy since 2002 , Rothman's Trophy between 1995 and 2002 ) is Malta's national football cup and has been held since 1935. The trophy was originally given to the MFA in 1933 by the English Football Association, who made this gesture to thank pro-British Maltese football fans traveling to Rome in 1933 to support the English national team in a game against Italy .

The FA Trophy is played in the knockout system . Four teams will initially receive a bye: the current cup winner and the top three teams of the past Premier League season. If the cup winner has also occupied one of the first three places in the league, the fourth in the league receives the fourth bye. In the first round, the ten participants from the previous First Division season and the Premier League clubs will compete without a bye. The eight winners of these games determine four teams in the second round that advance to the quarter-finals.

The teams that previously had a bye join the competition there. The winner will then be determined via the semi-finals and finals, there will be no game for third place. The Maltese cup winner will take part in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League .

Super Cup and Euro Challenge Cup

The Scicluna Cup , named after the owner of the Empire Stadium Carmelo Scicluna, was launched in 1949. Here, the master of the previous season competed against the cup winner of the previous season. From 1964 the competition was continued under a different name as the Independence Cup , before the format was changed: from 1969/70 the three clubs that had qualified for the international cup competitions took part in the competition.

The Independence Cup was replaced in 1982 by the Euro Challenge Cup , which still exists today and is played in the league system; between 1993 and 2003 it was sponsored by the Löwenbräu Cup . Later it was decided to also want to play another game between champions and cup winners, which is why the Super Cup (now officially BOV Super Cup ) was awarded for the first time in 1985 . Both trophies will be awarded in the summer before the start of the league season.

More cup competitions

In addition, there are two cup competitions for lower-class club teams in Malta. At the First Division Knock-Out (officially Maltco Lotteries First Division Knock-Out ) take part in all the teams in the First Division. These are divided into two groups, the winners and runners-up in each group advance to the semi-finals; the tournament is ended in the knockout system.

At Second & Third Division Knock-Out (officially quick KENO Second & Third Division Knock-Out ) take all the teams in the Second Division and Third Division part. These are divided into eight groups, from which the group winners advance to the quarter-finals, after which the knockout system is used. The winners of the 2009/10 season are the Żejtun Corinthians.

On the occasion of the centenary of the Maltese championship, the National League 100 Anniversary Cup was also held in the 2009/10 season , which Valletta FC won.

Foreign players in Maltese club football

Foreign footballers entered the league for the first time in the 1930s, when professional football was in Malta. Players from England, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and above all Austria were signed up; between 1935 and 1938 around twenty Austrians played in Maltese clubs. The best known among them was the Viennese Alexander Svoboda , who at the age of seventeen moved to the Hibernians Athletic Club as the goalkeeper of 1. Simmeringer SC and was nicknamed "Witcher of Gżira" in Malta. With the end of profitability, the majority of foreigners left Malta again, most Austrian players were expelled as German citizens of the country after the Anschluss ; only the Jew Leo Drucker, formerly with SC Hakoah Vienna , stayed on the island and thus fled from National Socialism.

Nowadays, a number of foreign players are playing in the Maltese league again, with the association restricting the use of foreigners. Each club is allowed to have three players without Maltese nationality in the squad, which is usually exploited at least by the Premier League clubs. Most of the players come from South America (especially Brazil and Argentina) or Africa (especially Nigeria). Among the foreigners in the Maltese league are again and again national players, who mostly play on the Mediterranean island towards the end of their careers. For example, Tony Morley played for the Ħamrun Spartans in 1990 , Paul Mariner for the Naxxar Lions in 1990/91 , and England's B international Chris Bart-Williams was under contract with FC Marsaxlokk in the 2005/06 season . Other professional players today started their careers in Malta: Christian Terlizzi played in 2000, Attila Filkor in 2006 for the Pietà Hotspurs , Valeri Boschinow comes from the youth department of the Spurs . Nigerian Frank Temile played for FC Valletta in the 2007/08 season and then moved to Dynamo Kiev .

One of the best-known foreigners in recent years is Sebastián Monesterolo , who stormed for Valletta FC with interruptions between 2006 and 2009 and was the top scorer with 20 goals in 2007/08. The most famous German player who played in Malta is Heiner Backhaus , who was under contract with FC Valletta in 2007/08.

For the 2009/10 season, Jordi Cruyff, an internationally known player who has played for FC Barcelona and Manchester United as well as the Dutch national team, moved to Valletta. Johan Cruyff's son works there both as a player and as an assistant coach.

National team

The Maltese national football team played their first international match on February 24, 1957 against Austria in the Empire Stadium in Gżira ; after the Austrians had taken the lead 3-0, Malta was able to shorten it to 3-2. The team has never qualified for an international tournament and has only won five competitive matches (as of June 9, 2013) .

Since 2005, however, a positive sporting tendency has been discernible, due to a few draws against opponents who are considered to be much stronger such as Croatia , Austria or Turkey , a 2-1 win over Hungary in October 2006 or a 7-1 win in a friendly match against Liechtenstein in March 2008.

The Maltese team was trained in the course of its history by the German coaches Horst Heese (1988–1991, 2003–2005) and Sigfried Held (2001–2003).

The current national coach is the Czech Dušan Fitzel , the captain is Gilbert Agius .

Maltese players abroad

The most successful Maltese player abroad is Carmel "Bużu" Busuttil , who played for KRC Genk in Belgium from 1988 to 1994 , where he was team captain for four years. In 2003 he was voted the most important Maltese footballer for the past 50 years . Raymond Xuereb worked in France between 1990 and 1992 at HSC Montpellier and Olympique Marseille , where he became champion with l'OM in 1992 .

Maltese players were and are also active in Germany, the best-known among them is Michael Mifsud , who played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern between 2001 and 2003 and then moved to England via Norway, where he was most recently under contract with Coventry City . Etienne Barbara ( SC Verl ) is currently playing in Germany, André Schembri moved from FC Carl Zeiss Jena to SK Austria Kärnten in Austria for the 2009/10 season .

In June 2009, the two native Australians John Hutchinson and Emmanuel "Manny" Muscat made their debut for the national team. Both are under contract in the Australian league, Hutchinson with the Central Coast Mariners , Muscat with Wellington Phoenix .

Other current national players who are under contract abroad:

The captain of the national team and Valletta FC, Gilbert Agius , was loaned out to Pisa Calcio in 2001 , but where he only played four games before returning to Valletta.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ bbcSport: Maltese mad keen on England (English)
  2. ↑ maltafootball.com
  3. ↑ Times Of Malta: Valletta win Anniversary Cup (English)
  4. ↑ a b Wiener Zeitung : The Witcher of Gzira , September 6, 1998 (accessed November 19, 2013)
  5. ↑ ballesterer.at: Menopause
  6. ↑ nauticonet.com.br: Náutico libera nigeriano Nwoko (Portuguese)