2019–20 Maltese Premier League

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Maltese Premier League
Season2019–20
Dates23 August 2019 – 12 March 2020
ChampionsFloriana (26th title)
Relegatedno relegation
Champions LeagueFloriana
Europa LeagueValletta
Hibernians
Sirens
Matches played140
Goals scored394 (2.81 per match)
Top goalscorerKristian Keqi (14 goals)[1]
All statistics correct as of 8 March 2020.

The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League was the 105th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-flight league football in Malta. The fixtures were announced on 2 July 2019; the season started on 23 August 2019 and was scheduled to conclude on 25 April 2020.[2] Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 25th title the previous season.

On 12 March 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, a decision was made by the Malta Football Association (MFA) to suspend all football activities in Malta for ten days, after initially agreeing for football matches to be played behind closed doors.[3] This suspension was further extended on 17 March to last until 5 April,[4] and then suspended indefinitely on 30 March.[5] On 18 May, the MFA Executive Committee decided to prematurely terminate the league competition and the ongoing FA Trophy competition.[6][7] On 25 May, Floriana were awarded the championship after a vote taken by the MFA council, their 26th title and level with Sliema Wanderers in the all-time champions list. Floriana topped the standings with 41 points at the time the league was halted. Valletta, Hibernians and Sirens were awarded the three UEFA Europa League spots based on sporting merits. Furthermore, relegation was scrapped across all leagues even if there was mathematic certainty.[8][9]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic[]

Banner hoisted by Valletta fan group, Ultras Beltin 999, in support of their mother club's political will to continue playing the final six matches

The league season has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since March.[3] Valletta, Birkirkara and Gżira United proposed to the Malta Football Association that the league is not to be cancelled but resumes in June for training and in July when the first matches are to be played.[10] These suggestions were dismissed by the Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, emphasizing that measures will only be lifted once the situation stabilizes.[11] Eventually, the three clubs wrote to the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela to either resume the competition or cancel any sport until a vaccine is found.[12]

On 25 May 2020, upon the assigning of the league title to Floriana, spontaneous celebrations cropped up in the town's main square.[13][14] This was later ended by the Malta Police Force due to social distancing measures still being in place, although some reports argued that this was not timely.[15] This celebration was later decried by the public and local entities.[16][17] The Superintendent of Public Health recommended that all those who attended the celebration get tested;[18] a day after this appeal a surge in phonecalls on the COVID-19 helpline was reported related with this event.[19] The police force started an investigation on the matter.[20]

Tarxien Rainbows, who gathered four points in 20 matches and were already mathematically relegated by 8 March 2020,[21] kept their place in next season's top tier after it was agreed that relegations would be scrapped.[8] The vote passed by the MFA council scrapped relegation to avoid an odd number in the following season and therefore avoid weekly byes.[22][23]

Teams[]

Map of Malta and the 14 teams of the 2019–20 Premier League
Balzan
Balzan
Birkirkara
Birkirkara
Floriana
Gudja United
Gżira
Ħamrun
Hibernians
Hibernians
Mosta
Senglea
Sirens
Sirens
Sliema
Sliema
St. Lucia
Tarxien
Tarxien
Valletta
Valletta
Location of teams in 2019–20 Maltese Premier League

Fourteen teams will compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams are Sirens, Gudja United and St. Lucia who will be playing their first season in the top division.[24][25][26] They replace Qormi, Pietà Hotspurs (both teams relegated after one season back in the league) and St. Andrews, the latter losing the relegation play-off against St. Lucia to become the first Premier League side to lose this play-off against a First Division team.

Team In league since City Training Stadium Capacity
Balzan 2011 Balzan St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex 100
Birkirkara 1990 Birkirkara Mgarr Ground 0
Floriana 1986 Floriana Independence Arena (Floriana) 0
Gudja United 2019 Gudja Louis Azzopardi Stadium
Gżira United 2016 Gżira Gzira Football Ground 0
Ħamrun Spartans 2016 Ħamrun Victor Tedesco Stadium 6,000
Hibernians 1945 Paola Hibernians Ground 2,968
Mosta 2011 Mosta Charles Abela Memorial Stadium 600
St. Lucia 2019 Santa Luċija Grawnd Santa Luċija
Senglea Athletic 2017 Senglea 100
Sirens 2019 St. Paul's Bay Sirens Stadium 600
Sliema Wanderers 1984 Sliema Tigne Sports Complex 1,000
Tarxien Rainbows 2008 Tarxien Tony Cassar Sports Ground 1,000
Valletta 1944 Valletta Sirens Stadium 600

Personnel and kits[]

Team Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Balzan Malta Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker) Joma Investors Mutual Limited
Birkirkara Netherlands André Paus Adidas McDonald's
Floriana Italy Vincenzo Potenza Joma Scotts Supermarket, Guess?, Go & Fun, Chanlai Auto Dealer, Evergreen Greengrocer, Terranova, Cafe' Pascucci
Gudja United Malta Cyril Buttigieg Givova All Nuts, Emilio Bilocca Handy Man
Gżira United Malta Paul Zammit Puma
Ħamrun Spartans Malta Mark Buttigieg Joma Mach Power
Hibernians Italy Stefano Sanderra Joma Bezzina
Mosta England Mark Miller Macron Dimbros, Nilmar
Senglea Athletic Italy Giorgio Roselli Givova Palumbo
Sirens Malta Steve D'Amato Macron Teamsport, Gillieru Harbour Hotel, Valyou Supermarket
Sliema Wanderers Italy Andrea Pisanu Adidas North Key Real-Estate, Zarb Coaches
St. Lucia Malta Oliver Spiteri Macron Multivend
Tarxien Rainbows Malta Demis Paul Scerri Erreà Cassar Ship Repairs
Valletta Italy Giovanni Tedesco Puma Iniala
  • Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by and FXDD.

Managerial changes[]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure 		Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Floriana Italy Guido Ugolotti End of contract Pre-season Italy Vincenzo Potenza 15 May 2019[27]
Ħamrun Spartans Italy Giovanni Tedesco Resigned 17 May 2019[28] Italy Manuele Blasi 23 May 2019[29]
Gżira United Malta Jesmond Zerafa 22 May 2019[30] Italy Giovanni Tedesco 22 May 2019[30]
Valletta Malta Gilbert Agius End of caretaker 23 May 2019[31] Malta Darren Abdilla 23 May 2019[31]
Senglea Athletic Italy Vincenzo Potenza Signed by Floriana 15 May 2019[27] Malta Mario Muscat 12 June 2019[32]
Sirens Malta Vince Carbonaro Mutual consent 27 June 2019[33] Malta Steve D'Amato 5 July 2019[34]
Tarxien Rainbows Malta Jose Borg 30 July 2019[35] Serbia Marko Glumac 30 July 2019[35]
Birkirkara Malta John Buttigieg Resigned 7 September 2019[36] 12th Netherlands André Paus 9 September 2019[37]
Tarxien Rainbows Serbia Marko Glumac Mutual consent 12 November 2019[38] 14th Malta Demis Paul Scerri 12 November 2019[38]
Senglea Athletic Malta Mario Muscat 2 January 2020[39] 12th Italy Giorgio Roselli 10 January 2020[40]
Gżira United Italy Giovanni Tedesco Sacked 21 January 2020[41] 4th Malta Paul Zammit 23 January 2020[42]
Ħamrun Spartans Italy Manuele Blasi 1 February 2020 9th Malta Mark Buttigieg 1 February 2020
Sliema Wanderers Italy Alfonso Greco Mutual consent 11 February 2020[43] 12th Italy Andrea Pisanu 13 February 2020[44]
Valletta Malta Darren Abdilla Sacked 17 February 2020[45] 2nd Italy Giovanni Tedesco 19 February 2020[45]
Balzan Malta Jacques Scerri Resigned 3 March 2020[46] 8th Malta Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker) 3 March 2020

Venues[]

 Ta' Qali Ta' Qali Paola
Ta' Qali National Stadium Centenary Stadium Tony Bezzina Stadium
Capacity: 16,997 Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 2,968
Malta TaQali.JPG Malta - Attard - Ta' Qali Centenary Stadium 07 ies.jpg Hibernians Ground.jpg

League table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Floriana (C) 20 12 5 3 38 15 +23 41 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Valletta 20 11 5 4 32 22 +10 38 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Hibernians 20 11 4 5 34 20 +14 37
4 Sirens 20 10 5 5 30 26 +4 35
5 Birkirkara 20 9 6 5 30 20 +10 33
6 Gżira United 20 9 5 6 35 19 +16 32
7 Balzan 20 8 4 8 33 29 +4 28
8 Mosta 20 9 1 10 29 35 −6 28
9 Ħamrun Spartans 20 6 7 7 24 25 −1 25
10 Sliema Wanderers 20 7 3 10 24 22 +2 24
11 Gudja United 20 6 6 8 24 30 −6 24
12 St. Lucia 20 6 5 9 24 33 −9 23
13 Senglea Athletic[a] 20 3 7 10 21 39 −18 16
14 Tarxien Rainbows[a] 20 1 1 18 18 61 −43 4
Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[47]
(C) Champion
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Senglea Athletic and Tarxien Rainbows kept their place in the top-flight as relegations were scrapped for the league season.

Results[]

Home \ Away BAL BIR FLO GUD GŻI ĦAM HIB MOS SEN SIR SLI SLC TAR VAL
Balzan — 0–0 1–3 1–0 1–3 1–1 — 5–0 — 2–4 2–1 — 3–0 0–2
Birkirkara 3–3 — 0–1 2–3 1–3 — 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 — — 3–0 2–2
Floriana 1–0 0–1 — 1–2 0–0 — 2–2 — 5–0 3–0 — 2–1 2–1 0–1
Gudja United 0–2 — 0–2 — — 1–1 1–1 — 4–1 — 1–0 1–1 3–2 0–1
Gżira United 2–0 0–2 2–2 6–1 — 0–0 — 3–1 — 0–1 1–1 1–2 — 0–1
Ħamrun Spartans — 0–0 0–0 2–2 0–3 — 1–2 0–2 1–0 4–0 — 1–1 2–3 0–1
Hibernians 2–1 0–1 — 2–0 2–0 1–2 — 3–1 2–1 0–2 1–0 — 4–1 —
Mosta — 1–1 1–3 1–0 — 2–1 1–2 — 1–0 3–4 — 1–0 5–2 0–4
Senglea Athletic 2–2 1–0 — — 1–3 1–3 1–1 2–1 — 2–2 2–0 2–5 2–2 —
Sirens — — 1–4 1–1 — 1–2 2–1 2–0 1–1 — 0–0 3–1 — 0–0
Sliema Wanderers 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 — 0–1 4–1 0–1 — — 1–0 1–3
St. Lucia 0–3 0–2 — 2–1 0–0 — 0–2 1–2 0–0 0–2 0–4 — 2–1 2–2
Tarxien Rainbows 1–3 — 0–4 — 0–5 2–3 0–4 0–4 — 0–3 1–2 1–3 — —
Valletta 3–1 1–4 1–1 0–2 1–3 — 1–1 — 1–0 — 2–1 2–3 3–1 —
Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round[]

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Leader and 2020–21 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round
2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
2020–21 UEFA Europa League preliminary round
Relegation play-offs
Relegation to
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920
Floriana41332111111111111111
Valletta117755755643334322222
Hibernians62643587555543243343
Sirens83174243324455534434
Birkirkara1312121213111111111081087786665
Gżira United91111107432232222455556
Balzan38811121099977766667877
Mosta1698109767891198979998
Ħamrun Spartans1010411324466679898789
Sliema Wanderers12131313912121213131181010121012111110
Gudja United591091113131312121291111101211101211
St. Lucia2452661010101113131313131110121012
Senglea Athletic752688688910121212111313131313
Tarxien Rainbows1414141414141414141414141414141414141414
Updated to match(es) played on 8 March 2020. Source: WorldFootball.net

Season statistics[]

Top goalscorers[]

As of 8 March 2020[1]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Albania Kristian Keqi Floriana 14
2 Italy Mario Fontanella Valletta 13
3 Serbia Andrija Majdevac Balzan 11
4 Brazil Jefferson Assis Gżira United 10
Argentina Federico Falcone Birkirkara
6 Serbia Aleksa Andrejić Tarxien Rainbows 9
Brazil Tiago Adan Floriana
8 Argentina Imanol Iriberri Hibernians 8
Malta Jake Grech Hibernians
10 Morocco Ħamrun Spartans 7
Brazil Jose Wilkson Teixeira Senglea Athletic

Hat-tricks[]

Player[48] For Against Result Date
Brazil Jefferson Assis4 Gżira United Gudja United 6–1 26 October 2019
Serbia Andrija Majdevac Balzan St. Lucia 3–0 13 December 2019
Serbia Aleksa Andrejic Tarxien Rainbows Ħamrun Spartans 3–2 1 February 2020
Italy Mario Fontanella Valletta Balzan 3–1 8 February 2020
Albania Kristian Keqi Floriana Sirens 3–0 6 March 2020
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards[]

Monthly awards[]

Month Player of the Month
Player Club
August[49] Malta Jake Grech Hibernians
September[50] Brazil Diego Venancio da Silva Floriana
October[51] Brazil Jefferson Assis Gżira United
November[52] Serbia Andrija Majdevac Balzan
December[53] Serbia Andrija Majdevac Balzan
January[54] Malta Dexter Xuereb Mosta/Gżira United
February Italy Juri Cisotti Sliema Wanderers

References[]

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External links[]

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