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The Maltese football leagues system of association football is made up of a set of leagues organised and controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta has had a top level football division since 1909; and only the Premier League is considered Professional it continues on today with the current system.
This system included four tiers. All of the leagues are currently sponsored by Bank of Valletta:
| Level | League/Division |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maltese Premier League 10 clubs |
| 2 | Maltese First Division 10 clubs |
| 3 | Maltese Second Division 10 clubs |
| 4 | Maltese Third Division 21 clubs in two groups |
The Maltese Premier League is probably most criticised for a format that is similar to that of the Scottish Premier League, where the league is split up into two phases, a first one with two rounds (home and away – formally, since the league is played within three or four stadiums only), and the second phase accommodates a split of the 12 teams into a Championship Pool (top six teams) and the Relegation Pool (bottom six teams). [1] [2] Also, a particular characteristic of the Maltese Premier League is that once the split takes place, the points gathered in the previous two rounds, are halved, supposedly to create more competition. [3] [4]
In parallel to these leagues run a number of Knock Out competitions, the most prominent one being the FA Trophy.
On January 13, 2011, the Malta Football Association decided to restructure the format of the leagues as from season 2011–12. [5]
Thus the system in force from season 2011–12 came to read:
| Level | League/Division |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maltese Premier League 12 clubs |
| 2 | Maltese First Division 14 clubs |
| 3 | Maltese Second Division 14 clubs |
| 4 | Maltese Third Division 13 clubs |
Once again, the Malta Football Association decided to restructure the format of the leagues. As from the season 2017/18, the Maltese Premier League started having 14 clubs competing at the top level of Maltese football. [6] For the first time in decades, the Maltese Premier League started having two rounds, each team playing the other twice, and not splitting the points in half at any stage.
Thus from the season 2017/18, the format was changed to as follows:
| Level | League/Division |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maltese Premier League 14 clubs |
| 2 | Maltese First Division 14 clubs |
| 3 | Maltese Second Division 13 clubs |
| 4 | Maltese Third Division 12 clubs |
The main noticeable change in format was the introduction of a promotion-relegation play-off to take place across all the leagues in Malta. The 12th place team in each league was to play a one-match decider at a neutral ground against the team that finishes in 3rd place of the lower league. The winner of the decider was to take its place in the higher league in the following season.
Following the early end of the 2019/20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the beginning of the 2020-21 season saw a radically altered system, particularly for the divisions beneath the second tier, and changes to the names the divisions were given. The Premier League saw an increase to sixteen clubs with four automatic relegation places and a relegation play-off for whichever team finishes in twelfth place. The First Division was renamed as the Challenge League and saw an increase to fifteen clubs taking part with the two teams finishing in first and second gaining automatic promotion and the third placed team facing off against the twelfth placed team from the Premier League in a play-off to decide on who plays in the Premier League the following season. The bottom five teams will all be relegated to the tier below. [7]
The biggest changes came from the restructuring of the Second and Third Divisions as they were merged into a single entity called the National Amateur League. The twenty-two clubs in this league are split into three groups with the winners of each gaining automatic promotion to the Challenge League. The nine teams in second to fourth in each of these groups enter a nine-team play-off with the winner gaining promotion to the Challenge League.
| Level | League/Division |
|---|---|
| 1 | Premier League 12 clubs |
| 2 | Challenge League 16 clubs |
| 3 | National Amateur League I 16 clubs |
| 4 | National Amateur League II 10 clubs |
There are still hopes in the future that Gozitan clubs from the Gozo Football League First Division and the Gozo Football League Second Division may enter the Maltese Leagues and create a single competition for all the Maltese Islands and give the Gozitan teams the opportunity to compete in European competitions. There are also discussions going on over a potential re-structuring of the amateur football leagues in Malta and create a pyramid system as opposed to a series of single leagues.
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Gozo Football Association (GFA) is the body that co-ordinates and organises football on the island of Gozo, Malta. Formed in 1936, it organises the Gozo Football League, which is split into two divisions, the First Division and the Second Division. It also organises the G.F.A. Cup, the Independence Cup, the Freedom Day Cup, the BOV Super Cup, the First Division Knock-Out, the Second Division Knock-Out, the Second Division Challenge Cup, the Under-21s League, Under-18 League, and the Under-15s. It also organises the Gozo national football team.
The Gozo Football League is a football competition for clubs on the Maltese island of Gozo, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1933, to where a number of pro-British Maltese supporters travelled to support the English side. The Football Association as recognition donated a silver trophy to be played on the model of the FA Cup.
Victoria Hotspurs Football Club is a Maltese football club from the town of Victoria, Gozo, and that as from the 2024–25 season has become the first ever Gozitan club to switch from the Gozo football league system to the Maltese one.
Gozo Football Club was a Maltese football club based on the island of Gozo. Gozo FC was founded in 1987. The club was disbanded following the end of the 2010-2011 season.
The Maltese Premier League 2009–10 was the 95th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. Hibernians were the defending champions. The season began on 21 August 2009 and ended on 5 May 2010. It was won by Birkirkara, who became the league winners for the third time in their history.
The Gozitan First Division, known for sponsorship reasons as the BOV GFL First Division, is the top division of the Gozo Football League, the league competition for men's football clubs in Gozo.
The 2010–11 Maltese Premier League is the 96th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began in August 2010 and ended in May 2011. Birkirkara are the defending champions, having won their third title last season.
The 2011–12 Maltese Premier League was the 97th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began on 19 August 2011 and it ended in May 2012. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 20th title last season.
The 2012–13 Maltese Premier League was the 98th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began in August 2012 and ended in May 2013. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 21st title last season.
The 2013–14 Maltese Premier League was the 99th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began on 16 August 2013 and ended on 26 April 2014. Birkirkara are the defending champions, having won their 4th title the previous season.
The 2015–16 Maltese Premier League was the 101st season of the Maltese Premier League. The season began on 21 August 2015 and concluded on 30 April 2016. Hibernians were the defending champions, having won their 11th title the previous season.
The 2017–18 Gozo First Division was the 71st season of the Gozo Football League First Division, the highest division in Gozitan football. The season began on 15 September 2017.
The 2018–19 Gozo First Division was the 72nd season of the Gozo Football League First Division, the highest division in Gozitan football. The season began on 14 September 2018. Victoria Hotspurs were able to defend the title won the previous season, winning their thirteenth title in their history.
The 2019–20 Gozo First Division was the 73rd season of the Gozo Football League First Division, the highest division in Gozitan football. The season started on 20 September 2019. Victoria Hotspurs were the defending champions after winning their thirteenth title in the previous season.
The Maltese National Amateur League I is the third-highest division in Maltese football, replacing the Maltese Second Division and Maltese Third Division during the 2020–21 season following the premature end of the previous football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022–23 season was the annual competitive association football season in Gozo organised by the Gozo Football Association for 2022–23.
The 2023–24 Gozo First Division was the 77th season of the Gozo Football League First Division, the highest division in Gozitan football. The season began on 7 September 2023 and ended on 21 April 2024.
The 2024–25 Gozo First Division is the 78th season of the Gozo Football League First Division, the highest division in Gozitan football. The season began on 6 September 2024 and ends in April 2025.
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