Full name | Qala Saint Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Saints Maroons | ||
Founded | 1968 | ||
Ground | Gozo Stadium Gozo, Malta | ||
Capacity | 4000 | ||
Chairman | Noel Mizzi | ||
Manager | Shaun Bajada | ||
League | Gozo FL First Division | ||
2023/2024 | 2nd | ||
Qala Saints Football Club is a football club from the village of Qala in Gozo, Malta. The club was founded in 1968 and is named after the village patron Saint Joseph. They play in the Gozo Football League.
The team's traditional colours are maroon and light blue. The nicknames used for the players are the "Maroons" or "The Saints". Qala Saints's main are Nadur Youngsters along with Għajnsielem
In the summer of 2010, the club changed its name to Qala Saints.
The Maroons have never been main contenders for the top honours in Gozo in the past. However, in the 2007/2008 season, the club won two of the major honours offered by Gozitan football – the G.F.A Cup and the Super Cup for the first time in the club's history. Other past honours won include the Second Division League on four occasions (1976/77, 1994/95, 2005/06 and 2021/2022), and the Second Division Knock/Out Cup on two occasions (2004/05 and 2005/06).
Qala Saints F.C. played in the Second Division was during the 2005/06 season, in which they were able to win the Second Division League and Cup double. The Saints won the Second Division League without conceding a single loss during the 2005/06 season. Furthermore, their foreign import, Ishaku Umoru, was joint top scorer in the Second Division League and Joseph Xerri was voted as Best Second Division League Player during this memorable season. During the 2008–2009 season the Maroons ended the bottom of the First Division and hence were relegated to the Second Division. After a promising start to the season, winning the first knockoutcompetition, Qala were expected to mount a serious challenge for promotion in 2009–10.
During the 2020/2021 season Qala Saints FC won the league, however, because of COVID-19 regulations and termination of league they were not crowned as champions of the second division. The following season, Qala Saints never looked back, and continued with their path towards the first division, where they were crowned as champions of the second division in the season 2021/2022. The following two seasons, with a team made up mostly with local players who have been playing for the club's nursery since a very young age, they were a huge competitors for the titles together with Nadur Youngsters. During the 2023/2024 season, Qala Saints managed to win two trophies, the GFA 1st Division Cup and the First Division BOV GFA Cup both against Nadur Youngsters with an impressive result against all odds. On both days of the finals, streets of Nadur were lit with citronella candles and limoncello was served for free for all clients and pub crawlers, because after securing the only title for the 2023/2024 with shady results thanks to money talks, and by mocking other local teams, they still managed to lose two finals within a few weeks apart from each other against what they tend to call 'il-huta z-zghira' (the small fish), referring to the Qala Saints team.
Goalkeepers: Franklin Xuereb, Mattia Zammit (C)
Defenders: Joseph Attard, Francisco Mumford, Gabriel Sillato, Samuel Sillato, Armando Xerri, Martin Buttigieg, Nicholas Inguanez
Midfielders: Joseph Buttigieg, Michael Mumford, Malcolm Cefai, Christoph Caruana, Daniel Portelli, Simon Spiteri, Jordi Parnis, Lucas Barreto da Silva
Forwards: Igor Nedeljokovic, Christian Mercieca, Lucas Mattheus Dos Santos, Rafael Conrado Prudente, Shaun Attard
The club's main sponsor for the current season are K & S Decorators, Paul Michael Mini Market, along with Xerri L- Bukkett and D Bar, Sportika and Urban Jungle – the local representatives of international sportsware company Nike.
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.
Qala is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo, with a population of 1,929 as of September 2019. Nearby is Ħondoq ir-Rummien, a coastline with salt pans and caves.
Sannat Lions Football Club, or simply Sannat Lions, is a Maltese football club from the village of Sannat, Gozo. The club was founded in 1937 and is currently playing in the Gozo Football League First Division.
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. The club was founded in 1948 and, prior to their migration, has won 13 First Division titles, the last one being in the 2018–19 season.
Xewkija Tigers F.C. is a football club from the village of Xewkija in Gozo, Malta. The club was founded in 1938, and currently plays in the Gozo Football League, First Division.
The GFA Cup, currently known as the BOV GFA Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knockout football cup competition in Gozo, run by and named after the Gozo Football Association. The competition is played between the clubs of the Gozitan First Division and Second Division. The usual format adopted is that all teams from the Second Division and the teams ranked third to seventh in the previous First Division participate in the preliminary round. The six winning teams make it to the quarter finals together with the remaining top two teams from the First Division.
The GFA Super Cup, known as BOV Super Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football super cup held before the league season start in Gozo. The match is contested by the champions of the previous First Division season and the holders of the GFA Cup.
Kerċem Ajax Football Club is a Gozitan, Malta, football club from the village of Kerċem, which plays in the Gozo First Division. Kerċem Ajax won the Gozitan Second Division 2011–2012 season with 50 points, an unbeaten season. Ajax won other two competitions in Gozitan football competitions, the Second Division Knock-Out against Munxar Falcons with the score of 2–0 and the Second Division Super Cup against Munxar Falcons with the score of 7–0. Ajax was promoted to Gozo First Division for the season 2012–2013. They beat Nadur Youngsters in 2013 winning the GFA Cup; the whites had the distinction of holding high all Gozo's 5 trophies. The Greens also introduced to the Maltese football players like Alfred Effiong and Jeremiah Ani apart from former international players like Stoyko Sakaliev. The Greens won in 1985 the Gozo First Division and at other times the GFA Cup, GFA Super Cup, Independence Cup and Freedom Day Cup.
The Gozo Football League Second Division, known as BOV GFL Second Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second and lowest level in the Gozo Football League. The league was first competed in 1948.
Nadur Youngsters Football Club is a Maltese Football Club from the village of Nadur, on the island of Gozo, Malta.
The 2017–18 Maltese FA Trophy was the 80th version of the football tournament. It was sponsored by Boost Diesel, which was revealed during the draws of the first, second and third round of the Maltese FA Trophy at the Trophies Lounge in Malta Football Association headquarters in Ta' Qali. A total of sixty–four clubs participated in this season's cup competition.
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 Maltese FA Trophy was the 81st edition of the football cup competition. A record number of 67 clubs competed in the FA Trophy, with the first round starting on the weekend of 1–2 September 2018 and concluding with the final played on 18 May 2019.
The 2019–20 Maltese FA Trophy was the 82nd edition of the football cup competition.
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 2022–23 Maltese FA Trophy, officially named IZIBET FA Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is the 85th edition of the football cup competition, the FA Trophy. The winners of the Maltese FA Trophy will earn a place in the first qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League. The first round of games started on 15 November 2022.
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 Maltese FA Trophy, officially named IZIBET FA Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, was the 86th edition of the football cup competition, the FA Trophy. The winners earned a place in the second qualifying round of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League.
The Gozitan Women's League was the highest division in Gozitan women league football that for a brief stint took place in Gozo, Malta. It was organised by the Gozo Football Association.
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.