Birkirkara are set to launch their women’s title defence with a direct encounter against one of their main antagonists in Swieqi United.
Both teams faced each other in last season’s Women’s Knock-Out final with the Stripes winning 3-0 to secure another domestic double.
On the final day of last season, though, Birkirkara had to score last-minute equaliser to deny Swieqi and preserve their 69-league match unbeaten record.
Birkirkara, who won their 10th domestic title last season, will represent Malta in the UEFA Women’s Champions League when they face SFK Sarajevo on August 18 in the first qualifying round.
Both Birkirkara and Swieqi will be having new coaches on the touch line after the Stripes appointed Jose Borg, taking over from Melania Bajada after five successful seasons while the Owls hired Dutch coach Judith Kuipers, who is currently coaching the Netherlands women’s team in the Military World Cup held in the United States.
In the second game, Birkirkara will cross swords with another rival in Mġarr United who finished third last season under coach Michael Mangion.
Mġarr, on their part, will open their league commitments against last year’s debutants San Ġwann who finished their season with four points.
The 2022/2023 women’s league season will have a new entry in Gudja United while all-time league winners Hibernians have made their return to the league after an absence of two seasons.
Gudja will make their debut with a tough match against Raiders Lija, who finished fourth after a remarkable campaign. Lija have recently confirmed that last season’s U-16’s top scorer and their youngest player to feature with the U-20’s side Suzanne Farrugia Sacco will remain on their books.
On the other hand, Hibernians will face Mtarfa who last season picked up their first win at senior level since their introduction in 2020.
The new campaign will be launched on September 20 and it will run until April 19.
The eight teams will face each other in three different rounds on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with the venues for the championship set to be the Centenary Stadium and Mġarr Ground.
Last season, Dingli Ground and Sirens Stadium were also used throughout the campaign.
MATCHDAY 1 – FIXTURES
BIRKIRKARA VS SWIEQI UNITED
GUDJA UNITED VS RAIDERS LIJA
SAN ĠWANN VS MĠARR UNITED
MTARFA VS HIBERNIANS
Teams’ sequence:
BIRKIRKARA: Swieqi United, Mġarr United, Gudja United, Hibernians, Mtarfa, Raiders Lija, San Ġwann.
GUDJA UNITED: Raiders Lija, Swieqi United, Birkirkara, Mtarfa, San Ġwann, Mġarr United, Hibernians.
RAIDERS LIJA: Gudja United, Mtarfa, San Ġwann, Mġarr United, Hibernians, Birkirkara, Swieqi United.
SAN ĠWANN: Mġarr United, Hibernians, Raiders Lija, Swieqi United, Gudja United, Mtarfa, Birkirkara.
MĠARR UNITED: San Ġwann, Birkirkara, Hibernians, Raiders Lija, Swieqi United, Gudja United, Mtarfa.
MTARFA: Hibernians, Raiders Lija, Swieqi United, Gudja United, Birkirkara, San Ġwann, Mġarr United.
HIBERNIANS: Mtarfa, San Ġwann, Mġarr United, Birkirkara, Raiders Lija, Swieqi United, Gudja United.
REGJUN TRAMUNTANA GIRLS’ OPEN DAY
Meanwhile, the Malta FA Women’s Football Department will be launching a Regions Girls Open Day during the summer period. This is all part of the Malta FA’s strategy to help the women’s game grow on the Maltese shores.
The first region that will be getting on board is the Regjun Tramuntana, with the first Open Day set to be held at the Mġarr Ground on July 26.
Photo: Birkirkara FC.
