Ferdinando Apap retires from national team, agrees to join Victoria Hotspurs

Ferdinando Apap is set to part ways with Hibernians and continue his career with Gozitan club Victoria Hotspurs, the Times of Malta can reveal.

The 31-year-old defender has taken this step for personal reasons and is keen to give something back to a club that helped him put his name in the frame of a national team call-up and an eventual move to Premier League giants Hibernians.

Added to that, it has also been confirmed that Apap has also decided to end his international career with the national team due to personal reasons and will no longer be available for national team coach Michele Marcolini.

Last month, Apap joined the national team for their training camp at the Ta’ Qali training grounds.

But during the camp, Apap sat down with national team coach Marcolini to inform him of his decision of retiring from the national team due to personal reasons.

While Marcolini was keen to keep Apap in the national team’s set-up, however, he understood his situation and accepted the players’ decision.

Apap’s new club Victoria Hotspurs are preparing for an historical 2024-25 season following their accession within the Malta Football Association.

In fact, the Hotspurs are set to become the first Gozitan club to play in the MFA Leagues and will start their campaign in the National Amateur League II.

Sources have told the Times of Malta that given that Apap is still under contract with Hibernians, the Hotspurs had to open negotiations with the Paolites over the signing of the towering defender.

Negotiations between the two clubs were successfully concluded and Apap agreed personal terms with his former club.

Apap’s departure from Hibernians brings to an end a successful five-year spell with the Paola club which saw him win one Premier League title and a Super Cup.

For Apap, this will be his second spell with Victoria Hotspurs with whom he enjoyed a trophy-laden two-year spell which saw him win all major honours in Gozitan football.