Premier League to kick off on August 16
The Malta Football Association announced an increase in attendances for its competitions last season.
This was announced by president Bjorn Vassallo during a series of meetings with member clubs during the past few days.
During the meetings, the Malta FA shared statistics and financial details with the club officials, namely those from the Premier League, the Challenge League, and the National Amateur League.
According to the Malta FA, in terms of attendance, there has been an increase in the total number of fans across the men’s senior football competitions for season 2024-25.
The National Championship, comprising the Premier League, the Challenge League and the National Amateur League, welcomed a total of 184,056 spectators to the various stadiums.
The domestic cups also recorded a rise in supporters’ attendance with numbers during season 2024/25, reaching an important total of 29,015 spectators.
These increases, when compared to the previous football season, resulted in a 26% overall increase in attendances from 169,523 spectators in 2023-24 to 213,071 spectators attending matches in season 2024-25.
“The results show that 43,500 more people attended domestic football matches during season 24/25 when compared to the previous season,” the MFA said.
“The main contributors in achieving these positive results were the Challenge League with an increase of 38%, the National Amateur League with an increase of 27%, and the Premier League with an increase of 21%.
“The FA Trophy and Super Cup Final together attracted an increase of 11% in attendances, compared to the previous football season.”
For the Premier League, there was a significant increase in matches played with the introduction of the new format, rising to 196, including the Play-offs and Final Four fixtures.
Melita FC was the club with the most Maltese (homegrown) players in their starting line-up, with a total of 195 appearances. Mosta FC had the most Maltese (homegrown) appearances for U21 players with 69 appearances up to the last matchday.
Hibernians FC’s Kurt Shaw was the homegrown player with the most minutes played (2,774 minutes), while Marsaxlokk FC’s Leandro Aguirre and Sliema Wanderers FC’s Kelvin Agu Emeka were the non-homegrown players with the most minutes played (2,880 minutes) throughout the whole championship.
In terms of youth appearances, Mosta FC, Naxxar Lions FC, Żabbar St. Patrick FC, Ħamrun Spartans FC and Melita FC were, in this order, the clubs that fielded most local youngsters.
Clubs eligible for funds under this scheme aimed to support youth development will share a pot of €250,000 made available by the Malta FA and the MPL in equal share.
During the presentation, the dates for next season’s domestic calendar were unveiled, with the Premier League set to kick off on the weekend of August 16.
In the BOV Challenge League, 176 matches were played with most of the matches played at the Centenary Stadium and the Victor Tedesco Stadium.
Three players, namely Luke Bonnici of Lija Athletic, St. Andrew’s Jake Pisani and Andreas Vella of Tarxien Rainbows played were the homegrown players with the most minutes played in this league (1980 minutes each).
The Malta FA said that it has presented an analytical report on the inaugural experience of the Challenge Cup, a new competition open for teams in the second-tier of local football.
“The Association is proposing a new format and composition for the next football season that would also see the inclusion of Gozitan clubs from the top division,” the MFA said.
The Association also sourced financial benefits for clubs in the Challenge League and National Amateur League through the Development Pot scheme, amounting to €90,000 between both divisions.
Details about payments under the UEFA Solidarity Scheme were also highlighted, including the new criteria announced by UEFA during the last football season on the distribution and use of these funds.
Jubilee Cup
The 2025-26 season will see the introduction of the Jubilee Cup, a competition commemorating the Malta FA’s 125th anniversary.
The competition will see clubs from all divisions, as well as from other member associations, compete for the milestone trophy.
Throughout the competition, every team can only make use of a maximum of five non-homegrown players at any one time on the field of play.
The Malta FA also announced the potential dates for the BOV Super Cup, between champions Ħamrun Spartans and FA Trophy winners Hibernians, scheduled to take place on August 12 subject to the clubs’ progress in the UEFA club competitions.
Should any or both clubs not be available for the matchday in August, the Super Cup final will be moved February 10, 2026, this being an available slot for both clubs.
Meanwhile, the Jubilee Cup finals for both the men’s and women’s teams will be played on December 8.
One of the key initiatives highlighted during the meetings was the Malta FA’s collaboration with Project Green for the Green Goal scheme.
The MFA said that this scheme, launched in March, aims to encourage football clubs to implement environmental projects, ranging from greening and improving the aesthetics of areas surrounding the football grounds, to introducing sustainable practices such as water conservation for irrigation.
A first financial support payment has already been made to all member clubs, and applications for further projects are nowbeing accepted.
