San Marino and Malta are chasing the coveted dream of seeing one of their clubs reach the League Phase of a UEFA club competition.
On Thursday night, Ħamrun Spartans fell short of reaching the Play Off round of the Europa League after losing 3-1 to Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the third qualifying round, second leg, going out 5-2 on aggregate.
The Spartans, however, still have a chance to make history. They will now face RFS of Latvia in the Conference League Play Off, with a place in the league phase at stake.
This is the second time Ħamrun have reached this stage of a UEFA club competition, having already done so in 2022-23 before being eliminated by Partizan Belgrade. They remain the only Maltese club to come within one round of qualification.
RFS, meanwhile, are aiming for a third consecutive group stage appearance, having played in the Europa League in 2024-25 and the Conference League, in 2022-23.
One of Thursday night’s biggest stories, however, came from San Marino.
Virtus Acquaviva became the first club from the microstate to reach the Play Off round, defeating Moldovan champions Milsami 3-0 to overturn a 3-2 first-leg defeat and qualify 5-3 on aggregate.
For Virtus, the reigning San Marino champions, this is only their second season in European football after debuting last year.
They began this campaign in the Champions League Q1, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Zrinjski of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Despite the loss, they were drawn as one of the ‘lucky losers’ into the Conference League Q3, alongside Víkingur of Iceland.
Now, they face Breidablik of Iceland, who themselves made their Conference League debut in 2023-24.
Europe’s third-tier competition has been instrumental in opening the door for clubs from smaller nations.
Until last season, six countries were still chasing a first-ever group stage appearance – a list that included Wales and Northern Ireland, who both achieved it through TNS and Larne FC, respectively.
This season, both TNS and Larne, who recently announced the signing of Malta U21 international Alfie Bridgman, have already been eliminated.
With Andorra and Montenegro already out, San Marino and Malta remain the last two nations in the hunt for a historic first qualification.
San Marino sit bottom of UEFA’s country rankings (55th), making Virtus’ run even more remarkable.
Malta are 43rd, a position which allows the Malta FA, celebrating its 125th anniversary, to send four clubs into Europe each season.
Malta is currently over 6,000 points away from 33rd place, which would secure a direct Europa League spot for the league champions.
Just above San Marino, in 54th, is Gibraltar, a UEFA member since 2013.
In just over a decade, Gibraltar have made significant progress, both at club and national team level. Their national side, like San Marino, has earned promotion to League C of the Nations League – a feat Malta’s men have yet to achieve.
At club level, Gibraltar boast Lincoln Red Imps, who on Thursday qualified for a UEFA group stage for the second time, eliminating Armenia’s FC Noah, a club whose list of players is valued at nearly €13 million compared to Lincoln’s €2 million, per Transfermarkt.
Last season, FC Noah crushed Sliema Wanderers 7-0 in the first leg of their Conference League Q2 tie as they progressed to the league phase.
Lincoln’s first qualification came in 2021-22, when they eliminated Riga FC in the play-offs.
Prior to that Lincoln tie, Riga FC – another Riga-based club like RFS – had eliminated Malta’s Hibernians in a second leg match that had stirred a lot of controversy due to poor officiating by the referee.
Football has no stereotypes.
Globalisation has levelled the playing field, and Maltese football, despite its challenges, continues to write important chapters in Europe.
Who knows, maybe one of its clubs will step onto Europe’s big stage on a Thursday night between September and December.
