2019–20 Maltese Premier League

The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League was the 105th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-flight league football in Malta. The fixtures were announced on 2 July 2019; the season started on 23 August 2019 and was scheduled to conclude on 25 April 2020.^[2] Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 25th title the previous season.

Maltese Premier League

Season	2019–20
Dates	23 August 2019 – 12 March 2020
Champions	Floriana (26th title)
Relegated	no relegation
Champions League	Floriana
Europa League	Valletta Hibernians Sirens
Matches played	140
Goals scored	394 (2.81 per match)
Top goalscorer	Kristian Keqi (14 goals)[1]
← 2018–19 2020–21 → All statistics correct as of 8 March 2020.

On 12 March 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, a decision was made by the Malta Football Association (MFA) to suspend all football activities in Malta for ten days, after initially agreeing for football matches to be played behind closed doors.^[3] This suspension was further extended on 17 March to last until 5 April,^[4] and then suspended indefinitely on 30 March.^[5] On 18 May, the MFA Executive Committee decided to prematurely terminate the league competition and the ongoing FA Trophy competition.^[6][7] On 25 May, Floriana were awarded the championship after a vote taken by the MFA council, their 26th title and level with Sliema Wanderers in the all-time champions list. Floriana topped the standings with 41 points at the time the league was halted. Valletta, Hibernians and Sirens were awarded the three UEFA Europa League spots based on sporting merits. Furthermore, relegation was scrapped across all leagues even if there was mathematic certainty.^[8][9]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Banner hoisted by Valletta fan group, Ultras Beltin 999, in support of their mother club's political will to continue playing the final six matches

The league season has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since March.^[3] Valletta, Birkirkara and Gżira United proposed to the Malta Football Association that the league is not to be cancelled but resumes in June for training and in July when the first matches are to be played.^[10] These suggestions were dismissed by the Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, emphasizing that measures will only be lifted once the situation stabilizes.^[11] Eventually, the three clubs wrote to the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela to either resume the competition or cancel any sport until a vaccine is found.^[12]

On 25 May 2020, upon the assigning of the league title to Floriana, spontaneous celebrations cropped up in the town's main square.^[13][14] This was later ended by the Malta Police Force due to social distancing measures still being in place, although some reports argued that this was not timely.^[15] This celebration was later decried by the public and local entities.^[16][17] The Superintendent of Public Health recommended that all those who attended the celebration get tested;^[18] a day after this appeal a surge in phonecalls on the COVID-19 helpline was reported related with this event.^[19] The police force started an investigation on the matter.^[20]

Tarxien Rainbows, who gathered four points in 20 matches and were already mathematically relegated by 8 March 2020,^[21] kept their place in next season's top tier after it was agreed that relegations would be scrapped.^[8] The vote passed by the MFA council scrapped relegation to avoid an odd number in the following season and therefore avoid weekly byes.^[22][23]

Teams

Balzan

Birkirkara

Floriana

Gudja United

Gżira

Ħamrun

Hibernians

Mosta

Senglea

Sirens

Sliema

St. Lucia

Tarxien

Valletta

Location of teams in 2019–20 Maltese Premier League

Fourteen teams will compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams are Sirens, Gudja United and St. Lucia who will be playing their first season in the top division.^[24][25][26] They replace Qormi, Pietà Hotspurs (both teams relegated after one season back in the league) and St. Andrews, the latter losing the relegation play-off against St. Lucia to become the first Premier League side to lose this play-off against a First Division team.

Team	In league since	City	Training Stadium	Capacity
Balzan	2011	Balzan	St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex	100
Birkirkara	1990	Birkirkara	Mgarr Ground	0
Floriana	1986	Floriana	Independence Arena (Floriana)	0
Gudja United	2019	Gudja	Louis Azzopardi Stadium
Gżira United	2016	Gżira	Gzira Football Ground	0
Ħamrun Spartans	2016	Ħamrun	Victor Tedesco Stadium	6,000
Hibernians	1945	Paola	Hibernians Ground	2,968
Mosta	2011	Mosta	Charles Abela Memorial Stadium	600
St. Lucia	2019	Santa Luċija	Grawnd Santa Luċija
Senglea Athletic	2017	Senglea	Corradino C	100
Sirens	2019	St. Paul's Bay	Sirens Stadium	600
Sliema Wanderers	1984	Sliema	Tigne Sports Complex	1,000
Tarxien Rainbows	2008	Tarxien	Tony Cassar Sports Ground	1,000
Valletta	1944	Valletta	Sirens Stadium	600

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Balzan	Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker)	Joma	Investors Mutual Limited
Birkirkara	André Paus	Adidas	McDonald's
Floriana	Vincenzo Potenza	Joma	Scotts Supermarket, Guess?, Go & Fun, Chanlai Auto Dealer, Evergreen Greengrocer, Terranova, Cafe' Pascucci
Gudja United	Cyril Buttigieg	Givova	All Nuts, Emilio Bilocca Handy Man
Gżira United	Paul Zammit	Puma
Ħamrun Spartans	Mark Buttigieg	Joma	Mach Power
Hibernians	Stefano Sanderra	Joma	Bezzina
Mosta	Mark Miller	Macron	Dimbros, Nilmar
Senglea Athletic	Giorgio Roselli	Givova	Palumbo
Sirens	Steve D'Amato	Macron	Teamsport, Gillieru Harbour Hotel, Valyou Supermarket
Sliema Wanderers	Andrea Pisanu	Adidas	North Key Real-Estate, Zarb Coaches
St. Lucia	Oliver Spiteri	Macron	Multivend
Tarxien Rainbows	Demis Paul Scerri	Erreà	Cassar Ship Repairs
Valletta	Giovanni Tedesco	Puma	Iniala

• Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Floriana	Guido Ugolotti	End of contract		Pre-season	Vincenzo Potenza	15 May 2019[27]
Ħamrun Spartans	Giovanni Tedesco	Resigned	17 May 2019[28]		Manuele Blasi	23 May 2019[29]
Gżira United	Jesmond Zerafa		22 May 2019[30]		Giovanni Tedesco	22 May 2019[30]
Valletta	Gilbert Agius	End of caretaker	23 May 2019[31]		Darren Abdilla	23 May 2019[31]
Senglea Athletic	Vincenzo Potenza	Signed by Floriana	15 May 2019[27]		Mario Muscat	12 June 2019[32]
Sirens	Vince Carbonaro	Mutual consent	27 June 2019[33]		Steve D'Amato	5 July 2019[34]
Tarxien Rainbows	Jose Borg		30 July 2019[35]		Marko Glumac	30 July 2019[35]
Birkirkara	John Buttigieg	Resigned	7 September 2019[36]	12th	André Paus	9 September 2019[37]
Tarxien Rainbows	Marko Glumac	Mutual consent	12 November 2019[38]	14th	Demis Paul Scerri	12 November 2019[38]
Senglea Athletic	Mario Muscat		2 January 2020[39]	12th	Giorgio Roselli	10 January 2020[40]
Gżira United	Giovanni Tedesco	Sacked	21 January 2020[41]	4th	Paul Zammit	23 January 2020[42]
Ħamrun Spartans	Manuele Blasi		1 February 2020	9th	Mark Buttigieg	1 February 2020
Sliema Wanderers	Alfonso Greco	Mutual consent	11 February 2020[43]	12th	Andrea Pisanu	13 February 2020[44]
Valletta	Darren Abdilla	Sacked	17 February 2020[45]	2nd	Giovanni Tedesco	19 February 2020[45]
Balzan	Jacques Scerri	Resigned	3 March 2020[46]	8th	Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker)	3 March 2020

Venues

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali Tony Bezzina Stadium	Ta' Qali	Ta' Qali	Paola
	Ta' Qali National Stadium	Centenary Stadium	Tony Bezzina Stadium
	Capacity: 16,997	Capacity: 3,000	Capacity: 2,968

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Floriana (C)	20	12	5	3	38	15	+23	41	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Valletta	20	11	5	4	32	22	+10	38	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3	Hibernians	20	11	4	5	34	20	+14	37
4	Sirens	20	10	5	5	30	26	+4	35
5	Birkirkara	20	9	6	5	30	20	+10	33
6	Gżira United	20	9	5	6	35	19	+16	32
7	Balzan	20	8	4	8	33	29	+4	28
8	Mosta	20	9	1	10	29	35	−6	28
9	Ħamrun Spartans	20	6	7	7	24	25	−1	25
10	Sliema Wanderers	20	7	3	10	24	22	+2	24
11	Gudja United	20	6	6	8	24	30	−6	24
12	St. Lucia	20	6	5	9	24	33	−9	23
13	Senglea Athletic[a]	20	3	7	10	21	39	−18	16	Relegation to the 2020–21 Maltese Challenge League
14	Tarxien Rainbows[a]	20	1	1	18	18	61	−43	4

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).^[47]
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Senglea Athletic and Tarxien Rainbows kept their place in the top-flight as relegations were scrapped for the league season.

Results

Home \ Away	BAL	BIR	FLO	GUD	GŻI	ĦAM	HIB	MOS	SEN	SIR	SLI	SLC	TAR	VAL
Balzan	—	0–0	1–3	1–0	1–3	1–1	—	5–0	—	2–4	2–1	—	3–0	0–2
Birkirkara	3–3	—	0–1	2–3	1–3	—	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	—	—	3–0	2–2
Floriana	1–0	0–1	—	1–2	0–0	—	2–2	—	5–0	3–0	—	2–1	2–1	0–1
Gudja United	0–2	—	0–2	—	—	1–1	1–1	—	4–1	—	1–0	1–1	3–2	0–1
Gżira United	2–0	0–2	2–2	6–1	—	0–0	—	3–1	—	0–1	1–1	1–2	—	0–1
Ħamrun Spartans	—	0–0	0–0	2–2	0–3	—	1–2	0–2	1–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–3	0–1
Hibernians	2–1	0–1	—	2–0	2–0	1–2	—	3–1	2–1	0–2	1–0	—	4–1	—
Mosta	—	1–1	1–3	1–0	—	2–1	1–2	—	1–0	3–4	—	1–0	5–2	0–4
Senglea Athletic	2–2	1–0	—	—	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–1	—	2–2	2–0	2–5	2–2	—
Sirens	—	—	1–4	1–1	—	1–2	2–1	2–0	1–1	—	0–0	3–1	—	0–0
Sliema Wanderers	1–2	2–1	1–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	0–1	4–1	0–1	—	—	1–0	1–3
St. Lucia	0–3	0–2	—	2–1	0–0	—	0–2	1–2	0–0	0–2	0–4	—	2–1	2–2
Tarxien Rainbows	1–3	—	0–4	—	0–5	2–3	0–4	0–4	—	0–3	1–2	1–3	—	—
Valletta	3–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	—	1–0	—	2–1	2–3	3–1	—

Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

	Leader and 2020–21 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round
	2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
	2020–21 UEFA Europa League preliminary round
	Relegation play-offs
	Relegation to First Division

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Floriana	4	1	3	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Valletta	11	7	7	5	5	7	5	5	6	4	3	3	3	4	3	2	2	2	2	2
Hibernians	6	2	6	4	3	5	8	7	5	5	5	5	4	3	2	4	3	3	4	3
Sirens	8	3	1	7	4	2	4	3	3	2	4	4	5	5	5	3	4	4	3	4
Birkirkara	13	12	12	12	13	11	11	11	11	10	8	10	8	7	7	8	6	6	6	5
Gżira United	9	11	11	10	7	4	3	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	4	5	5	5	5	6
Balzan	3	8	8	11	12	10	9	9	9	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	7	8	7	7
Mosta	1	6	9	8	10	9	7	6	7	8	9	11	9	8	9	7	9	9	9	8
Ħamrun Spartans	10	10	4	1	1	3	2	4	4	6	6	6	7	9	8	9	8	7	8	9
Sliema Wanderers	12	13	13	13	9	12	12	12	13	13	11	8	10	10	12	10	12	11	11	10
Gudja United	5	9	10	9	11	13	13	13	12	12	12	9	11	11	10	12	11	10	12	11
St. Lucia	2	4	5	2	6	6	10	10	10	11	13	13	13	13	13	11	10	12	10	12
Senglea Athletic	7	5	2	6	8	8	6	8	8	9	10	12	12	12	11	13	13	13	13	13
Tarxien Rainbows	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

Updated to match(es) played on 8 March 2020. Source: WorldFootball.net

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

As of 8 March 2020^[1]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Kristian Keqi	Floriana	14
2	Mario Fontanella	Valletta	13
3	Andrija Majdevac	Balzan	11
4	Jefferson Assis	Gżira United	10
	Federico Falcone	Birkirkara
6	Aleksa Andrejić	Tarxien Rainbows	9
	Tiago Adan	Floriana
8	Imanol Iriberri	Hibernians	8
	Jake Grech	Hibernians
10	Soufiane Lagzir	Ħamrun Spartans	7
	Jose Wilkson Teixeira	Senglea Athletic

Hat-tricks

Player[48]	For	Against	Result	Date
Jefferson Assis4	Gżira United	Gudja United	6–1	26 October 2019
Andrija Majdevac	Balzan	St. Lucia	3–0	13 December 2019
Aleksa Andrejic	Tarxien Rainbows	Ħamrun Spartans	3–2	1 February 2020
Mario Fontanella	Valletta	Balzan	3–1	8 February 2020
Kristian Keqi	Floriana	Sirens	3–0	6 March 2020

Notes

⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month
	Player	Club
August[49]	Jake Grech	Hibernians
September[50]	Diego Venancio da Silva	Floriana
October[51]	Jefferson Assis	Gżira United
November[52]	Andrija Majdevac	Balzan
December[53]	Andrija Majdevac	Balzan
January[54]	Dexter Xuereb	Mosta/Gżira United
February	Juri Cisotti	Sliema Wanderers