2022–23 Maltese Challenge League

The 2022–23 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the third season that the competition has been running in its present form.^[1][2][3]

Maltese Challenge League

Season	2022–23
Dates	26 August 2022 – 23 April 2023
Champions	Sliema Wanderers
Promoted	Sliema Wanderers Naxxar Lions
Relegated	Marsaskala Mqabba Mtarfa Qrendi San Gwann Vittoriosa Stars
Matches played	252
Goals scored	662 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Aroldo Da Silva Arruda (23 Goals)
Biggest home win	Fgura United 6-1 Vittoriosa Stars (8 December 2022)
Biggest away win	Mqabba 0-6 Fgura United (29 August 2022) Vittoriosa Stars 0-6 Naxxar Lions (20 December 2022)
Highest scoring	Swieqi United 5-5 Mqabba (10 December 2022)
Longest winning run	Sliema Wanderers (15 Games)
Longest unbeaten run	Sliema Wanderers (27 Games)
Longest winless run	Mtarfa (10 Games)
Longest losing run	Mtarfa (10 Games)
← 2021–22 2023–24 → All statistics correct as of 23 April 2023.

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2021–22 season:

To Maltese Challenge League Promoted from Maltese National Amateur League Żurrieq Attard Marsaskala Mtarfa Relegated from the Maltese Premier League Sliema Wanderers

From Maltese Challenge League Promoted to the Maltese Premier League Marsaxlokk Pietà Hotspurs Żebbuġ Rangers Relegated to Maltese National Amateur League Luqa St. Andrew's Mġarr United Pembroke Athleta Rabat Ajax F.C. Senglea Athletic St. George's

Teams

Attard

Fgura United

Lija Athletic

Marsa

Marsaskala

Melita

Mqabba

Mtarfa

Naxxar Lions

Qrendi

San Ġwann

Sliema Wanderers

St. Andrews

Swieqi United

Tarxien Rainbows

Vittoriosa Stars

Żejtun Corinthians

Żurrieq

Location of teams in 2022–23 Maltese Challenge League

Eighteen teams will compete in the league which will include the Four teams promoted from the Amateur League and one team relegated from the Premier League. This Season will be playing only one round. After the first round, the top six will play each other twice to determine whether to win the Challenge League, be promoted, or stay in Challenge League next season. And those who finish seventh till eighteenth in the first round will play once in Play-Out to determine who will stay in Challenge League or have either been relegated.

Team	Location
Attard	Attard
Fgura United	Fgura
Lija Athletic	Lija
Marsa	Marsa
Marsaskala	Marsaskala
Melita	San Ġiljan
Mqabba	Mqabba
Mtarfa	Mtarfa
Naxxar Lions	Naxxar
Qrendi	Qrendi
San Ġwann	San Ġwann
Sliema Wanderers	Sliema
St. Andrews	St. Andrew's, Malta
Swieqi United	Swieqi
Tarxien Rainbows	Tarxien
Vittoriosa Stars	Birgu
Żejtun Corinthians	Zejtun
Żurrieq	Żurrieq

Venues

On 21 December 2022. The Malta Football Association introduce another stadium at Luxol Stadium in Pembroke due to the final fixture of the first round that played three matches at the same time. On 21 December 2022. The Malta Football Association introduce another stadium at Sirens Stadium in San Pawl il-Baħar due to the final fixture of the season that is playing four matches at the same time.

Centenary Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium Luxol Stadium Sirens Stadium	Ta' Qali	Hamrun	Pembroke	San Pawl il-Baħar
	Centenary Stadium	Victor Tedesco Stadium	Luxol Stadium	Sirens Stadium
	Capacity: 3,000	Capacity: 1,962	Capacity: 600	Capacity: 800

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Sliema Wanderers	17	15	2	0	40	10	+30	47	Qualification for the Top Six
2	Naxxar Lions	17	13	2	2	40	15	+25	41
3	Żejtun Corinthians	17	11	0	6	35	22	+13	33
4	Tarxien Rainbows	17	9	5	3	34	19	+15	32
5	Żurrieq	17	9	2	6	33	28	+5	29
6	Melita	17	7	5	5	29	22	+7	26
7	Fgura United	17	7	4	6	41	25	+16	25	Qualification for the Play-Out
8	Marsa	17	6	6	5	27	23	+4	24
9	Swieqi United	17	6	6	5	33	31	+2	24
10	St. Andrews	17	6	4	7	23	27	−4	22
11	Lija Athletic	17	5	5	7	28	32	−4	20
12	Attard	17	5	4	8	19	30	−11	19
13	San Ġwann	17	5	3	9	20	34	−14	18
14	Marsaskala	17	4	3	10	28	39	−11	15
15	Mqabba	17	4	3	10	21	36	−15	15
16	Qrendi	17	3	5	9	19	36	−17	14
17	Mtarfa	17	4	2	11	11	28	−17	14
18	Vittoriosa Stars	17	3	1	13	14	38	−24	10

Updated to match(es) played on 8 January 2023. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).

Results

Home \ Away	ATT	FGU	LJA	MSA	MRK	MEL	MQA	MTF	NXR	QRE	SGN	SLI	STA	SWQ	TAR	VIT	ZEJ	ZUR
Attard	—	—	—	—	—	2–4	0–1	3–1	1–3	0–0	—	0–4	1–1	3–1	1–4	—	—	—
Fgura United	0–0	—	2–2	0–0	2–0	—	—	—	2–3	—	4–0	—	—	—	—	6–1	4–1	1–4
Lija Athletic	2–1	—	—	0–2	—	—	—	0–0	—	—	1–2	—	—	2–2	1–2	2–0	2–4	—
Marsa	2–2	—	—	—	—	0–2	2–1	2–0	—	4–0	—	—	—	2–0	3–3	1–1	—	—
Marsaskala	2–0	—	2–4	2–2	—	—	—	3–1	0–3	—	1–2	—	—	—	—	2–1	0–1	1–2
Melita	—	2–4	2–2	—	2–1	—	2–1	—	—	1–1	—	0–1	6–2	—	—	—	—	3–0
Mqabba	—	0–6	1–2	—	3–3	—	—	—	—	2–0	2–3	1–2	0–1	—	—	—	—	1–0
Mtarfa	—	0–2	—	—	—	0–0	1–0	—	0–1	2–3	—	1–3	0–4	2–1	2–1	—	—	—
Naxxar Lions	—	—	3–2	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	—	—	2–0	1–0	1–2	—	1–3	—	—	3–2	—
Qrendi	—	4–3	3–3	—	2–3	—	—	—	—	—	3–0	0–2	0–0	—	—	—	0–3	2–5
San Ġwann	0–1	—	—	2–2	—	1–1	—	1–0	—	—	—	—	—	2–4	1–4	3–1	0–2	—
Sliema Wanderers	—	2–1	1–0	1–0	5–1	—	—	—	—	—	3–1	—	3–0	—	—	—	3–0	3–0
St. Andrews	—	3–2	0–2	2–3	2–2	—	—	—	0–3	—	1–1	—	—	—	—	2–0	0–2	3–1
Swieqi United	—	1–1	—	—	4–3	2–0	5–5	—	—	1–1	—	2–2	0–2	—	—	—	—	2–2
Tarxien Rainbows	—	2–1	—	—	3–2	0–0	1–2	—	1–1	4–0	—	1–1	1–0	0–2	—	—	—	—
Vittoriosa Stars	0–1	—	—	—	—	0–4	3–0	3–0	0–6	1–0	—	1–2	—	0–3	0–2	—	—	—
Żejtun Corinthians	4–1	—	—	2–1	—	3–0	4–0	0–1	—	—	—	—	—	3–0	1–4	2–1	—	—
Żurrieq	1–2	—	5–1	3–1	—	—	—	1–0	1–4	—	3–1	—	—	—	1–1	2–1	2–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 8 January 2023. Source: [https://matchcentre.mfa.com.mt/competition/2601248/
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.

Second phase

Top Six

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation		SLI	NXR	ZEJ	TAR	MEL	ZUR
1	Sliema Wanderers (C)	27	24	3	0	66	15	+51	75	Promotion to the 2023–24 Maltese Premier League		—	3–1	6–0	0–0	1–0	5–0
2	Naxxar Lions (P)	27	19	3	5	58	28	+30	60			0–2	—	0–0	2–1	0–5	3–0
3	Żejtun Corinthians (Q)	27	15	2	10	51	45	+6	47	Qualification for the Promotion play-offs		1–3	1–2	—	0–4	2–2	2–1
4	Tarxien Rainbows	27	13	7	7	55	32	+23	46			2–3	0–3	2–3	—	3–0	4–0
5	Melita	27	9	7	11	42	36	+6	34			0–2	1–2	2–3	0–0	—	0–1
6	Żurrieq	27	10	2	15	38	59	−21	32			0–1	0–5	1–4	2–5	0–3	—

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or Promotion play-offs).
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Play-Out

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Relegation		SWQ	FGU	STA	LJA	ATT	MSA	SGN	QRE	MRK	MQA	VIT	MTF
7	Swieqi United	28	14	8	6	53	38	+15	50			—	2–2	—	—	—	3–0	2–0	—	2–1	2–0	—	2–1
8	Fgura United	28	11	8	9	57	39	+18	41			—	—	2–0	—	0–1	—	1–1	—	1–1	—	—	1–1
9	St. Andrews	28	11	7	10	37	40	−3	40			0–0	—	—	1–3	2–1	—	1–1	—	2–2	—	—	2–1
10	Lija Athletic	28	11	6	11	51	54	−3	39			0–4	4–2	—	—	—	0–1	—	4–5	—	3–2	4–3	—
11	Attard	28	10	7	11	39	45	−6	37			3–0	—	—	1–1	—	—	1–1	1–4	2–2	—	—	5–2
12	Marsa	28	9	8	11	40	42	−2	35			—	1–3	0–2	—	1–2	—	1–2	—	—	—	—	0–0
13	San Gwann (R)	28	9	7	12	33	45	−12	34	Relegation to the 2023–24 Maltese National Amateur League		—	—	—	2–0	—	—	—	0–1	1–1	—	0–1	2–1
14	Qrendi (R)	28	8	7	13	38	52	−14	31			0–1	1–2	0–2	—	—	2–2	—	—	—	0–1	2–2	—
15	Marsaskala (R)	28	7	8	13	50	57	−7	29			—	—	—	1–3	—	3–1	—	1–3	—	5–0	3–1	—
16	Mqabba (R)	28	6	4	18	29	56	−27	22			—	1–2	0–1	—	1–0	1–2	1–3	—	—	—	—	—
17	Vittoriosa Stars (R)	28	6	4	18	27	57	−30	22			0–2	1–0	3–1	—	1–3	1–4	—	—	—	0–0	—	—
18	Mtarfa (R)	28	5	6	17	21	45	−24	21			—	—	—	0–1	—	—	—	0–1	2–2	2–1	0–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 23 April 2023. Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide teams for relegation).
(R) Relegated

Promotion or Relegation play-offs

A play-offs match shall be played between the twelfth-placed team in the Premier League, Santa Lucia, and the third-placed team in the Maltese Challenge League, Żejtun Corinthians. The winner will play in the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League.

Santa Lucia (1) v Żejtun Corinthians (2)

28 April 2023	Santa Lucia (1)	2–0	Żejtun Corinthians (2)	Ta' Qali
19:00 CEST	Kyrian Nwoko 2' Robert Hehedosh 17'			Stadium: Centenary Stadium Referee: Fyodor Zammit

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 23 April 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Aroldo Da Silva Arruda	Fgura United	23
2	Robinson Blandon Rendon	Naxxar Lions	18
3	Rundell Winchester	Marsaskala	17
4	Duvan Mosquera Torres	Lija Athletic	16
	Lydon Micallef	Sliema Wanderers
6	Adrian Carabott	Marsaskala	15
	Claudio Antunes Pavlidis	Qrendi
8	Hiroya Konno	Melita	14
	Joao Vitor de Oliveira Florencio	Żurrieq
10	Edson Cerqueira Farias	Naxxar Lions	12
	Andre Carlos Penha da Costa	Żejtun Corinthians

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Stadium	Date
Aroldo Da Silva Arruda	Fgura United	Mqabba	6–0 (A)	Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali	29 August 2022
		Melita	4–2 (A)	Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun	8 September 2022
Hiroya Konno	Melita	Attard	4–2 (A)		11 September 2022
		St. Andrews	6–2 (H)		2 October 2022
Matheus De Lucena Guariento	San Gwann	Vittoriosa Stars	3–0 (H)
Hiroya Konno	Melita		4–0 (A)	Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali	9 October 2022
Nicholas Schembri	Attard	Mtarfa	3–1 (H)		5 November 2022
Lucas Matheus Dos Santos	Mqabba	Swieqi United	5–5 (H)		10 December 2022
Pavlidis Claudio Antunes	Qrendi	Mtarfa	3–2 (H)		18 December 2022
		Fgura United	4–3 (H)	Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun	21 December 2022
Aroldo Da Silva Arruda	Fgura United	Żejtun Corinthians	4–1 (H)		7 January 2023
Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio4	Żurrieq	Lija Athletic	5–1 (H)	Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali	8 January 2023
Robinson Blandon Rendon	Naxxar Lions	Żurrieq	3–0 (H)		5 February 2023
Suleiman Jalu	Qrendi	Attard	4–1 (A)	Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun	25 February 2023
Duvan Mosquera Torres	Lija Athletic	Vittoriosa Stars	4–3 (H)		5 March 2023
Robinson Blandon Rendon	Naxxar Lions	Żurrieq	5–0 (A)	Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali	8 April 2023
Hiroya Konno	Melita	Naxxar Lions		Luxol Stadium, Pembroke	22 April 2023

Notes

⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Rashed Al-Tumi	Sliema Wanderers	11
2	Yenz Cini	Naxxar	10
3	Jean Claude Debattista	Swieqi United	9
4	Miguel Montfort	St. Andrews	8
5	Julian Azzopardi	Fgura United	7
	Ryan Caruana	Melita
	Sean Mintoff	Żejtun Corinthians/Qrendi
8	Zach Valletta	Attard	6
9	Nicholas Vella	Marsa	5
	Jean Mattiase` Vella	Mtarfa
	Matthias Debono	Tarxien Rainbows
	Christian Cassar	Vittoriosa Stars

Discipline

Club

• Most yellow cards: 82
  • Mqabba
• Most red cards: 7
  • Mtarfa
  • Vittoriosa Stars