2024–25 Maltese Challenge League

The 2024–25 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the fifth season that the competition has been running in its present form.

Maltese Challenge League

Season	2024–25
Dates	14 September 2024 – April or May 2025
Champions	Valletta F.C.
Matches played	52
Goals scored	125 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorer	Andrei Ciolacu (7 Goals)
Biggest home win	Valletta 6–0 Lija Athletic (22 September 2024)
Biggest away win	Santa Lucia 0–5 Marsa (15 September 2024)
Highest scoring	Santa Lucia 0–5 Marsa (15 September 2024)
Longest winning run	Valletta Pietà Hotspurs (4 Games Each)
Longest unbeaten run	Marsa Mgarr United (5 Games Each)
Longest winless run	Żebbuġ Rangers (6 Games)
Longest losing run	Żebbuġ Rangers (6 Games)
← 2023–24 2025–26 → All statistics correct as of 23 November 2024.

Teams

The league consisted of sixteen teams; ten teams remaining from the previous season, two teams promoted from the 2023-24 Maltese National Amateur League, and four teams relegated from the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League.

Team changes

The following teams have changed divisions since the 2023–24 season:

To Maltese Challenge League Promoted from Maltese National Amateur League Mgarr United Mtarfa Relegated from the Maltese Premier League Gudja United Santa Lucia Sirens Valletta

From Maltese Challenge League Promoted to the Maltese Premier League Melita Żabbar St. Patrick Relegated to Maltese National Amateur League Attard Luqa St. Andrew's Msida Saint-Joseph Żejtun Corinthians

Fgura United

Gudja United

Lija Athletic

Marsa

Mgarr United

Mtarfa

Pietà

Senglea

Santa Lucia

Sirens

St. Andrews

Swieqi United

Tarxien Rainbows

Valletta

Żebbuġ Rangers

Żurrieq

Location of teams in 2024–25 Maltese Challenge League

Team	Location	Manager
Fgura United	Fgura	Kevin Vella
Gudja United	Gudja	Orosco Anonam
Lija Athletic	Lija	Joseph Galea
Marsa	Marsa	Saviour Debono Grech
Mgarr United	Mgarr	Brian Spiteri
Mtarfa	Mtarfa	Ivan Casha
Pietà Hotspurs	Pietà	Manuel Caruana
Santa Lucia	Santa Luċija	Liam Mangion
Senglea Athletic	Senglea	Robert Cassar
Sirens	St. Paul's Bay	Stephen Damato
St. Andrews	St. Andrew's, Malta	Jose` Borg
Swieqi United	Swieqi	Pablo Doffo
Tarxien Rainbows	Tarxien	Jacques Scerri
Valletta	Valletta	Thane Micallef
Żebbuġ Rangers	Żebbuġ	Rodney Bugeja
Żurrieq	Żurrieq	Francis Cassar

Kits

Team	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (front)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shirt sponsor (sleeve)
Fgura United	Adidas	Fundazzjoni Sebħ, Trust Stamp, Euro Bridge, Iveco (Top Left)	EuroSport (Top), Rad Auto Dealer (Bottom)	Fundazzjoni Sebħ (Right), Hair Haven (Left)
Gudja United	Macron	Handy Man, SixSevenEight	Apex Group (Top)	Thomas Smith Insurance Broker (Left)
Lija Athletic	Macron	Falzon Group Of Companies	TeamSport (Top), La Crema (Bottom)
Marsa	Legea	F Schembri
Mgarr	Zeus	Zarb Coaches, SCS Sammut Concrete Supplies, Ballut Blocks, Big Mat	Frame Group (Top), GPC Concrete Solutions, Smart Transport LTD (Bottom)	Blaugrana (Left), Halmann Vella (Right)
Mtarfa	Givova	Angelo Stores Mtarfa
Pietà Hotspurs	Jartazi	Famalco.net, A1 Supplies, Xuereb Installation	Farstone Construction (Top)
Santa Lucia	Capelli Sport	Multivend, avanza	Elmo (Top), Konica Minolta (Bottom)	Yellow Army (Left), Levissima (Right)
Senglea Athletic	Givova	Palumbo, AUM, JCJuc Ltd
Sirens	Macron	Café del Mar Malta, Welbee's	Arringo (Top), Malta National Aquarium (Bottom)
St. Andrews	Macron	Fiat, Frank Salt		atg (Left), Marsali (Right)
Swieqi United	Erima	Platin P Casino, BEHR	Eight Four Capital (Top)
Tarxien Rainbows	Erreà	Cassar, Dee Spas	Cargo Nigel (Bottom)	AEN (Right)
Valletta	Nike	Iniala	Inter Sport (Top)	Toyotomi, Da Mattia (Left), 5 Beans (Right)
Żebbuġ Rangers	Joma	The Convenience Shop, Coop Italia
Żurrieq	Erima	Trust Payment	Xace (Top), Corendion, D£, B.home (Bottom)	Tax ORB (Left), Firetech (Right)

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Senglea Athletic	Liam Mangion	End of Contract	5 May 2024	Pre-season	Robert Cassar	15 May 2024
Gudja United	Renzo Kerr Cumbo		5 May 2024		Orosco Anonam	11 May 2024
Żurrieq	Saviour Debono Grech	Resign	5 May 2024		Francis Cassar	9 May 2024
Marsa	Orosco Anonym		8 May 2024		Saviour Debono Grech	8 May 2024
Mtarfa	George Magri		16 May 2024		Ivan Casha	1 July 2024
Santa Lucia	Alessandro Zinnari	Sign For Ħamrun Spartans	17 May 2024		Liam Mangion	6 June 2024
St. Andrews	Vesko Petrovic	End of Contract	25 May 2024		Jose` Borg	29 May 2024
Valletta	Juan Cruz Gill	End of Caretaker	5 July 2024		Thane Micallef	5 July 2024

Venues

Ta' Qali	Ta' Qali	Ta' Qali Victor Tedesco Stadium Sirens Stadium Location of host stadia during the 2024-25 Maltese Challenge League
Ta' Qali National Stadium	Centenary Stadium
Capacity: 16,997	Capacity: 3,000
St. Paul's Bay	Hamrun
Sirens Stadium	Victor Tedesco Stadium
Capacity: 1,024	Capacity: 1,962

Regular season

During the regular season, each team plays each other once (either at home or at away). The top eight teams qualify for the Top eight, while the bottom eight teams qualify for the Play-Out.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Valletta	15	12	2	1	28	4	+24	38	Qualification for the Top Eight
2	Tarxien Rainbows	15	9	2	4	22	16	+6	29
3	Marsa	15	8	4	3	25	13	+12	28
4	Swieqi United	15	8	4	3	22	17	+5	28
5	Pietà Hotspurs	15	8	2	5	21	19	+2	26
6	Santa Lucia	15	8	1	6	24	25	−1	25
7	Mgarr United	15	5	7	3	24	19	+5	22
8	Żurrieq	15	6	4	5	18	17	+1	22
9	Fgura United	15	6	3	6	17	14	+3	21	Qualification for the Play-Out
10	Gudja United	15	6	3	6	21	22	−1	21
11	Żebbuġ Rangers	15	3	8	4	22	20	+2	17
12	Sirens	15	4	5	6	25	26	−1	17
13	Lija Athletic	15	3	3	9	16	28	−12	12
14	St. Andrews	15	2	4	9	10	22	−12	10
15	Senglea Athletic	15	2	3	10	13	27	−14	9
16	Mtarfa	15	2	1	12	10	29	−19	7

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).

Results

Home \ Away	FGU	GUD	LJA	MSA	MGR	MTF	PIE	STL	SEN	SIR	STA	SWQ	TAR	VAL	ZEB	ZUR
Fgura United	—	1–2		1–2	—	—	1–2		14 Dec			—	5 Jan	—	—
Gudja United	—	—	—		—			—	1 Dec	1–2	21 Dec		1–3	—	—	1–3
Lija Athletic		0–1	—	1–3		—	1–2	22 Dec		5 Jan	1–0	—		—	—	—
Marsa	—		—	—	—		—	—	1–0	1–1		15 Dec	1–2			1 Dec
Mgarr United	21 Dec	0–1		2–2	—	—	4–0		5 Jan		2–1	—	—	—	—
Mtarfa	1–2		2–1	4 Jan	0–2	—	15 Dec	30 Nov	—	—		—	—	0–1		—
Pietà Hotspurs	—		—	22 Dec	—	—	—	—	2–1	30 Nov		—	3–1			1–2
Santa Lucia		0–0	—	0–5	5–3	—	0–1	—		15 Dec	2–0	—		—	—	4 Jan
Senglea Athletic	—	—		—	—	2–1	—		—		—	0–2	21 Dec	1–2	1–1	1–3
Sirens		—	—	—		3–1	—	—		—	—	3–0		0–3	2–2	22 Dec
St. Andrews	—	—	—		—			—	0–0	1–1	—		30 Nov	14 Dec	—	0–2
Swieqi United	0–1		1 Dec	—	0–0	21 Dec	4 Jan	3–2	—	—		—	—			—
Tarxien Rainbows	—	—		—	15 Dec	2–0	—		—		—	1–1	—	1–0	2–0
Valletta	3–0	4 Jan	6–0		30 Nov			3–0	—	—	—		—	—	22 Dec	—
Żebbuġ Rangers	1 Dec	14 Dec	2–2		1–1			1–2	—	—	5 Jan		—	—	—	—
Żurrieq		—	14 Dec	—		1–0	—	—		—	—	1–2		0–1	1–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 2 February 2025. 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.

Second phase

Top eight

The top eight teams from the regular season face each other once more (either at home or away), with the top two teams earning promotion to the 2025–26 Maltese Premier League. Results from the regular season were carried over into this round.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Valletta (C, P)	22	19	2	1	49	7	+42	59	Promotion to the 2025–26 Maltese Premier League
2	Tarxien Rainbows (P)	22	11	6	5	29	22	+7	39
3	Swieqi United	22	10	6	6	33	29	+4	36
4	Pietà Hotspurs	22	10	5	7	34	30	+4	35
5	Żurrieq	22	9	5	8	32	31	+1	32
6	Santa Lucia	22	9	5	8	36	41	−5	32
7	Mgarr United	22	7	10	5	32	28	+4	31
8	Marsa	22	8	5	9	32	34	−2	29

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions).
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Play-Out

The bottom eight teams from the regular season face each other for the second time (either at home or away), with the bottom two teams being relegated to the 2025–26 Maltese National Amateur League. Results from the regular season were carried over into this round.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Relegation
1	Fgura United	22	11	3	8	37	24	+13	36
2	St. Andrews	22	8	5	9	24	27	−3	29
3	Sirens	22	7	6	9	37	40	−3	27
4	Gudja United	22	7	6	9	30	34	−4	27
5	Żebbuġ Rangers	22	4	9	9	29	40	−11	21
6	Mtarfa	22	6	2	14	23	39	−16	20
7	Lija Athletic (R)	22	5	4	13	25	38	−13	19	Relegation to the 2025–26 Maltese National Amateur League
8	Senglea Athletic (R)	22	3	5	14	20	38	−18	14

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide teams for relegation).
(R) Relegated

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of 23 November 2024^[1]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Andrei Ciolacu	Valletta	7
2	Sulahmana Mamadu Bah	Zurrieq	5
3	Lydon Micallef	Marsa	4
	Emmanuel Bio	Pieta' Hotspurs
	Duvan Mosquera Torres	Zebbug Rangers
6	Diego Silva Caetano	Gudja United	3
	Erjon Beu	Lija Athletic
	Jurgen Suda	Mgarr United
	Samuel Boakye	Mgarr United
	Gilberto Martins Leite Carrara	Sirens
	Blessing Brafo	Swieqi United
	James Scicluna	Valletta
	Camilo Andres Diaz Arias	Zebbug Rangers
	Sebastian Grech	Zurrieq

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Stadium	Date
Sulahmana Mamadu Bah	Zurrieq	Gudja United	3–1 (A)	Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun	19 October 2024
Andrei Ciolacu	Valletta	Santa Lucia	3–0 (A)		20 October 2024

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Johnathan Debono	Mgarr United	5
	Timothy Aquilina	Valletta
3	Jurgen Borg	Żurrieq	3
4	Daniel Attard	Gudja United	2
	Ryan Caruana	Marsa
	Jean Claude Debattista	Swieqi United
	Jake Pisani	St. Andrews
	Andreas Vella	Tarxien Rainbows
9	Yenz Cini	Fgura United	1
	James Pisani	Gudja United
	Luke Bonnici	Lija Athletic
	Jake Farrugia	Pieta' Hotspurs
	Christopher Farrugia	Santa Lucia
	Johnathan Grech	Senglea Athletic
	Andrea Cassar	Sirens
	Jamie Azzopardi	Zebbug Rangers

Discipline

Player

• Most yellow cards: 5
  • Dylan Agius (Marsa)
• Most red cards: 1
  • Julian Camilleri (Lija Athletic)
  • Andy Gilson (Mtarfa)
  • Ayrton Senna Azzopardi (Mtarfa)
  • Zean Leornardi (Pieta' Hotspurs)
  • Dylan Mangion (Santa Lucia)
  • Jean Carlos Cloth Goncalves (Santa Lucia)
  • Andrea Cassar (Sirens)
  • Sammy Elfarsi (Sirens)
  • Elizeu Espirito Santo Da Conceicao (St. Andrews)
  • Andre Spiteri (Tarxien Rainbows)

Club

• Most yellow cards: 24
  • Santa Lucia
• Most red cards: 3
  • Mtarfa