{"id":1202,"date":"2023-01-27T09:58:44","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T09:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/proevolutionacademy.com\/?page_id=1202"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:18:16","slug":"football-in-malta","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/proevolutionacademy.com\/en\/le-foot-a-malte\/","title":{"rendered":"Football in Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Football in Malta<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Although Malta is a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean, it has a very large rich history of football.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>

Indeed, football in Malta has evolved considerably over the years, with the introduction of the Maltese First Division and the participation of local clubs in European competitions. <\/span><\/p>

Today, football in Malta is very popular with the Maltese and attracts fans from all over the country.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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If you are a football player and you are looking to <\/span>launch your career<\/strong>, Malta is a perfect destination. Due to its small population, the level remains fairly low but it is very popular.<\/span><\/p>

Clubs in all divisions offer very good salaries<\/strong> compared with other European countries.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The history of football in Malta<\/u><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first accounts date back to the end of the 19th century under English colonisation, when British officers began organising football matches between soldiers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Over time, football gained in popularity, with the creation of the Malta Football Association in 1900.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Since then, football in Malta has seen many highlights, including Floriana FC's victory in the European Cup against Norway's Valerengens in 1971.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Today, clubs such as Hamrun FC, Gzira United, Balzan FC and Hibernians FC often manage to qualify for European competitions such as the Conference League, the Europa League and even the Champions League!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Among these clubs, <\/span>only Hamrun FC has managed to qualify for the Conference League group stage.<\/span><\/p>

Apart from Hamrun FC in 2025, none of these clubs have yet managed to reach the group stage of these competitions, but they are getting closer year by year due to the immense budgets of some of these clubs.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

A number of French-speaking players from Ligue 2 and Ligue National have already noticed the possibility of playing in Europe. with music from our continent's most famous cups<\/strong> in addition to very pleasant weather conditions all year round for equivalent pay.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

We can take the example of Ivan Inzoudine, Kl\u00e9ri Serber and Delvin Ndinga, whose career paths you can find <\/span>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Football and Maltese Culture<\/u><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Football is by far the island's most popular sport<\/strong> and, as the years went by, its popularity grew steadily as sporting performance improved across Europe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

With local values that vary from town to town, and despite its 500,000 inhabitants, it's not unusual to find a great popular fervour in the stadiums.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>

Indeed, with a very small surface area, all league matches become, in a way, derbies and it is not unusual to find 1000 supporters waving large flags<\/strong> in the lowest division of the official MFA championship.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Malta\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The different football leagues in Malta<\/u><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Malta has 2 different football leagues:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

  • The official MFA championship<\/span><\/li>
  • The MAFA and SWAN secondary championships<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    1. The MFA championship in detail (levels, salaries, etc.)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    The MFA championship is the official championship of the Maltese Football Association. <\/span><\/p>

    In this championship, the Maltese Football Association (MFA) has introduced a foreign player limit<\/strong> which varies from division to division (see diagram above). <\/span>By definition, a foreign player is a player who does not have Maltese nationality.<\/span><\/p>

    It is composed of only 4 divisions:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    1. The Maltese BOV Premiere League (1st professional division)<\/span><\/li>
    2. The BOV Challenge League (1st semi-professional division)<\/span><\/li>
    3. The BOV Amateur League I (1st amateur division)<\/span><\/li>
    4. The BOV Amateur League II (2nd amateur division)<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      The BOV Premier League<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      This division is the only professional division in the country and is made up of 12 teams<\/strong>\u00a0(2025\/26) et les meilleures \u00e9quipes peuvent se qualifier pour les barrages des 3 principales comp\u00e9titions Europ\u00e9ennes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      By way of comparison, some teams in this championship have a level comparable to French Ligue 2 and National 1 clubs.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      It is possible to estimate a range of salaires allant entre 1000\u20ac et 15 000\u20ac<\/strong> per month. It depends on the club, because there are big financial disparities. <\/span><\/p>

      The Maltese players, often paid less than foreigners<\/strong>, some of them have a second job on the side.<\/span><\/p>

      A club in this division can have up to 14 non-Maltese players<\/strong> in its professional group. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      The BOV Challenge League<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      This division represents the the country's only semi-professional division<\/strong>, it consists of 16 teams<\/strong>\u00a0(2025\/26) and the first two have the possibility of moving up to the professional division.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      By way of comparison, some of the teams in this league are at a level comparable to the French National 2 and National 3 clubs.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      It is also possible to estimate a salary range between 500\u20ac and 3000\u20ac<\/strong>. All the Maltese players playing at this level have a second job. <\/span><\/p>

      On the other hand, the majority of foreign players make their living from football.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

      A club in this division can have up to 4 non-Maltese players<\/strong> in his semi-professional group. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      La BOV Amateur League I<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      This division is made up of 14 teams<\/strong>. The top 2 teams are promoted to the semi-professional division at the end of the season. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      By way of comparison, some teams in this championship have a level comparable to French regional clubs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

      Although the majority of Maltese players are not paid, foreign players can earn salaries ranging from 200\u20ac \u00e0 1500\u20ac.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

      A club in this division can have up to 3 non-Maltese players<\/strong> in his amateur group.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      La BOV Amateur League II<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      This division is made up of 12 teams<\/strong>. The top 2 teams are promoted to the BOV Amateur League I at the end of the season. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      By way of comparison, some teams in this championship have a level comparable to French regional\/district level clubs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

      Although the majority of Maltese players are not paid, foreign players can earn salaries ranging from 200\u20ac \u00e0 800\u20ac.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

      A club in this division can have up to 2 non-Maltese players<\/strong> in his amateur group.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      2. The U21 Football Championship in Malta<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Each club taking part in the official MFA championship must have a U21 team playing in one of the 4 youth championship divisions:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>