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. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 25th title the previous season.
On 12 March 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, a decision was made by the Malta Football Association to suspend all football activities in Malta for ten days, after initially agreeing for football matches to be played behind closed doors. This suspension was further extended on 17 March to last until 5 April, and then suspended indefinitely on 30 March. On 18 May, the MFA Executive Committee decided to prematurely terminate the league competition and the ongoing FA Trophy competition. 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.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The league season has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since March. 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. These suggestions were dismissed by the Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, emphasizing that measures will only be lifted once the situation stabilizes. 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.
On 25 May 2020, upon the assigning of the league title to Floriana, spontaneous celebrations cropped up in the town's main square. 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. This celebration was later decried by the public and local entities. The Superintendent of Public Health recommended that all those who attended the celebration get tested; a day after this appeal a surge in phonecalls on the COVID-19 helpline was reported related with this event. The police force started an investigation on the matter.
Tarxien Rainbows, who gathered four points in 20 matches and were already mathematically relegated by 8 March 2020, kept their place in next season's top tier after it was agreed that relegations would be scrapped. The vote passed by the MFA council scrapped relegation to avoid an odd number in the following season and therefore avoid weekly byes.

Teams

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. They replace Qormi, Pietà Hotspurs 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.
TeamIn league sinceCityTraining StadiumCapacity
Balzan2011BalzanSt. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex100
Birkirkara1990BirkirkaraMgarr Ground0
Floriana1986FlorianaIndependence Arena0
Gudja United2019GudjaLouis Azzopardi Stadium
Gżira United2016GżiraGzira Football Ground0
Ħamrun Spartans2016ĦamrunVictor Tedesco Stadium6,000
Hibernians1945PaolaHibernians Ground2,968
Mosta2011MostaCharles Abela Memorial Stadium600
St. Lucia2019Santa LuċijaGrawnd Santa Luċija
Senglea Athletic2017SengleaCorradino C100
Sirens2019St. Paul's BaySirens Stadium600
Sliema Wanderers1984SliemaTigne Sports Complex1,000
Tarxien Rainbows2008TarxienTony Cassar Sports Ground1,000
Valletta1944VallettaSirens Stadium600

Personnel and kits

TeamManagerKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Balzan Ludvig Bartolo JomaInvestors Mutual Limited
Birkirkara André PausAdidasMcDonald's
Floriana Vincenzo PotenzaJomaScotts Supermarket, Guess?, Go & Fun, Chanlai Auto Dealer, Evergreen Greengrocer, Terranova, Cafe' Pascucci
Gudja United Cyril ButtigiegGivovaAll Nuts, Emilio Bilocca Handy Man
Gżira United Paul ZammitPuma
Ħamrun Spartans Manuele BlasiJomaMach Power
Hibernians Stefano SanderraJomaBezzina
Mosta Mark MillerMacronDimbros, Nilmar
Senglea Athletic Giorgio RoselliGivovaPalumbo
Sirens Steve D'AmatoMacronTeamsport, Gillieru Harbour Hotel, Valyou Supermarket
Sliema Wanderers Andrea PisanuAdidasNorth Key Real-Estate, Zarb Coaches
St. Lucia Paul SchembriMacronMultivend
Tarxien Rainbows Demis Paul ScerriErreàCassar Ship Repairs
Valletta Giovanni TedescoPumaIniala

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure		Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Floriana Guido UgolottiEnd of contractPre-season Vincenzo Potenza15 May 2019
Ħamrun Spartans Giovanni TedescoResigned17 May 2019Pre-season Manuele Blasi23 May 2019
Gżira United Jesmond Zerafa22 May 2019Pre-season Giovanni Tedesco22 May 2019
Valletta Gilbert AgiusEnd of caretaker23 May 2019Pre-season Darren Abdilla23 May 2019
Senglea Athletic Vincenzo PotenzaSigned by Floriana15 May 2019Pre-season Mario Muscat12 June 2019
Sirens Vince CarbonaroMutual consent27 June 2019Pre-season Steve D'Amato5 July 2019
Tarxien Rainbows Jose BorgMutual consent30 July 2019Pre-season Marko Glumac30 July 2019
Birkirkara John ButtigiegResigned7 September 201912th André Paus9 September 2019
Tarxien Rainbows Marko GlumacMutual consent12 November 201914th Demis Paul Scerri12 November 2019
Senglea Athletic Mario MuscatMutual consent2 January 202012th Giorgio Roselli10 January 2020
Gżira United Giovanni TedescoSacked21 January 20204th Paul Zammit23 January 2020
Sliema Wanderers Alfonso GrecoMutual consent11 February 202012th Andrea Pisanu13 February 2020
Valletta Darren AbdillaSacked17 February 20202nd Giovanni Tedesco19 February 2020
Balzan Jacques ScerriResigned3 March 20208th Ludvig Bartolo 3 March 2020

League table

Results

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.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Kristian KeqiFloriana14
2 Mario FontanellaValletta13
3 Andrija MajdevacBalzan11
4 JeffersonGżira United10
4 Federico FalconeBirkirkara10
6 Aleksa AndrejićTarxien Rainbows9
6 Tiago AdanFloriana9
8 Imanol IriberriHibernians8
8 Jake GrechHibernians8
10 Soufiane LagzirĦamrun Spartans7
10 Jose Wilkson TeixeiraSenglea Athletic7

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Jefferson AssisGżira UnitedGudja United6–126 10 2019
Andrija MajdevacBalzanSt. Lucia3–013 12 2019
Aleksa AndrejicTarxien RainbowsĦamrun Spartans3–21 2 2020
Mario FontanellaVallettaBalzan3–18 2 2020
Kristian KeqiFlorianaSirens3–06 3 2020

;Notes
Player scored 4 goals

Awards

Monthly awards