Maltese Premier League


The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta, is a full-time professional league and the highest level of football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Association, the Premier League is contested by 16 teams and operates on a promotion and relegation system with the First Division. As of August 2018, the Premier League ranks 45th out of 55 members in the UEFA coefficient.
The league was first competed in 1909 as the First Division, before switching to its current name in 1980; the First Division in turn replaced the Second Division. Sliema Wanderers & Floriana have won the title a record 26 times. The current champions are Floriana who won their 26th title in the 2019–20 season.

Format

Starting from the 2017–18 season, the Premier League is contested by 14 clubs. Played from August to April, each club plays each other's twice, for a total of 26 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. The club with the most points is crowned as champion. If two teams are tied in points, there will be no tie-breakers will play a decider match. If three or more teams are tied in points, there will be check by Head-to-head points and the best two teams will play a decider match
To determine the champion or qualification to UEFA competitions, a play-off is played to determine the winner. The two lowest placed teams are relegated into the First Division and the twelfth-placed team plays a play-off against the third-placed team from the First Division with the winner either keeping their place or get promoted to the top-tier league.

European qualification

RankAssociationCoefficient
43 Luxembourg5.625
44 Armenia5.250
45 Malta5.250
46 Estonia5.000
47 Georgia4.750

Clubs finishing the season in the top positions of the Premier League are granted qualification to compete in one of UEFA's European competition. This is determined by Malta's position in the UEFA coefficients ranking system.
As of the 2017–18 season, the league winner qualifies to the first qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League. The second- and third-placed teams qualify for the first qualifying round and the preliminary round for the UEFA Europa League, respectively. An additional Europa League place is taken through the country's domestic cup competition, the FA Trophy. If the winner of the FA Trophy qualifies for Europe through their league position, the fourth-placed team in the league qualifies for the Europa League's preliminary round.

League committees

The Premier Division Standing Committee is a body composed of the Premier League club presidents who represent their club on a board. These do not have executive powers but are a formal body that has official influence with regards to rules, regulations and issues that relate to the league. From time to time the committee makes proposals to the respective and MFA bodies for approval.

Venues

Clubs

2020–21 season

The following 16 clubs will compete in the Premier League during the 2020–21 season.
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
Lija Athletic2020LijaLija Stadium500
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
Zejtun Corinthians2020

Champions

In total, ten clubs have won the Maltese championship, including titles in the old First Division which was replaced in 1980 by the Premier League. Of the winners, three have been champions more than 20 times: Sliema Wanderers, Floriana, and Valletta.
The honour of Golden Stars was introduced in football to recognize sides that have won multiple championships. In Malta, clubs are permitted to place a golden star above their crest for every ten nation championships won. Sliema Wanderers, Floriana and Valletta boast two golden stars, and Hibernians have one golden star placed above their crest on their jerseys.
ClubWinners
Sliema Wanderers 26291919–20, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1948–49, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05
Floriana 26121909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1992–93, 2019–20
Valletta 25181914–15, 1931–32, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Hibernians 12131960–61, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2016–17
Ħamrun Spartans7111913–14, 1917–18, 1946–47, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91
Birkirkara481999–2000, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2012–13
Rabat Ajax211984–85, 1985–86
St. George's141916–17
Marsaxlokk112006–07
The King's Own Malta Regiment101918–19

Bold teams they are Current in the Maltese Premier League

League appearances

Bold denotes still active players.