# 2009–10 Maltese Premier League

The Maltese Premier League 2009–10 was the 95th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. Hibernians were the defending champions. The season began on 21 August 2009 and ended on 5 May 2010. It was won by Birkirkara, who became the league winners for the third time in their history.

## Promotion and relegation from 2008 to 2009

Ħamrun Spartans were relegated to the First Division after finishing in last place of the relegation pool. They were joined by Msida Saint-Joseph, who lost a decision match against Tarxien Rainbows on penalties.
Promoted from the First Division were Dingli Swallows as champions and Vittoriosa Stars as runners-up. However, after playing one match in the Premier League, Vittoriosa Stars were relegated to the First Division due to a decision by the Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices. A month later, Marsaxlokk received the same punishment, immediate relegation to the First Division due to their involvement in a bribery scandal. Rather than continue the season with eight clubs, the Maltese FA declared that both the Premier League and First Division would be composed of 10 clubs each. In a meeting on 17 September 2009, it was decided that Msida Saint-Joseph and Ħamrun Spartans would play in the Premier League this season, despite both being relegated last season.

## Training Grounds and Locations

| Team | City of Origin | Ground | City of Ground |
| Birkirkara | Birkirkara | Infetti Ground | Birkirkara |
| Dingli Swallows | Dingli | Dingli Ground | Dingli |
| Floriana | Floriana | Independence Arena | Floriana |
| Hibernians | Paola | Hibernians Ground | Paola |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Hamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | Hamrun |
| Msida Saint-Joseph | Msida | Ħamrun Junior Lyceum | Hamrun |
| Qormi | Qormi | Thomaso Grounds | Qormi |
| Sliema Wanderers | Sliema | Tigné Point | Sliema |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Tarxien | Tarxien Ground | Tarxien |
| Valletta | Valletta | Salinos Ground | Valletta |

## Competition modus

The Premier League consists of two rounds. In the First Round, every team will play each opponent twice, once home and once away, for a total of 18 games. The league will then be split in two pools. Earned points will be halved (rounded up if necessary). Teams that will finish in positions 1–6 compete in the "Championship Pool" and teams finishing in positions 7–10 play in the "Relegation Pool".

## First phase
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Valletta | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 15 | +30 | 40 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 2 | Birkirkara | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 39 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 3 | Qormi | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 35 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 29 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 5 | Hibernians | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 27 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 6 | Tarxien Rainbows | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 26 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 7 | Floriana | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 23 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 8 | Ħamrun Spartans | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 21 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 9 | Msida Saint-Joseph | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 34 | −22 | 11 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 10 | Dingli Swallows | 18 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 51 | −38 | 3 | Qualification for the Play-Out |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BIR | DIN | FLO | HIB | HAM | MSJ | QOR | SLI | TAR | VAL |
| Birkirkara | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–3 |
| Dingli Swallows | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–6 |
| Floriana | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Hibernians | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — | 4–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Msida Saint-Joseph | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Qormi | 2–5 | 4–0 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–2 | 0–1 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 |
| Valletta | 1–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — |

## Second phase
### Top Six

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | BIR | VAL | SLI | QOR | TAR | HIB |
| 1 | Birkirkara (C) | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 64 | 32 | +32 | 45 | Qualification for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Valletta | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 71 | 25 | +46 | 44 | Qualification for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League | 4–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Sliema Wanderers | 28 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 30 | Qualification for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 0–4 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| 4 | Qormi | 28 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 30 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| 5 | Tarxien Rainbows | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 23 | | 3–3 | 2–6 | 0–2 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 6 | Hibernians | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 17 | | 4–5 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ Valletta were the winners of the 2009–10 Maltese Cup competition and qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
* ↑ Valletta were assigned as home team for both Championship Round matches against Hibernians for unknown reasons; this match was the latter of these two and has been put in this table cell for organisatorical reasons.

#### Europa league and Third Place play-off

Due to finishing equal on points, Qormi and Sliema played a play-off match to determine Maltese second UEFA Europa League participant for the 2010–11 season and finish third.

### Play-Out

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation | FLO | HAM | DIN | MSJ |
| 7 | Floriana | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 25 | | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 |
| 8 | Ħamrun Spartans | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 24 | | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| 9 | Dingli Swallows (R) | 24 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 23 | 71 | −48 | 5 | Relegation to the 2010–11 Maltese First Division | 0–3 | 0–6 | — | 5–2 |
| 10 | Msida Saint-Joseph (R) | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 24 | 51 | −27 | 1 | Relegation to the 2010–11 Maltese First Division | 1–1 | 3–5 | 3–2 | — |
* ↑ Msida Saint-Joseph were docked 10 points for failing to honour payments to their former coach and a number of former players.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Camilo | Qormi | 24 |
| 2 | Terence Scerri | Valletta | 20 |
| 3 | Ryan Darmanin | Floriana | 17 |
| 4 | Sylvano Comvalius | Birkirkara | 15 |
| 4 | Denni | Tarxien Rainbows | 15 |
| 4 | Marcelo Pereira | Ħamrun Spartans | 15 |
| 7 | Michael Galea | Birkirkara | 14 |
| 8 | Josef Okonkwo | Dingli Swallows | 13 |
| 8 | Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza | Sliema Wanderers | 13 |
| 10 | Trevor Cilia | Birkirkara | 12 |
| 10 | Alfred Effiong | Qormi | 12 |
| Goals total | Goals total | Goals total | 433 |
| Matches total | Matches total | Matches total | 132 |
| Average per match | Average per match | Average per match | 3.28 |