# 2022–23 in Gozitan football

The 2022–23 season was the annual competitive association football season in Gozo organised by the Gozo Football Association for 2022–23.

## Overview

During the 2022-23 football season, the Gozo national football team participated in the 2023 Island Games.
As for domestic club football, 14 Gozitan clubs participated in the 2022–23 Gozitan football season, with 8 playing in First Division, the top division in Gozo, and the remaining six in the Second Division.
The Gozo Football Association also held a number of cup competitions, namely:
* the G.F.A. Cup, a knock-out cup which was contested by all Gozitan clubs;
* the Super Cup, contested by the holders of the First Division and the G.F.A. Cup;
* the First Division Knock-Out, a knock-out cup contested by clubs playing in the First Division;
* the Second Division Knock-Out, a knock-out cup contested by clubs playing in the Second Division; and
* the Second Division Challenge Cup, a cup contested by clubs playing in the Second Division.
The draw for all the competitions organised by the Gozo Football Association for the 2022–23 season was held on 22 July 2022. All matches organised by the Gozo Football Association were held at either the Gozo Stadium or the Kerċem Ajax Stadium. No matches were held at the Sannat Ground, given that it was still being refurbished.
Gozitan clubs also participated in the knock-out cups organised by the Malta Football Association. Indeed, the clubs of the First Division participated in the 2022–23 Maltese FA Trophy whereas the clubs of the Second Division participated in the National Amateur Cup.

## 2023 Island Games
### Squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Island Games by coach Mark Buttigieg.
Caps and goals correct as of 20 June 2023
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Steve Sultana | (1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 34) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |
| 12 | 1GK | Daniel Spiteri | (1996-05-16) 16 May 1996 (age 28) | 0 | 0 | Kerċem Ajax |
| 2 | 2DF | Sam Frank Bajada | (1988-01-16) 16 January 1988 (age 36) | 0 | 0 | S.K. Victoria Wanderers |
| 3 | 2DF | Ferdinando Apap (captain) | (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 32) | 3 | 0 | Hibernians |
| 4 | 2DF | Lawrence Grima | (1995-12-31) 31 December 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Qala Saints |
| 5 | 2DF | Neil Camilleri | (2003-05-02) 2 May 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | S.K. Victoria Wanderers |
| 6 | 2DF | Manuel Tabone | (1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 (age 35) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |
| 11 | 2DF | Kenneth Mercieca | (1987-10-29) 29 October 1987 (age 37) | 1 | 0 | Xagħra United |
| 13 | 2DF | Gennaro Hill | (1996-04-20) 20 April 1996 (age 28) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |
| 16 | 2DF | Kurt Grima | (2000-12-17) 17 December 2000 (age 24) | 0 | 0 | Għajnsielem |
| 18 | 2DF | Ian Xuereb | (1993-10-19) 19 October 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |
| 8 | 3MF | Dejan Bogdanovic | (2003-06-29) 29 June 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Xewkija Tigers |
| 10 | 3MF | Shaun Attard | (1994-07-25) 25 July 1994 (age 30) | 0 | 0 | Qala Saints |
| 14 | 3MF | Michael Bezzina | (1992-04-09) 9 April 1992 (age 32) | 3 | 1 | Xagħra United |
| 15 | 3MF | Chris Mercieca | (1997-06-07) 7 June 1997 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | Qrendi |
| 17 | 3MF | Stefan Cassar | (1997-10-29) 29 October 1997 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |
| 7 | 4FW | Jordi Parnis | (2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 24) | 0 | 0 | Qala Saints |
| 9 | 4FW | Sam Harland | (1995-09-14) 14 September 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | S.K. Victoria Wanderers |
| 19 | 4FW | Matthias Mercieca | (2003-08-20) 20 August 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Xewkija Tigers |
| 20 | 4FW | Joseph Zammit | (2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | Nadur Youngsters |

### Group 4

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Jersey | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 9 |
| Gozo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Menorca | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Saint Helena | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | -13 | 0 |

### Fixtures
## First Division

The 2022–23 season was the 73rd edition of the Gozitan First Division. It was played between 9 September 2022 and 16 April 2023 and was contested by eight teams.
| Club | Location | Position in 2021–22 |
| Għajnsielem | Għajnsielem | 2nd |
| Kerċem Ajax | Kerċem | 3rd |
| Nadur Youngsters | Nadur | 1st |
| Oratory Youths | Victoria | 6th |
| Qala Saints | Qala | 1st in Second Division |
| Sannat Lions | Sannat | 7th |
| Victoria Hotspurs | Victoria | 4th |
| Xewkija Tigers | Xewkija | 5th |
In terms of format, the First Division was split into two phases. In the first part of the season, the eight teams of the First Division faced each other played in a double round-robin format. Thereafter, the First Division was split into two divisions, with the top four at the end of the first part of the season qualifying for the Top Four and the bottom four qualifying for the Playout.
Each club in both divisions played each other twice, with the winner of the Top Four being crowned winners of the 2022-23 First Division, the club ending bottom of the Playout being relegated to the 2023-24 Second Division, and the club ending second from bottom getting the chance to defend the top flight status by qualifying for the Promotion/Relegation Play-off.
Ultimately, Nadur Youngsters won the league for a record 14th time, Sannat Lions got relegated, and Victoria Hotspurs ended up penultimate and vied for their top division status in the Promotion/Relegation Play-off, which they lost against Xagħra United.

### First Phase
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Nadur Youngsters | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 11 | +23 | 33 | Qualification for the Top Four |
| 2 | Qala Saints | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 28 | Qualification for the Top Four |
| 3 | Kerċem Ajax | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 14 | +14 | 27 | Qualification for the Top Four |
| 4 | Xewkija Tigers | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 21 | Qualification for the Top Four |
| 5 | Għajnsielem | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 15 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 6 | Oratory Youths | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 14 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 7 | Victoria Hotspurs | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 35 | −14 | 9 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 8 | Sannat Lions | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 51 | −40 | 8 | Qualification for the Play-Out |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | GĦJ | KRĊ | ORY | NDR | QLS | SNT | VCH | XWK |
| Għajnsielem | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Kerċem Ajax | 6–3 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Oratory Youths | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Nadur Youngsters | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| Qala Saints | 4–0 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Sannat Lions | 0–8 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–6 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–7 |
| Victoria Hotspurs | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 3–4 | 2–3 | — | 1–3 |
| Xewkija Tigers | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |

### Second Phase
#### Top Four

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | NDR | QLS | KRĊ | XWK |
| 1 | Nadur Youngsters (C) | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 21 | +26 | 43 | — | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 |
| 2 | Qala Saints | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 39 | 3–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Kerċem Ajax | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 32 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 |
| 4 | Xewkija Tigers | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 27 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — |

#### Play-Out

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | | GĦJ | ORY | VCH | SNT |
| 1 | Għajnsielem | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 27 | | — | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Oratory Youths | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 33 | −9 | 23 | | 5–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–3 |
| 3 | Victoria Hotspurs (Q) | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 16 | Qualification to Promotion/Relegation Play-off | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 1–2 |
| 4 | Sannat Lions (R) | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 62 | −41 | 15 | Relegation to the 2023–24 Gozitan Second Division | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — |

### Promotion/Relegation Play-off

The Promotion/Relegation Play-off was contested by Victoria Hotspurs, who finished second from bottom in the First Division, and Xagħra United, who ended runners-up in the Second Division. Xagħra United won the match 2–1, thus winning the right to participate in the upcoming First Division and condemning Victoria Hotspurs to Second Division football.

#### Details
## Second Division

The 2022–23 season was the 61st edition of the Gozitan Second Division. It was played between 16 October 2022 and 19 March 2023 and was contested by six teams.
| Club | Location | Position in 2021–22 |
| Għarb Rangers | Għarb | 6th |
| Munxar Falcons | Munxar | 2nd |
| S.K. Victoria Wanderers | Victoria | 8th in First Division |
| St. Lawrence Spurs | San Lawrenz | 4th |
| Xagħra United | Xagħra | 5th |
| Żebbuġ Rovers | Żebbuġ | 3rd |
Each team played each other 3 times, thus playing 15 matches in total. S.K. Victoria Wanderers won the Second Division for the sixth time whereas Xagħra United ended runners-up and qualified for the 2022-23 Promotion/Relegation Play-off.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | S.K. Victoria Wanderers (P) | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 13 | +25 | 35 | Promotion to the 2023–24 Gozitan First Division |
| 2 | Xagħra United | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 29 | Qualification for the Promotion/Relegation Play-off |
| 3 | Żebbuġ Rovers | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 22 | |
| 4 | Munxar Falcons | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 31 | −10 | 19 | |
| 5 | St. Lawrence Spurs | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 16 | |
| 6 | Għarb Rangers | 15 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 44 | −26 | 5 | |

### Results
#### Matches 1 to 10

| Home \ Away | GĦB | MXR | SKV | STL | XGR | ŻBĠ |
| Għarb Rangers | — | 2–2 | 2–5 | 3–5 | 0–3 | 0–3 |
| Munxar Falcons | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| S.K. Victoria Wanderers | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| St. Lawrence Spurs | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | 1–0 | 2–3 |
| Xagħra United | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–3 |
| Żebbuġ Rovers | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — |

#### Matches 11 to 15

| Home \ Away | GĦB | MXR | SKV | STL | XGR | ŻBĠ |
| Għarb Rangers | — | 1–2 | | | | 2–5 |
| Munxar Falcons | | — | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–4 | |
| S.K. Victoria Wanderers | 5–0 | | — | 4–3 | | 2–1 |
| St. Lawrence Spurs | 1–1 | | | — | 0–1 | |
| Xagħra United | 5–2 | | 1–0 | | — | 0–3 |
| Żebbuġ Rovers | | 1–2 | | 0–1 | | — |

## G.F.A. Cup

The GFA Cup was contested by all the fourteen clubs of First Division and the Second Division.
Out of the fourteen participants, the first two which were drawn, namely Nadur Youngsters and S.K. Victoria Wanderers, got a bye and qualified directly to the Quarter Finals. Conversely, the remaining twelve teams were drawn to contest the Preliminary Round, with the winners of the six ties joining Nadur Youngsters and S.K. Victoria Wanderers in the Quarter Finals.

### Final
#### Details
## Super Cup

The 2022 Gozitan Super Cup was the 32nd Maltese Super Cup, an annual football match played between the title holders of the Gozitan First Division and the G.F.A. Cup.
It was contested on 21 September 2022 by Nadur Youngsters, who won both the 2021-22 First Division and the 2021-22 G.F.A. Cup, and Ghajnsielem, who were runners-up in both competitions.

### Details
## First Division Knock-Out Cup

The cup was contested by the clubs participating in the 2022-23 First Division. Given that there were eight contestants, all clubs were drawn to the participate in the Quarter-Finals.

### Final
#### Details
## Second Division Knock-Out Cup

The clubs who ended up in the last four positions of 2021-22 Second Division qualified for the Preliminary Round. The winners of the two ties qualified for the semi-finals, where they joined the seeded teams, namely S.K. Victoria Wanderers as the club relegated from the 2021-22 First Division and Munxar Falcons as the Second Division runners-up for the same season, which got a bye and qualified directly to the Semi-Finals.

### Final
#### Details
## Second Division Challenge Cup

The Second Division Challenge Cup consisted of two phases. In the first phase, the Qualifying Round, which was played between 3 September 2022 and 5 October 2022, the clubs of the Second Division faced each other in a single round-robin tournament. The clubs which placed in the first two places qualified for the final.

### Qualifying Round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | SKV | XGR | MXR | ŻBĠ | STL | GĦB |
| 1 | S.K. Victoria Wanderers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 15 | — | | | 3–1 | | 4–0 |
| 2 | Xagħra United | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 12 | 1–4 | — | 2–0 | | 5–2 | |
| 3 | Munxar Falcons | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | 3–5 | | — | | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| 4 | Żebbuġ Rovers | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | | 1–0 |
| 5 | St. Lawrence Spurs | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 3 | 0–4 | | | 2–2 | — | |
| 6 | Għarb Rangers | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 2 | | 0–2 | | | 1–1 | — |

### Final

By virtue of finishing first and second place respectively in the Qualifying Round, S.K. Victoria Wanderers and Xagħra United won the right to play the Second Division Challenge Cup Final.

#### Details
## 2022-23 Individual Honours

| Honour | Winner | Club/Notes |
| GFA Player of the Year Award | Jordi Parnis | Qala Saints |
| 1st Division Top Scorer | Marcelo Barbosa 16 goals | Nadur Youngsters |
| 1st Division Foreign Player of the Year | Marcelo Barbosa | Nadur Youngsters |
| People Choice's Award | Jordi Parnis | Qala Saints |
| GFA Young Player of the Year | Matthias Cordina | Xagħra United |
| GFA Coach of the Year | Mark Buttigieg | Nadur Youngsters |
| 2nd Division Player of the Year | Matthias Cordina | Xagħra United |
| 2nd Division Top Scorer | Aud-Gustine James Obaje 14 goals | S.K. Victoria Wanderers |
| Gozo 2nd Div. Foreign Player of the Year | Aud-Gustine James Obaje | S.K. Victoria Wanderers |
| GFA Fair Play Award | Sannat Lions | Sannat Lions |
| GFA Official of the Year | Josmar Azzopardi | Żebbuġ Rovers |
| GFA Achievement Awards | John Camilleri | 334 Career Goals Top Maltese Scorer |
| GFA Achievement Awards | Frank Muscat | 270 Career Goals 7th Top Maltese Scorer |
| GFA Recognition Award | Gigi Xuereb | Salesian Youths Lifetime Contribution |