# 2017–18 Maltese Premier League

The 2017–18 Maltese Premier League (known as the BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 103rd season of top-flight league football in Malta. The season began on 18 August 2017 and ended on 22 April 2018. Hibernians were the defending champions, having won their 12th title the previous season.
Balzan and Valletta contended the league title for the whole season and were head-to-head in the final phases. On the last day of the season, on 21 April 2018, Valletta defeated Gżira United 2–1, while Balzan slipped in a 0–1 defeat against Hibernians, and as a result Valletta were crowned champions for the 24th time in their history.

## Teams

Pembroke Athleta are relegated after they finished twelfth the previous season. They are replaced by Lija Athletic the 2016–17 Maltese First Division champions, Senglea Athletic the 2016–17 Maltese First Division runners-up, and Naxxar Lions the 2016–17 Maltese First Division Third Place.
| Team | In league since | City | Training Stadium | Capacity |
| Balzan | 2011 | Balzan | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Birkirkara | 1990 | Birkirkara | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Floriana | 1986 | Floriana | Independence Arena | 3,000 |
| Gżira United | 2016 | Gżira | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2016 | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Hibernians | 1945 | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
| Lija Athletic | 2017 | Lija | Lija Stadium | 500 |
| Mosta | 2011 | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| Naxxar | 2017 | Naxxar | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
| Senglea Athletic | 2017 | Senglea | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,000 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1984 | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| Saint Andrews | 2015 | St. Andrew's | Luxol Stadium | 800 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2008 | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Valletta | 1944 | Valletta | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |

## Kits

| Team | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Balzan | Joma | Investors Mutual Limited |
| Birkirkara | Adidas | McDonald's |
| Floriana | Joma | Scotts Supermarket |
| Gżira United | Joma | Tipbet |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Sportika SA | Talocan |
| Hibernians | Joma | Bezzina |
| Lija Athletic | Adidas | The Falzon Group Of Companies |
| Mosta | Macron | Computer Domain |
| Naxxar | Macron | VINC |
| Senglea Athletic | Acerbis | |
| Sliema Wanderers | Adidas | DIZZ |
| Saint Andrews | Macron | Tipico |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Erreà | Cassar Ship Repairs |
| Valletta | Joma | Iniala |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD, and Nike has a new match ball.

## Venues

| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola | Hamrun |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium | Victor Tedesco Stadium |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 | Capacity: 1,962 |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Balzan | Oliver Spiteri | Mutual consent | 5 May 2017 | Pre-season | Marko Mićović | 24 May 2017 |
| Valletta | Paul Zammit | Resigned | 30 May 2017 | Pre-season | Zoran Popović | 18 June 2017 |
| Birkirkara | Nikola Jaroš | End of contract | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Peter Pullicino | 1 June 2017 |
| Birkirkara | Peter Pullicino | Sacked | 1 September 2017 | 11th | Paul Zammit | 1 September 2017 |
| St. Andrews | Danilo Dončić | Resigned | 7 September 2017 | 9th | Marko Glumac | 12 September 2017 |
| Naxxar | Dennis Fenech | Resigned | 7 September 2017 | 13th | Stuart Watkiss | 8 September 2017 |
| Valletta | Zoran Popović | Mutual consent | 20 December 2017 | 3rd | Danilo Dončić | 20 December 2017 |
| Hibernians | Mark Miller | Resigned | 5 March 2018 | 6th | Mario Muscat Neil Zarb Cousin | 6 March 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Valletta (C) | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 40 | 11 | +29 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Balzan | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 19 | +23 | 55 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Gżira United | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 4 | Birkirkara | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 47 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 5 | Hibernians | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 43 | 16 | +27 | 46 | |
| 6 | Floriana | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 48 | 18 | +30 | 46 | |
| 7 | Sliema Wanderers | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 26 | +9 | 40 | |
| 8 | Hamrun Spartans | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 35 | |
| 9 | Senglea Athletic | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 29 | 47 | −18 | 26 | |
| 10 | Mosta | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 26 | |
| 11 | St. Andrews | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 41 | −20 | 24 | |
| 12 | Tarxien Rainbows (O) | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 23 | Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs |
| 13 | Naxxar Lions (R) | 26 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 22 | Relegation to the 2018–19 Maltese First Division |
| 14 | Lija Athletic (R) | 26 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 23 | 84 | −61 | 6 | Relegation to the 2018–19 Maltese First Division |

## Results

Each team plays every other team in the league home-and-away for a total of 26 matches played each.
| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GŻI | HAM | HIB | LIJ | MOS | NAX | SEN | SLI | STA | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Birkirkara | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 |
| Floriana | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Gżira United | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Hibernians | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 7–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Lija Athletic | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–6 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 0–3 | — | 1–5 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 |
| Mosta | 0–5 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Naxxar Lions | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Senglea Athletic | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| St. Andrews | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–2 |
| Valletta | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between the twelfth-placed team from the Premier League, Tarxien Rainbows, and the third-placed team from the First Division, Zejtun Corinthians, for a place in the 2018–19 Maltese Premier League.

## Top scorers

    As of 21 April 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Amadou Samb | Gżira United | 21 |
| 2 | Mario Fontanella | Floriana | 17 |
| 3 | Bojan Kaljevic | Balzan | 14 |
| 4 | Jake Grech | Birkirkara | 11 |
| 4 | Erjon Beu | Lija Athletic | 11 |
| 4 | Jurgen Degabriele | Hibernians | 11 |
| 7 | Clayton Failla | Hibernians | 10 |
| 7 | Emmanuel Okoye | Gżira United | 10 |
| 7 | Samba Tounkara | Tarxien Rainbows | 10 |
| 7 | Ricardo da Silva Faria | Tarxien Rainbows | 10 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club |
| August | Michael Mifsud | Valletta |
| September | Amadou Samb | Gżira United |
| October | Cadú | Balzan |
| November | Cadú | Balzan |
| December | Maurizio Vella | Floriana |
| January | Kemar David Reid | St. Andrews |
| February | Jackson Lima | Hibernians |
| March | Matteo Piciollo | Valletta |
| April | Kevaughn Atkinson | St. Andrews |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | Valletta FC | 2,166 |
| 2 | Gżira United | 1,421 |
| 3 | Ħamrun Spartans | 1,325 |
| 4 | Balzan FC | 976 |
| 5 | Hibernians FC | 945 |
| 6 | Floriana FC | 892 |
| 7 | Sliema Wanderers | 732 |
| 8 | Birkirkara FC | 674 |
| 9 | Senglea Athletic | 493 |
| 10 | Mosta FC | 481 |
| 11 | St. Andrews FC | 402 |
| 12 | Tarxien Rainbows | 389 |
| 13 | Naxxar Lions | 268 |
| 14 | Lija Athletic | 230 |