# 2023–24 Maltese Premier League

The 2023–24 Maltese Premier League was the 109th season of top-flight league football in Malta. The season began on 15 September 2023 and ended in April 2024. The season saw the relegation of Valletta, one of the most historic teams in Maltese football, for the first time in their history while bearing this name. The Maltese Premier League saw a 22% increase in attendance, with the Floriana versus Ħamrun Spartans match on 27 April drawing the largest crowd of 9,090 spectators.

## Teams

The league consisted of fourteen teams; the top twelve teams from the previous season, and two teams promoted from the 2022–23 Maltese Challenge League. Ħamrun Spartans entered the season as defending champions. Sliema Wanderers and Naxxar Lions were promoted and returned to the Maltese Premier League after one and five years of absence, respectively. They replaced the 2022–23 Maltese Premier League bottom two teams, Pietà Hotspurs and Żebbuġ Rangers (both relegated after one year in the top flight).
On 13 April 2023, The Malta Football Association announced that four clubs would be relegated to the Maltese Challenge League at the end of the season, as the number of clubs would be reduced to twelve starting from the 2024–25 season. As a result, the Maltese Premier League play-off was scrapped for this season, and this was the last season to consist of fourteen teams.
| Team | In league since | City |
| Balzan | 2011 | Balzan |
| Birkirkara | 1990 | Birkirkara |
| Floriana | 1986 | Floriana |
| Gudja United | 2019 | Gudja |
| Gżira United | 2016 | Gżira |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2016 | Ħamrun |
| Hibernians | 1945 | Paola |
| Marsaxlokk | 2022 | Marsaxlokk |
| Mosta | 2011 | Mosta |
| Naxxar Lions | 2023 | Naxxar |
| Santa Lucia | 2019 | Santa Luċija |
| Sliema Wanderers | 2023 | Sliema |
| Sirens | 2019 | St. Paul's Bay |
| Valletta | 1944 | Valletta |

## Venues

On 29 April 2024, the Malta Football Association introduced another stadium, Victor Tedesco Stadium due to the final fixture of the season that played four matches at the same time.
| 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 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (front) | Shirt sponsor (back) | Shirt sponsor (sleeve) |
| Balzan | Oliver Spiteri | Joma | MBI Group | Visit Malta (Bottom) | |
| Birkirkara | Jose Borg | Nike | McDonald's | Inter Sport (Top) | Visit Malta (Right) |
| Floriana | Mauro Camoranesi | Joma | Harmont & Blaine, Greens Supermarket | | Go & Fun (Right) |
| Gudja United | Renzo Kerr-Cumbo | Macron | Handy Man, SixSevenEight | Apex Group (Top) | Thomas Smith Insurance Broker (Left) |
| Gżira United | Andrew Cohen | Joma | | Finanzi (Top), Recruit Giant (Bottom), Visit Malta (Bottom) | |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Luciano Zauri | Puma | J. Portelli | Meridianbet (Bottom), Besteam audio (Bottom) | Ta' Fonzu (Right), Tescoma (Left) |
| Hibernians | Branko Nišević | Joma | Bezzina | | |
| Marsaxlokk | Winston Muscat | Joma | 1padel | | Mr. Fitz Restaurant Marsaxlokk (Left) |
| Mosta | Joseph Grech | Macron | | Teamsport (Bottom) | |
| Naxxar Lions | George Vella | Joma | Brown's, sottozero | Zarb Coaches (Top), Badass, McQueen, Sammut Concrete Supplies (Bottom) | Welbee's (Right), Würth, Centerparc (Left) |
| Santa Lucia | Alessandro Zinnari | Capelli Sport | Multivend, avanza | Elmo (Top), Konica Minolta (Bottom) | Yellow Army (Left), Levissima (Right) |
| Sliema Wanderers | Paul Zammit | Adidas | NMGroup, Comeon Group, Xace | Daikin, Zarb Coaches (Bottom) | |
| Sirens | Stephen Damato | Macron | Café del Mar Malta, Welbee's | Arringo (Top), Malta National Aquarium (Bottom) | |
| Valletta | Juan Cruz Gill (Caretaker) | Nike | Iniala | Inter Sport (Top) | Toyotomi, Da Mattia (Left), 5 Beans (Right) |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Macron

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Branko Nišević | Resign | 22 April 2023 | Pre-season | Luciano Zauri | 29 April 2023 |
| Sirens | Winston Muscat | Resign | 28 April 2023 | Pre-season | Stephen Damato | 24 May 2023 |
| Marsaxlokk | Pablo Doffo | End of Contract | 6 May 2023 | Pre-season | Winston Muscat | 14 June 2023 |
| Floriana | Gianluca Atzori | End of Contract | 10 May 2023 | Pre-season | Mauro Camoranesi | 5 June 2023 |
| Hibernians | Silvio Vella | Mutual consent | 1 June 2023 | Pre-season | Branko Nišević | 17 July 2023 |
| Santa Lucia | Enzo Potenza | Resign | 21 June 2023 | Pre-season | Alessandro Zinnari | 12 July 2023 |
| Gudja United | Ludvic Bartolo | End of Caretaker | 29 July 2023 | Pre-season | Jesmond Zammit | 29 July 2023 |
| Valletta | Thane Micallef | Sacked | 2 October 2023 | 8th | Enzo Potenza | 7 October 2023 |
| Birkirkara | Giovanni Tedesco | Resign | 26 November 2023 | 10th | Brian Chetcuti (Caretaker) | 26 November 2023 |
| Gudja United | Jesmond Zammit | Sacked | 21 December 2023 | 14th | Renzo Kerr-Cumbo | 27 December 2023 |
| Gżira United | Darren Abdilla | Resign | 17 January 2024 | 9th | Andrew Cohen | 18 January 2024 |
| Birkirkara | Brian Chetcuti | End of Caretaker | 5 February 2024 | 7th | Jose Borg | 5 February 2024 |
| Valletta | Enzo Potenza | Resign | 26 February 2024 | 12th | Juan Cruz Gill (Caretaker) | 26 February 2024 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ħamrun Spartans (C) | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 16 | +45 | 62 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Floriana | 26 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 53 | 19 | +34 | 57 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sliema Wanderers | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 34 | 12 | +22 | 50 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Marsaxlokk | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 43 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Birkirkara | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 36 | |
| 6 | Naxxar Lions | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 35 | |
| 7 | Hibernians | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 35 | |
| 8 | Balzan | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 34 | |
| 9 | Gżira United | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 33 | |
| 10 | Mosta | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 31 | |
| 11 | Santa Lucia (R) | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 30 | Relegation to the Maltese Challenge League |
| 12 | Valletta (R) | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 27 | Relegation to the Maltese Challenge League |
| 13 | Sirens (R) | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 50 | −33 | 16 | Relegation to the Maltese Challenge League |
| 14 | Gudja United (R) | 26 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 14 | 67 | −53 | 6 | Relegation to the Maltese Challenge League |
* ↑ Sliema Wanderers qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round by winning the 2023–24 Maltese FA Trophy. Since they qualified based on league position, the second Conference League first round spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GUD | GŻI | ĦAM | HIB | MAR | MOS | NXR | SLC | SLI | SIR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–7 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Birkirkara | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Floriana | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 5–1 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Gudja United | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–6 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Gżira United | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Hibernians | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Marsaxlokk | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Mosta | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Naxxar Lions | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 4–0 |
| Santa Lucia | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Sirens | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 |
| Valletta | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

    As of 28 April 2024
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Luke Montebello | Ħamrun Spartans | 21 |
| 2 | Kemar Reid | Floriana | 13 |
| 2 | Yuri | Marsaxlokk | 13 |
| 4 | Andrei Ciolacu | Birkirkara | 11 |
| 4 | Uroš Đuranović | Ħamrun Spartans | 11 |
| 6 | Pablo | Naxxar Lions | 10 |
| 7 | Sunday Akinbule | Marsaxlokk | 9 |
| 8 | Jurgen Degabriele | Hibernians | 8 |
| 8 | Luis Willis Alves Furtado | Floriana | 8 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Stadium | Date |
| Luke Montebello$^4$ | Ħamrun Spartan | Balzan | 7-1 (A) | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali | 27 January 2024 |
| George Blackwood | Balzan | Sirens | 4-1 (A) | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali | 6 April 2024 |
| Pablo | Naxxar Lions | Gudja United | 4-2 (A) | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali | 6 April 2024 |
| Seth Paintsil$^4$ | Ħamrun Spartan | Floriana | 5-0 (A) | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali | 27 April 2024 |

##### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goalss

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Georgi Kitanov | Floriana | 15 |
| 1 | Rashed Al-Tumi | Sliema Wanderers | 15 |
| 3 | Marcel Zapytowski | Birkirkara | 10 |
| 4 | Akpan David Udoh | Mosta | 9 |
| 4 | Matthias Debono | Naxxar Lions | 9 |
| 6 | Henry Bonello | Ħamrun Spartans | 8 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Koné | Hibernians | 8 |
| 8 | Danilo Golovic | Balzan | 7 |
| 8 | Marko Drobnjak | Marsaxlokk | 7 |
| 8 | Francisco Celio Da Paz Silva Filho | Santa Lucia | 7 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 11
** Evans Damian Aneni (Mosta)
* Most red cards: 2
** Ali Diakite (Birkirkara)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 66
** Sliema Wanderers
* Most red cards: 6
** Sliema Wanderers

### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| September | Mauro Camoranesi | Floriana | Kemar Reid | Floriana |
| October | George Vella | Naxxar Lions | Luke Montebello | Hamrun Spartans |
| November | George Vella | Naxxar Lions | No Winner | No Winner |
| December | Paul Zammit | Sliema Wanderers | No Winner | No Winner |
| January | Luciano Zauri | Hamrun Spartans | Luke Montebello | Hamrun Spartans |
| February | | | Luke Montebello | Hamrun Spartans |