# 1996–97 Maltese Premier League

The 1996–97 Maltese Premier League was the 17th season of the Maltese Premier League, and the 82nd season of top-tier football in Malta. It was contested by 10 teams, and Valletta F.C. won the championship.

## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Valletta (C) | 27 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 22 | +58 | 67 | Qualification for the UEFA Champions League |
| 2 | Birkirkara | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 21 | +25 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Floriana | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 27 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 46 | |
| 5 | Ħamrun Spartans | 27 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 39 | |
| 6 | Hibernians | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 37 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup |
| 7 | Pietà Hotspurs | 27 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 36 | |
| 8 | Naxxar Lions | 27 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 45 | −27 | 22 | |
| 9 | Rabat Ajax (R) | 27 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 32 | 73 | −41 | 18 | Relegation |
| 10 | Lija Athletic (R) | 27 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 22 | 94 | −72 | 6 | Relegation |
* ↑ Hibernians qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Maltese FA Trophy Runners-up, as winners Valletta already qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

## Results
### Matches 1–18

| Home \ Away | BKR | FRN | HIB | ĦMR | LJA | NXR | PTA | RBT | SLM | VLT |
| Birkirkara | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Floriana | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 |
| Hibernians | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 6–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 |
| Lija Athletic | 1–2 | 0–7 | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 1–8 |
| Naxxar Lions | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 0–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Rabat Ajax | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–6 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 7–0 | — | 2–3 |
| Valletta | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 6–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | — |

### Matches 19–27

| Home \ Away | BKR | FRN | HIB | ĦMR | LJA | NXR | PTA | RBT | SLM | VLT |
| Birkirkara | — | — | — | — | — | 4–2 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Floriana | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–4 | — | — | 3–1 | — | 1–3 | — |
| Hibernians | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 6–3 | 0–2 | — |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 0–3 | — | 3–0 | — | 4–0 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 1–2 |
| Lija Athletic | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–3 | — | — | — | 2–5 | — | — | — |
| Naxxar Lions | — | 0–1 | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | — | — | 0–3 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |
| Rabat Ajax | — | 2–4 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 2–5 |
| Sliema Wanderers | — | — | — | 3–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Valletta | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Danilo Dončić | Valletta | 32 |
| 2 | Stefan Sultana | Ħamrun Spartans | 23 |
| 3 | Gilbert Agius | Valletta | 17 |
| 4 | Hubert Suda | Sliema Wanderers | 15 |
| 5 | Ridha Dardouri | Lija Athletic | 13 |
| 6 | Brian Crawley | Hibernians | 12 |
| 7 | Carmel Busuttil | Sliema Wanderers | 11 |
| 8 | Jonathan Magri Overend | Birkirkara | 10 |
| 9 | Victor Egere | Floriana | 9 |
| 9 | Kevin Mamo | Pietà Hotspurs | 9 |