# 2016–17 Maltese Premier League

The 2016–17 Maltese Premier League was the 102nd season of the Maltese Premier League. The season began on 19 August 2016 and concluded on 6 May 2017; the relegation play-off took place on 12 May 2017. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 23rd title the previous season.
On 30 April 2017, Hibernians defeated St. Andrews 3–1 to clinch their 12th Maltese league title.

## Format

For this season, in a change from recent previous seasons, points earned in the first 22 matches were no longer halved. Each team therefore played 33 matches, home-and-away against each other team (22 matches), and then one more match (either home or away) against each other team.

## 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 |

## Teams and stadiums

Naxxar Lions and Qormi were relegated to the 2016–17 Maltese First Division after they finished eleventh and twelfth, respectively, the previous season. They were replaced by Gżira United and Ħamrun Spartans, champions and runners-up respectively of the 2015–16 Maltese First Division.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Balzan | Balzan | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Birkirkara | Birkirkara | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Floriana | Floriana | Independence Arena | 3,000 |
| Gżira United | Gżira | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Hibernians | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
| Mosta | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| Pembroke Athleta | Pembroke | Sirens Stadium | 1,500 |
| Sliema Wanderers | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| St. Andrews | St. Andrew's | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Valletta | Valletta | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
Source: Scoresway

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hibernians (C) | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 64 | 31 | +33 | 71 | Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League |
| 2 | Balzan | 33 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 40 | +26 | 64 | Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 62 | |
| 4 | Valletta | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 59 | Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League |
| 5 | Floriana | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 54 | Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League |
| 6 | Sliema Wanderers | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 47 | 37 | +10 | 52 | |
| 7 | Gżira United | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 37 | |
| 8 | St. Andrews | 33 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 37 | |
| 9 | Tarxien Rainbows | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 35 | |
| 10 | Hamrun Spartans | 33 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 33 | |
| 11 | Mosta (O) | 33 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 29 | 71 | −42 | 21 | Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs |
| 12 | Pembroke Athleta (R) | 33 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 28 | 84 | −56 | 18 | Relegation to the 2017–18 Maltese First Division |
* ↑ Birkirkara would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.
* ↑ Floriana qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League by winning the 2016–17 Maltese FA Trophy.
* ↑ Mosta were deducted five points for making illegal payments to a player registered as an amateur.

## Results
### Matches 1–22

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GŻI | ĦAM | HIB | MOS | PEM | SLI | STA | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Birkirkara | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Floriana | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Gżira United | 1–2 | 1–7 | 4–3 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 |
| Hibernians | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Mosta | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–2 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Pembroke Athleta | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| St. Andrews | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 |
| Valletta | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |
* ↑ Match awarded 3–0 to Mosta after a successful protest; original result was Pembroke Athleta 5–0 Mosta.

### Matches 23–33

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GŻI | ĦAM | HIB | MOS | PEM | SLI | STA | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | — | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 7–1 | — | — | 2–1 | — | 0–1 |
| Birkirkara | 3–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | — | — | 2–2 | — | — |
| Floriana | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | — | 2–0 | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Gżira United | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 5–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | — | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | — | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Hibernians | 3–1 | — | — | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 4–0 | — | — | 3–1 | — | — |
| Mosta | — | — | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | — | — | 4–2 | — | 1–2 | — | 0–4 |
| Pembroke Athleta | 2–5 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 0–3 | — | — | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | — |
| Sliema Wanderers | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — |
| St. Andrews | — | — | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | — | — | 6–0 | 1–4 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–6 | 1–3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Valletta | — | 3–3 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–2 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between the eleventh-placed team from the Premier League, Mosta, and the fourth-placed team from the First Division, Qormi, for a place in the 2017–18 Maltese Premier League. Mosta retained their spot in the Maltese Premier League, while Qormi remained in the Maltese First Division.

## Top scorers

    As of matches played on 5 May 2017
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Bojan Kaljević | Balzan | 23 |
| 2 | Jurgen Degabriele | Hibernians | 16 |
| 3 | Mario Fontanella | Floriana | 14 |
| 4 | Vito Plut | Birkirkara | 13 |
| 5 | Jake Grech | Ħamrun Spartans | 12 |
| 6 | Srđan Dimitrov | Ħamrun Spartans | 11 |
| 6 | Alexander Nilsson | Tarxien Rainbows | 11 |
| 6 | Jean Paul Farrugia | Sliema Wanderers | 11 |
| 9 | Jorginho | Hibernians | 10 |