# 2019–20 Maltese Premier League

The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League was the 105th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-flight league football in Malta. The fixtures were announced on 2 July 2019; the season started on 23 August 2019 and was scheduled to conclude on 25 April 2020. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 25th title the previous season.
On 12 March 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, a decision was made by the Malta Football Association (MFA) to suspend all football activities in Malta for ten days, after initially agreeing for football matches to be played behind closed doors. This suspension was further extended on 17 March to last until 5 April, and then suspended indefinitely on 30 March. On 18 May, the MFA Executive Committee decided to prematurely terminate the league competition and the ongoing FA Trophy competition. On 25 May, Floriana were awarded the championship after a vote taken by the MFA council, their 26th title and level with Sliema Wanderers in the all-time champions list. Floriana topped the standings with 41 points at the time the league was halted. Valletta, Hibernians and Sirens were awarded the three UEFA Europa League spots based on sporting merits. Furthermore, relegation was scrapped across all leagues even if there was mathematic certainty.

## Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The league season has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since March. Valletta, Birkirkara and Gżira United proposed to the Malta Football Association that the league is not to be cancelled but resumes in June for training and in July when the first matches are to be played. These suggestions were dismissed by the Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, emphasizing that measures will only be lifted once the situation stabilizes. Eventually, the three clubs wrote to the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela to either resume the competition or cancel any sport until a vaccine is found.
On 25 May 2020, upon the assigning of the league title to Floriana, spontaneous celebrations cropped up in the town's main square. This was later ended by the Malta Police Force due to social distancing measures still being in place, although some reports argued that this was not timely. This celebration was later decried by the public and local entities. The Superintendent of Public Health recommended that all those who attended the celebration get tested; a day after this appeal a surge in phonecalls on the COVID-19 helpline was reported related with this event. The police force started an investigation on the matter.
Tarxien Rainbows, who gathered four points in 20 matches and were already mathematically relegated by 8 March 2020, kept their place in next season's top tier after it was agreed that relegations would be scrapped. The vote passed by the MFA council scrapped relegation to avoid an odd number in the following season and therefore avoid weekly byes.

## Teams

Fourteen teams will compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams are Sirens, Gudja United and St. Lucia who will be playing their first season in the top division. They replace Qormi, Pietà Hotspurs (both teams relegated after one season back in the league) and St. Andrews, the latter losing the relegation play-off against St. Lucia to become the first Premier League side to lose this play-off against a First Division team.
| Team | In league since | City | Training Stadium | Capacity |
| Balzan | 2011 | Balzan | St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex | 100 |
| Birkirkara | 1990 | Birkirkara | Mgarr Ground | 0 |
| Floriana | 1986 | Floriana | Independence Arena (Floriana) | 0 |
| Gudja United | 2019 | Gudja | Louis Azzopardi Stadium | |
| Gżira United | 2016 | Gżira | Gzira Football Ground | 0 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2016 | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Hibernians | 1945 | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
| Mosta | 2011 | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| St. Lucia | 2019 | Santa Luċija | Grawnd Santa Luċija | |
| Senglea Athletic | 2017 | Senglea | Corradino C | 100 |
| Sirens | 2019 | St. Paul's Bay | Sirens Stadium | 600 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1984 | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2008 | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Valletta | 1944 | Valletta | Sirens Stadium | 600 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Balzan | Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker) | Joma | Investors Mutual Limited |
| Birkirkara | André Paus | Adidas | McDonald's |
| Floriana | Vincenzo Potenza | Joma | Scotts Supermarket, Guess?, Go & Fun, Chanlai Auto Dealer, Evergreen Greengrocer, Terranova, Cafe' Pascucci |
| Gudja United | Cyril Buttigieg | Givova | All Nuts, Emilio Bilocca Handy Man |
| Gżira United | Paul Zammit | Puma | |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Mark Buttigieg | Joma | Mach Power |
| Hibernians | Stefano Sanderra | Joma | Bezzina |
| Mosta | Mark Miller | Macron | Dimbros, Nilmar |
| Senglea Athletic | Giorgio Roselli | Givova | Palumbo |
| Sirens | Steve D'Amato | Macron | Teamsport, Gillieru Harbour Hotel, Valyou Supermarket |
| Sliema Wanderers | Andrea Pisanu | Adidas | North Key Real-Estate, Zarb Coaches |
| St. Lucia | Oliver Spiteri | Macron | Multivend |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Demis Paul Scerri | Erreà | Cassar Ship Repairs |
| Valletta | Giovanni Tedesco | Puma | Iniala |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Floriana | Guido Ugolotti | End of contract | | Pre-season | Vincenzo Potenza | 15 May 2019 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Giovanni Tedesco | Resigned | 17 May 2019 | Pre-season | Manuele Blasi | 23 May 2019 |
| Gżira United | Jesmond Zerafa | | 22 May 2019 | Pre-season | Giovanni Tedesco | 22 May 2019 |
| Valletta | Gilbert Agius | End of caretaker | 23 May 2019 | Pre-season | Darren Abdilla | 23 May 2019 |
| Senglea Athletic | Vincenzo Potenza | Signed by Floriana | 15 May 2019 | Pre-season | Mario Muscat | 12 June 2019 |
| Sirens | Vince Carbonaro | Mutual consent | 27 June 2019 | Pre-season | Steve D'Amato | 5 July 2019 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Jose Borg | Mutual consent | 30 July 2019 | Pre-season | Marko Glumac | 30 July 2019 |
| Birkirkara | John Buttigieg | Resigned | 7 September 2019 | 12th | André Paus | 9 September 2019 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Marko Glumac | Mutual consent | 12 November 2019 | 14th | Demis Paul Scerri | 12 November 2019 |
| Senglea Athletic | Mario Muscat | Mutual consent | 2 January 2020 | 12th | Giorgio Roselli | 10 January 2020 |
| Gżira United | Giovanni Tedesco | Sacked | 21 January 2020 | 4th | Paul Zammit | 23 January 2020 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Manuele Blasi | Sacked | 1 February 2020 | 9th | Mark Buttigieg | 1 February 2020 |
| Sliema Wanderers | Alfonso Greco | Mutual consent | 11 February 2020 | 12th | Andrea Pisanu | 13 February 2020 |
| Valletta | Darren Abdilla | Sacked | 17 February 2020 | 2nd | Giovanni Tedesco | 19 February 2020 |
| Balzan | Jacques Scerri | Resigned | 3 March 2020 | 8th | Ludvig Bartolo (caretaker) | 3 March 2020 |

## Venues

| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola |
| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium |
| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Floriana (C) | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 41 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Valletta | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Hibernians | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 34 | 20 | +14 | 37 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sirens | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 35 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Birkirkara | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 33 | |
| 6 | Gżira United | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 32 | |
| 7 | Balzan | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 28 | |
| 8 | Mosta | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 28 | |
| 9 | Ħamrun Spartans | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 25 | |
| 10 | Sliema Wanderers | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 24 | |
| 11 | Gudja United | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 30 | −6 | 24 | |
| 12 | St. Lucia | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 33 | −9 | 23 | |
| 13 | Senglea Athletic | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 16 | Relegation to the 2020–21 Maltese Challenge League |
| 14 | Tarxien Rainbows | 20 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 61 | −43 | 4 | Relegation to the 2020–21 Maltese Challenge League |
* 1 2 Senglea Athletic and Tarxien Rainbows kept their place in the top-flight as relegations were scrapped for the league season.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GUD | GŻI | ĦAM | HIB | MOS | SEN | SIR | SLI | SLC | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 5–0 | — | 2–4 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Birkirkara | 3–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | — | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Floriana | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | — | 5–0 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Gudja United | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | — | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Gżira United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 6–1 | — | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Hibernians | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 4–1 | — |
| Mosta | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 3–4 | — | 1–0 | 5–2 | 0–4 |
| Senglea Athletic | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 2–2 | — |
| Sirens | — | — | 1–4 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| St. Lucia | 0–3 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 1–3 | — | 0–4 | — | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | — |
| Valletta | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — |

### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
* Leader and 2020–21 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round
* 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
* 2020–21 UEFA Europa League preliminary round
* Relegation play-offs
* Relegation to First Division
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Floriana | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Valletta | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Hibernians | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Sirens | 8 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Birkirkara | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Gżira United | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Balzan | 3 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Mosta | 1 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| Gudja United | 5 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 |
| St. Lucia | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 |
| Senglea Athletic | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 8 March 2020
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kristian Keqi | Floriana | 14 |
| 2 | Mario Fontanella | Valletta | 13 |
| 3 | Andrija Majdevac | Balzan | 11 |
| 4 | Jefferson Assis | Gżira United | 10 |
| 4 | Federico Falcone | Birkirkara | 10 |
| 6 | Aleksa Andrejić | Tarxien Rainbows | 9 |
| 6 | Tiago Adan | Floriana | 9 |
| 8 | Imanol Iriberri | Hibernians | 8 |
| 8 | Jake Grech | Hibernians | 8 |
| 10 | Soufiane Lagzir | Ħamrun Spartans | 7 |
| 10 | Jose Wilkson Teixeira | Senglea Athletic | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Jefferson Assis$^4$ | Gżira United | Gudja United | 6–1 | 26 October 2019 |
| Andrija Majdevac | Balzan | St. Lucia | 3–0 | 13 December 2019 |
| Aleksa Andrejic | Tarxien Rainbows | Ħamrun Spartans | 3–2 | 1 February 2020 |
| Mario Fontanella | Valletta | Balzan | 3–1 | 8 February 2020 |
| Kristian Keqi | Floriana | Sirens | 3–0 | 6 March 2020 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club |
| August | Jake Grech | Hibernians |
| September | Diego Venancio da Silva | Floriana |
| October | Jefferson Assis | Gżira United |
| November | Andrija Majdevac | Balzan |
| December | Andrija Majdevac | Balzan |
| January | Dexter Xuereb | Mosta/Gżira United |
| February | Juri Cisotti | Sliema Wanderers |