# 2012–13 Maltese Premier League

The 2012–13 Maltese Premier League was the 98th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began in August 2012 and ended in May 2013. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 21st title last season.
The Premier League consisted of two rounds. In the First Round, every team played each opponent twice, once "home" and once "away" (in actuality, the designation of home and away were purely arbitrary as most of the clubs did not have their own grounds), for a total of 22 games. The league was then split into two pools. Earned points were subsequently halved. Teams that finished in the positions 1–6 compete in the "Top Six" and teams that finished in positions 7–12 play in the "Play-Out".

## Teams

Marsaxlokk were relegated to the First Division after finishing in last place of the Play-Out last season. This ended a three-year stay in the Premier League for them.
Promoted to the top flight were Rabat Ajax, who returned to the Premier League after an eleven-season absence, and Melita, who became the first amateur club to reach the Premier League as well as being the only amateur club in the world taking part in the top tier of a professional league.

## 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 |

### Stadia and training grounds

Only a few stadia have the infrastructure needed to host Premier League matches. These are Ta' Qali National Stadium and Centenary Stadium at Ta' Qali, Victor Tedesco Stadium at Ħamrun and Hibernians Ground at Paola. Additional to that, each team has been assigned to a dedicated training ground. On a few occasions, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans play at their home ground, but otherwise all games are played on neutral ground, rendering "home" and "away" games purely symbolic.
| Team | Location of origin | Ground | Location of ground |
| Balzan | Balzan | | |
| Birkirkara | Birkirkara | Infetti Ground | Birkirkara |
| Floriana | Floriana | Independence Parade Ground | Floriana |
| Hibernians | Paola | Hibernians Ground | Paola |
| Hamrun Spartans | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | Ħamrun |
| Mosta | Mosta | Charles Abela Stadium | Mosta |
| Melita | St. Julian's | Gianni Bencini Ground | St. Julian's |
| Qormi | Qormi | Thomaso Grounds | Qormi |
| Rabat Ajax | Rabat | Rabat Ajax Football Ground | Mtarfa |
| Sliema Wanderers | Sliema | Tigné Point | Sliema |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Tarxien | Tarxien Ground | Tarxien |
| Valletta | Valletta | Zebbug Rovers FC Ground / Melita Ground | Zebbug or St Julians |

## First phase
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Valletta | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 49 | 15 | +34 | 46 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 2 | Hibernians | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 45 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 43 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 4 | Tarxien Rainbows | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 38 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 5 | Sliema Wanderers | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 37 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 6 | Mosta | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 34 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 7 | Qormi | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 30 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 8 | Balzan | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 27 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 9 | Floriana | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 24 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 10 | Hamrun Spartans | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 24 | 58 | −34 | 16 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 11 | Melita | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 56 | −38 | 14 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 12 | Rabat Ajax | 22 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 45 | −29 | 11 | Qualification for the Play-Out |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | HAM | HIB | MEL | MOS | QOR | RAB | SLI | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 |
| Birkirkara | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 7–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Floriana | 3–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 |
| Hamrun Spartans | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–6 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–8 |
| Hibernians | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Melita | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | — | 0–5 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–5 |
| Mosta | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Qormi | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Rabat Ajax | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 |
| Valletta | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |

## Second phase
### Top Six

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BIR | HIB | VAL | SLI | TAR | MOS |
| 1 | Birkirkara (C) | 32 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 45 | Qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 7–1 |
| 2 | Hibernians | 32 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 70 | 33 | +37 | 45 | Qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League | 1–1 | — | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 6–0 |
| 3 | Valletta | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 69 | 27 | +42 | 36 | Qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 |
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 36 | Qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 4–1 |
| 5 | Tarxien Rainbows | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 29 | | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 3–4 | — | 4–2 |
| 6 | Mosta | 32 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 45 | 72 | −27 | 18 | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — |
* ↑ Birkirkara and Hibernians finished equal on points, and a Championship play-off to determine the winner was won by Birkirkara
* ↑ The winners of the 2012–13 Maltese FA Trophy.

### Play-Out

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation | FLO | QOR | BAL | RAB | HAM | MEL |
| 7 | Floriana | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 40 | | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 8 | Qormi | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 61 | 50 | +11 | 34 | | 2–4 | — | 5–2 | 4–0 | 6–2 | 2–0 |
| 9 | Balzan | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 23 | | 0–2 | 4–4 | — | 0–5 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| 10 | Rabat Ajax | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 22 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| 11 | Hamrun Spartans (R) | 32 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 39 | 88 | −49 | 15 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Maltese First Division | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | — | 3–5 |
| 12 | Melita (R) | 32 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 13 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Maltese First Division | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | — |

## Championship play-off

At the end of the season, Birkirkara and Hibernians finished off equal by 45 points. On the Final Matchday of the season, on 3 May 2013, Birkirkara beat Tarxien Rainbows 1–0. And on 5 May 2013, Hibernians beat Valletta 2–1. Both teams ended with the same points. A play-off decided the title.
* Birkirkara qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.
* Hibernians qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Negrin | Rabat Ajax / Melita | 22 |
| 2 | Daniel Bueno | Tarxien Rainbows | 19 |
| 3 | Michael Mifsud | Valletta | 18 |
| 4 | Ryan Darmanin | Balzan | 14 |
| 4 | Elton | Balzan | 14 |
| 4 | Jhonnattann | Birkirkara | 14 |
| 4 | Igor Coronado | Floriana | 14 |
| 8 | Clayton Failla | Hibernians | 13 |
| 9 | Danail Mitev | Mosta | 12 |
| 9 | Obinna Obiefule | Mosta / Hibernians | 12 |