Premier League set to kick-off on August 19

The Premier League 2011/12 is set to kick-off on August 19. The proposed dates for competitions organised by the Malta Football Association were revealed on Tuesday during a meeting of the Council of the Malta Football Association. The dates, however, are yet to be approved.

The first competition of the season is the Euro Cup which should be played on Saturday 18, Tuesday 21 and Friday 24 June. This will be followed by the qualifiers of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

The first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will be played on June 28/29 and July 5/6 while that of the UEFA Europa League on June 30 and July 7. The second qualifying rounds will be played as follows: Champions League on July 12/13 and July 19/20 and Europa League on July 14 and 21.

The Super Cup will be played on August 16. The Premier League then kicks-off a few days later with a game on Friday 19, two on Saturday 20, two on Sunday 21 and another on Monday 22. There will be no breaks for national team commitments, except when the national team is playing on a Friday or a Saturday. The only break will be in December due to Christmas and the New Year. The last league games will be played on May 13. Games will be played on Fridays (1), Saturdays (2), Sundays (2) and Mondays (1) although during particular weeks, two games will be played on a Friday or a Monday.

The FA Trophy first round will be played on September 8, 10 and 11. The teams involved in the first round are Third Division and Gozitan clubs. The teams which qualify together with First and Second Division clubs will play in the second round, scheduled for November 12 and 13, 19 and 20. The third round, featuring Premier League clubs and twenty teams from the second round, will be played on December 16, 17 and 18. Fourth round matches are scheduled for January 21 and 22, the quarter-finals for February 25 and 26, semi-finals for May 19 and 20 and the final for May 27.

The First Division League will kick-off on September 10 and come to an end on May 13 with four to six games per weekend.

The Second Division League will kick-off on September 17 and come to an end on May 13 with seven games per week, either on a Saturday or on a Sunday. On the other hand, the Third Division League will kick-off on September 18 and come to an end on May 12 with seven games per week, either on a Saturday or on a Sunday. The two leagues will be alternating match days with Second Divisions clubs playing on Saturdays and Third Division clubs playing on Sundays during a particular week and vice-versa during another.

Four regional stadiums will be used for Division 2 and 3, namely the Luxol, Mosta, Rabat Ajax and Sirens Grounds, besides the Centenary Stadium.

The Youth League Section A will be played on Wednesdays or Thursdays, two or four games per week, starting from September 15. The Youth League Sections B, C and D will be played on Mondays with eight to ten games every Monday, starting on August 29.

Women’s competitions get underway on September 8 with the Women’s Super Cup. The Women’s League kicks-off the following week with four to six games per week, played on Tuesdays.