The draws on the BOV National League were held on Wednesday at the BOV Centre in Santa Venera by MFA Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Vassallo and BOV Chief Officer Victor Denaro.
Bjorn Vassallo said this was a very exciting time for local football at a time when the league format was changed with the main objective being that of attracting more interest for the game. He said that with the upgrading of the various venues, clubs in all divisions will now be able to play every week.
Among the new incentives were the new ticketing system and corporate hospitality. Vassallo explained that the association will focus more on the marketing and branding of the game.
The MFA CEO said the association wanted to make clubs more financially viable while making the game more attractive for supporters. He revealed that in the top division, the two main issues – who was going to win the title and who was going to be relegated – were settled a number of weeks before the final league games, attendances still increased by 3.5%. Also thanks to the association’s decision to hand what used to be its share from the gate money to clubs, the clubs earned 88.5% more than the previous season.
Bjorn Vassallo concluded by thanking Bank of Valletta for their continuous support and said that the two parties will be working together with regards to the branding of the game.
On behalf of Bank of Valletta, Chief Officer Victor Denaro said the bank has now become synonymous with major sports events and this was the seventh consecutive year that Bank of Valletta was sponsoring the football leagues.
Denaro said the bank was looking forward to continuing this successful partnership with the MFA and clubs had to be proud of having full support by the association, the government and the bank through this sponsorship.
Photos: Copyright © domenic aquilina/MFA
BOV Premier League
Valletta will be playing their first game against Tarxien while runners-up and FA Trophy winners Floriana face newly-promoted Mqabba. Birkirkara take on Qormi while Sliema meet Hibernians. The other newly-promoted sides Balzan and Mosta take on Hamrun and Marsaxlokk respectively.
First round of matches:
Floriana vs Mqabba
Valletta vs Tarxien
Sliema vs Hibs
Balzan vs Hamrun
Marsaxlokk vs Mosta
Birkirkara vs Qormi
The Premier League will be played on two phases. The first phase will be played on a two-round league basis between the twelve teams. At the end of the first phase, six teams will be playing in the Championship Pool and another six in the Relegation Pool. The two pools will be played on a two-round league basis. Two teams will be relegated to Division 1.
First phase kicks-off on August 19 and comes to an end on March 5. Second phase starts on March 9 and comes to an end on May 13.
BOV First Division League
Vittoriosa Stars, who were relegated from the Premier League will be facing Lija Athletic in their first match. Melita, who just missed promotion after losing a decider, start against one of the five newly-promoted teams – Birzebbuga St. Peter’s. Second Division champions Zejtun Corinthians will start with a game against St. Patrick who were also promoted from Division 2 while Rabat Ajax and Naxxar Lions take on St. George’s and Pietà Hotspurs respectively. Dingli Swallows face St. Andrews in another match.
First round of matches:
Birzebbuga vs Melita
Dingli vs St. Andrews
St. George’s vs Rabat
Vittoriosa vs Lija
Pieta vs Naxxar
St. Patrick vs Zejtun
The First Division League will be played on a two-round league basis between the twelve clubs. Two teams will be promoted to the Premier League and the bottom two will be relegated to Division 2.
The league kicks-off on September 10 and comes to an end on May 13. Venues for the BOV First Division League will be the Victor Tedesco Stadium and the Luxol Stadium. Matches will be played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
BOV Second Division League
Two teams among the favourites for promotion – Senglea Athletic and Gzira United will be facing each other in the first game. Msida St. Joseph, who were relegated from Division 1, take on San Gwann while Mellieha, who just missed out on promotion face Attard who were promoted from Division 3. Third Division champions Gharghur meet St. Venera Lightnings while Siggiewi, who won the other section A in Division 3, take on Zurrieq.
Luqa St. Andrews face rivals Kirkop United in another clash between two promoted sides. In another match, Zebbug Rangers take on Gudja United.
First round of matches:
Luqa vs Kirkop
Msida vs San Gwann
Gharghur vs Sta. Venera
Senglea vs Gzira
Zurrieq vs Siggiewi
Attard vs Mellieha
Zebbug vs Gudja
The Second Division League will be played on a two-round league basis between the fourteen clubs. The first two will be promoted to Division 1 and the bottom three will be relegated to Division 3.
The league kicks-off on September 16 and comes to an end on May 13. Venues for the BOV Second Division League will be the Centenary Stadium, Luxol Stadium, Mosta Ground and Sirens Ground. Matches will be played as follows: one game on Fridays and six games either on Saturdays or on Sundays.
BOV Third Division League
Mgarr United, who were relegated from Division 2 will start their commitments in the BOV Third Division with a game against Sirens.
First round of matches:
Xghajra vs Marsaskala
Ghaxaq vs Sta. Lucia
Mtarfa vs Pembroke
Fgura vs Swieqi
Mdina vs Kalkara
Sirens vs Mgarr
Qrendi vs Marsa
The Third Division League will be played on a two-round league basis. The top three teams will be promoted to Division 2.
The league kicks-off on September 18 and comes to an end on May 12. Venues for the BOV Third Division League will be the Centenary Stadium, Luxol Stadium, Mosta Ground, Rabat Ajax Ground and Sirens Ground. The seven weekly matches will be played either on Saturdays or on Sundays.