The English Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A are the top five leagues in Europe and, of course, the BOV Premier League will never compete with them but it certainly should get more attention and more respect than it does at the moment. Here we look at how it currently stacks up and why you should start paying attention.
How does it compare to other European leagues?
As we’ve mentioned, it’s nowhere near the big five leagues in any way shape or form but it lags behind a lot of lesser leagues too. UEFA ranks competitions based on coefficients – and whilst the methodology isn’t without its criticisms – with the Maltese Premier League currently ranks at number 45 out of 55.
Ensuring it is not only behind a fair few leagues but towards the bottom of the pool. So, in a nutshell, how does it compare to other leagues? Not well – but it should stand up better as it offers entertainment galore.
The desire for growth
Amongst the general population of Malta football is the most watched and most played sport with 74% of adult males having participated in the game at some point whilst 68% of that still active ply their trade in a competitive environment. In respect of the younger generation, it’s believed around 70% have avenues to get involved with the sport, which is up significantly on research carried out five years ago.
With statistics like that it’s clear that player development will be on an upward trajectory over the foreseeable future, which can only be good for the teams in the professional leagues.
Beyond that, the clubs take more interest in trying to promote the profile of the Maltese game now too. The highest profile of which came back in October 2018 when Valletta offered a contract to Usain Bolt. The sprint star might have rejected the offer but if a club does land a player with that pedigree then it could be the country’s David Beckham to the MLS moment when combined with everything else.
It’s highly competitive
If you look at the English Premier League right now the title is a forgone conclusion with Liverpool romping to success, which whilst great for the club and it’s fans the neutral supporters are hardly captivated. If though you cast your eyes at how the Maltese league is playing out it couldn’t be more different. The top two, Floriana and Valletta, are tied on 35 points each with just three goals giving Floriana the edge with just nine games remaining.
A competitive title race is an enthralling watch and whilst they do occasionally happen in the bigger leagues, they are few and far between but this year’s head to head is far from a one off in Malta. Across the last four campaigns the winner has been decided by slim margins; two by three points, one by a slightly wider margin of seven and last season boiled down to a championship decider ensuring the punters are gripped to the very end.
It’s unpredictable
We’ve established that it’s hard to know where to place your bets, even if you use BestAppBet to find the best online soccer betting apps. With such fine margins proving pivotal but the unpredictability we speak of goes beyond purely the league winner; instead it relates to a more general view of the teams.
The league has a couple of consistently strong sides, such as Valletta and Hibernians, but in the last 36 months there have been five teams finishing in the top three and then you have Floriana this season who look like they could ‘do a Leicester’.
Their last three years consisted of ending the season fifth, sixth and eighth, which was a bottom half finish last year. Jump forward to today though and they’re leading the way with serious potential of winning their first title since 1993.
Closing summary
If you’re after the biggest names in football, then the BOV Premier League probably isn’t for you but if you love the game for its ability to evoke emotion then you’re in the right place – and it’s a growing trend too.
Maltese Football in my opinion, is very slow paced, but some of the goals that are scored are world class, some are just as good as the top 5 leagues in Europe. I have seen great Maltese clubs knock out or beat some teams in the UK when Birkirkara beat West Ham In the second leg of the European competitions, Gzira knocking out Hajduk Split beating them 2-0 in Croatia and so on and so on, I think Maltese clubs should be supported more by supporters and by the gov, maybe then the corruption would disappear and the stadiums won’t be 70% empty.
Gzira lost 0-2 at home to Hajduk Split and won the away game 3-1 to proceed on away goals.
Comparing Floriana to Leicester seems somewhat unfair. I think there were plenty of teams expected to finish below Floriana, while in the case of Leicester, the general feeling was that they would need something special to survive in the Premier League. It’s a surprise if Floriana can hold on, but they do have enough quality in their squad (by Maltese standards) that the comparison looks rather far-fetched. But it is less predictable than some leagues, that much is true.