Gozo placed sixth in football in the XIX Island Games – the 2023 NatWest Island Games – which were held in Guernsey last week.

This was the first participation ever for Gozo in the Island Games.

Gozo were drawn in Group 4 in the qualifying stage. They lost the first game to Jersey 1-0 but bounced back with a 3-0 win over St. Helena courtesy of Sam Harland, Jordi Parnis and an own goal. In the third match, they defeated Menorca 1-0 with another goal by Jordi Parnis.

With two wins in four matches, Gozo placed second in the group.

Then in the match for fifth and sixth place, Gozo lost 0-1 to Guernsey.

Photo courtesy of Gozo Island Games Association

The squad for these games was made up of:
goalkeepers Daniel Spiteri and Steve Sultana
defenders Ferdinando Apap, Sam Frank Bajada, Neil Camilleri, Kurt Grima, Lawrence Grima, Gennaro Hili, Kenneth Mercieca, Manuel Tabone, Ian Xuereb
midfielders Shaun Attard, Michael Bezzina, Dejan Bogdanovic, Stefan Cassar, Chris Mercieca
forwards Sam Harland, Matthias Mercieca, Jordi Parnis, Joseph Zammit

Coach: Mark Buttigieg
Assistant Coach: Brian Azzopardi
Goalkeeper Coach: Joseph Grima

In these games, Gozo won four medals – Marlon Attard gold in shooting (skeet), David Borg silver in athletics (5000m), Lara Calleja silver in shooting (trap) and bronze in shooting (English Sporting).