January 2026 will see the introduction of a high-profile football event as Malta will host the first women’s club tournament featuring four top-tier teams from three European countries.
Two-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winners VfL Wolfsburg will be joined by fellow German Frauen-Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Dutch side PSV Vrouwen and FC Basel, of Switzerland, in the inaugural VisitMalta Women Club Trophy.
With the two matchdays set for the 11th and 14th January 2026, the four participating teams will be holding a winter training camp in Malta during the same period. The tournament will be played at the National Stadium with the match schedule set to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Carlo Micallef, Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, said: “The launch of the first Visit Malta Women Club Trophy marks an important milestone in Malta’s ongoing commitment to developing and promoting sports tourism.
“Hosting four elite women’s football clubs from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands not only highlights Malta’s growing reputation as a destination of choice for high-calibre sporting events but also reinforces the confidence that international teams continue to place in our facilities, our climate, and our professional support structures.
“This inaugural tournament, complemented by the winter training camps planned throughout January, reflects the Malta Tourism Authority’s long-term strategy to attract top-tier sports organisations during the shoulder months. The increasing number of professional teams choosing Malta for their pre-season preparations is a clear endorsement of our collaborative efforts with partners such as Qmedia Limited and the Malta Football Association. This event represents not only an investment in sporting excellence but also a significant opportunity to generate economic benefits for our tourism and hospitality sectors, further strengthening Malta’s position on the European sports tourism map.”
Building on the positive experiences of professional women’s football teams like Manchester United Women and PSV Vrouwen, who conducted training camps in Malta in recent years, the VisitMalta Women Club Trophy is testament to the country’s growing reputation as a sports tourism destination.
The VisitMalta Women Club Trophy is also endorsed by the Malta Football Association whose president Bjorn Vassallo played an active role in the discussions about the upcoming women’s football event and other sports-tourism initiatives. While 2026 will herald the first edition of the VisitMalta Women Club Trophy, a host of women’s national teams have taken part in one of the editions of the VisitMalta International Women’s Tournament and International Friendlies in recent years. The participating teams included Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Belarus, Albania, Moldova, Morocco, the Faroe Islands and Malta.
Helmut Amhof, on behalf of the tournament organisers, said: “We are delighted to see that our ongoing efforts to enhance Malta’s status as a competitive destination for football-related events are paying off.
“Women’s football has grown enormously, and we are delighted that our commitment to establish Malta as a top destination for women’s football events has led to the introduction of the VisitMalta Women Club Trophy for top-level teams. While we are excited about the inaugural edition of this event, we are confident that this is only the beginning, as our aim is to establish the tournament as an annual event.”
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
The forecast for the first four months of 2026 is extremely positive, with more than 50 football teams expected to hold their training camps in Malta. This includes a mix of men’s and women’s professional clubs, as well as amateur teams, predominantly arriving from Switzerland and the Netherlands. Visiting teams are projected to stay an average of five to seven nights, generating significant economic benefits for the local tourism, hospitality, and sports-related sectors.