Birkirkara FC announced that the club had terminated its relationship with Head Coach Gianluca Festa and Assistant Coach Alessandro Cardini, appointing Paul Zammit as their new coach.

Zammit, who will take over with immediate effect, will be assisted by Darren Farrugia.

Gianluca Festa had been appointed as Birkirkara coach in September following the sacking of Stefano De Angelis. However, his arrival failed to turn the team’s fortunes, losing eight out of the last nine matches.

This appointment marks a return for Paul Zammit with the club after serving as Birkirkara coach between summer 2009 and summer 2011, between October 2011 and summer 2015 and between summer 2017 and January 2019.

Paul Zammit had started his coaching career with Mosta but left the club in October 2005 to join Valletta. In summer 2009, he joined Birkirkara on a two year deal. At the end of his contract, he was not retained but only a few months later, in October 2011, he was re-appointed to the post.

Zammit moved to Valletta in 2015, spending two years with the Citizens before re-joining Birkirkara in 2017. However in January 2019, he was forced out by the appointment of John Arne Riise as technical director. Zammit joined Gzira United in January 2020 but stepped down at the end of the season. He spent a few months with Balzan between October 2021 and April 2022, before joining Sliema Wanderers in summer 2022. His contract with the Blues was terminated earlier this month.