Sliema have been crowned Men’s National Beach Soccer Champions after defeating La Playa de Arena 3–1 after extra time at Pretty Bay, Birżebbuġa.
It was a highly entertaining final, with both sides creating several scoring opportunities. After 36 minutes, the match ended 1–1, forcing extra time where Sliema proved decisive by scoring twice to retain the title they also won last summer.
Sliema took the lead through Mantas Makutunovicius, who turned sharply before firing past Jonathan Grech. La Playa de Arena responded to level the score through a well-taken free-kick converted by Karl Caruana.
With the match heading into extra time, Sliema struck twice more. Makutunovicius completed his brace to restore the advantage, before veteran Mark Camilleri sealed the victory with a late goal to confirm the Blues as champions once again.
At the end of the match, Malta Beach Soccer Association president Mauro Camilleri Darmanin presented the trophy to Sliema captain Matthew Agius.
Sliema – Brandon Muscat, Lee Joe Schembri, Vasilij Novickov, Marcelo Dias, Mantas Makutunovicius, Lark Falzon, Claudio Venuto, Mark Camilleri, Beppe Barone, Brandon Bray, Matthew Agius, Marco Morgon Filho.
La Playa de Arena – Jonathan Grech, Karl Caruana, Ivan Bojovic, Ryan Dalli, Nathan Cope, Christian Ciantar, Daniel Camenzuli, Saturday Nanapere, Sheldon Mizzi, Daryl Micallef, Dale Tabone, Karl Micallef.

