BOV Challenge League kicks-off this weekend

News
by Antoine Busuttil

The BOV Challenge League 2026/27 kicks-off this weekend with four matches on Saturday and four matches on Sunday.

Once again, sixteen teams will be taking part and the format remains unchanged.

During the First Phase, the league shall be played by all the sixteen clubs on a single round-robin basis and at the end of the First Phase, the top eight teams shall play against each other on a Single Round Robin basis in the Top Eight Round while the  bottom eight shall play against each other on a Single Round Robin basis in the Play-Out Round. 

The top two teams in the Top 8 will be promoted to the Premier League while the bottom two will be relegated to the National League I.

Naxxar Lions and Tarxien Rainbows, who were relegated from the YoHealth Malta Premier last season, will be aiming for a quick-return to the top division but there are also a host of other teams who strengthened their squad in their bid for promotion, including Mgarr United and Santa Lucia apart from Swieqi United – who missed out on promotion after losing the promotion decider on penalties to Birzebbuga St. Peter’s – and teams like Melita and Pieta’ Hotspurs. 

Newly-promoted Victoria Hotspurs, who are making their first appearance in the Challenge League, are also expected to be among the front runners for promotion.  The other team to be promoted from the National League I are Attard.

The remaining teams in the Challenge League are Fgura United, Gudja United, St. Andrews, Sirens, Vittoriosa Stars, Zebbug Rangers and Zurrieq.

Sat 12-Sep-2026Pieta’ Hotspurs FC vs Naxxar Lions FC18:00Centenary Stadium
Sat 12-Sep-2026Santa Lucia FC vs Vittoriosa Stars FC18:00Victor Tedesco Stadium
Sat 12-Sep-2026Attard FC vs Swieqi United FC20:30Centenary Stadium
Sat 12-Sep-2026Sirens FC vs Zurrieq FC20:30Victor Tedesco Stadium
Sun 13-Sep-2026Victoria Hotspurs FC vs St. Andrews FC18:00Centenary Stadium
Sun 13-Sep-2026Gudja United FC vs Melita FC18:00Victor Tedesco Stadium
Sun 13-Sep-2026Mgarr United FC vs Tarxien Rainbows FC20:30Centenary Stadium
Sun 13-Sep-2026Zebbug Rangers FC vs Fgura United FC20:30Victor Tedesco Stadium

>> BOV Challenge League Fixtures, Results & Table