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The Maltese Futsal League, (Maltese: il-Lig tal-Futsal Malti), formerly the Gatorade League but now known as the Enemed Futsal League for sponsorship reasons, is the official futsal league in Malta and was founded in 2011. The Maltese futsal championship currently consists of 14 teams. It is organised by the Futsal Malta Association and the Malta Football Association. Prior to a decrease in teams, the league used to be known as the Maltese Futsal Premier Division, which was the highest tier, with a promotion and relegation system tied to the Maltese Futsal First Division.
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Country | Malta |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Maltese Futsal Knockout Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Futsal Cup |
| Current champions | Valletta Futsal Club (2017-18) |
| Most championships | Excess RP Bidnija (3 titles) |
| Website | Futsal Malta Association |
| Current: 2018–19 Maltese Futsal League | |
The league is played entirely in the Corradino Sports Pavilion.[1]
History
editFirst 'official' five-a-side tournaments were held at Athleta Sliema till 1997. Futsal has been officially played since 1998.[2] The league started in 1999 when three University students, who had organized the unofficial Dr. Stanley's Workshop five-a-side league, contacted the Malta FA.[3] Laboratoires Alta Care were the first well-documented league winner of any Maltese futsal championship. The club won two titles in a row, for the season 2000-01 and 2001-02.[4]
The league was created in 2011. The highest peak saw 4 divisions with over 70 teams. Teams started decreasing when the Futsal Malta Association made requirements more stringent to make the league more professional.
Eventually, with a further decrease in teams, only one division was necessary, which became known as the Maltese Futsal League, as of the 2015–2016 season.
Champions
edit- Key
| † | League champions also won the Maltese Futsal Knockout Cup, i.e. they completed the domestic Double. |
Performance by club
edit| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|
2016–2017 season
editIn the 2016–17 season, the FMA reopened to independent teams not part of a football club from within the Maltese football league system.
Format
editThere are 14 teams which shall play each other once. After this round, the teams split into the top 6 teams, known as the Elite pool, and the remainder play in the Division One pool. The Elite teams play each other once again and the first 4 after this round, enter a knockout playoff stage. The winner of the playoff stage enters the UEFA Futsal League cup.
Teams
edit- Birzebbuga St. Peter's
- Futsal Selection U18
- Futsal Selection U19
- Gzira United Santa Margerita
- Marsascala Futsal
- Sliema Wanderers
- Luxol Futsal
- Swieqi Utd Futsal
- Ta' Xbiex
- University of Malta Students' Futsal Team
- ZRQ Bormla
References
edit- ^ "Malta Futsal Association – SPORT MALTA". www.sportmalta.org.mt.
- ^ "A Closer Look at..Joseph Karl Aquilina (President – Luxol St Andrews)". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
- ^ "Futsal on a sound basis". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
- ^ "Futsal". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.