July 1998

Thu 30

• Rabat Ajax Tournament Floriana vs Pietà H. 1-1 (7-6 on penalties), Rabat Ajax vs St. Andrews 3-1. Floriana FC win Rabat Tournament.
• Friendly Match Sliema Wanderers vs Xghajra Tornadoes 4-0. Carmel Busuttil and Ridha Dardouri scored two of the goals.
• It has been confirmed that as from next season, the champions of the Gozo FA Premier League will be taking part in the UEFA Regions Cup, a new competition organised by UEFA for the champions of regional associations.

Wed 29

• UEFA Champions League Preliminary Round Anorthosis Famagusta vs Valletta 6-0
• UEFA Cup Preliminary Round Birkirkara vs Shakthar Donetsk 0-4

Tue 28

• The Planning Authority approved the MFA's plans to build the Centenary Stadium at the site of the former Assocjazjoni Sport Muturi Track parking area. Works should be definitely finished in time by the start of season 1999/2000.

Mon 27

• Rabat Ajax Tournament Rabat A. vs Floriana 1-2, Pietà H. vs St. Andrews 4-0

Sat 25

• Friendly match Sliema Wanderers vs Hibernians 2-1 (Wayne Attard and Ridha Dardouri for Sliema)
• MFA Annual General Meeting President Dr Joe Mifsud was re-elected for a 3-year term with 91% of the votes. The MFA will have two new vice-presidents Ludovico Micallef and John Farrugia who will replace Alfred Mizzi and Herbert Messina Ferrante. The following are some of the interesting points which emerged from the meeting:
  • Income: The net income of the association increased by Lm35,000. The association received Lm207,053 for TV right and gate-money of international matches and Lm102,145 subsidies and refunds by UEFA.
  • Attendances: Premier League - 96,750 (average of 720); Division 1 - 9,396 (average of 104); Division 2 - 4,075 (average of 52); Division 3 - 2,196 (average of 26). Overall there was an increase of 26,000 spectators over last season and it was only in Division 1 that there was a decrease in the number of spectators.
  • Stadiums: Repairs on the National Stadium's West Stand roofing will cost another Lm100,000 plus the Lm200,000 that were planned. The East Stand (Valletta side) will cost more than Lm2million to be built. It will not only include the stand for the spectators but also a number of indoor projects namely a gymnasium, a heated pool and a conference centre.

Thu 23

• The following are the Premier League and the Super 5 Competition fixtures that were drawn at the MFA Headquarters. Premier League (to start on the 22nd August) Valletta vs Hamrun S., Naxxar L. vs Floriana, St. Patrick vs Sliema W., Hibernians vs Birkirkara, Pieta` H. vs Rabat Ajax. Super 5 Competition Semi-Finals Sliema W. vs Valletta and Birkirkara vs Hibernians. The semi finals and finals will be played on the 3rd and 6th August respectively.
• The first fixtures of Divisions 2 and 3 Leagues and Knock-Out are as follows: (Note that the Division 2 League will not be based on two sections like in the past seasons but on a one-round league basis) Division 2 (to start on the 17th October) Zebbug R. vs Gudja U., Ghaxaq vs St. George's, Vittoriosa S. vs Mqabba, Birzebbuga SP vs Qormi, Sta. Venera L. vs Pembroke A., Dingli S. vs Mgarr U., Sta. Lucia vs Marsaxlokk. Division 3 Section A Melita, Sirens, San Gwann, Kirkop U., Gharghur, Fgura U., Gudja U. Division 3 Section B Zejtun C., Ta' Xbiex, Attard, Balzan Y., Senglea A., Luqa S.A., Msida SJ. Div. 2 & 3 Knock-Out Group 1 Zebbug R., Ghaxaq, Melita, Zejtun C. Group 2 Gzira U., St. George's, Sirens. Group 3 Vittoriosa S., B' Bugia SP, San Gwann, Attard. Group 4 Mqabba, Qormi, Kirkop U., Balzan Y. Group 5 Sta. Venera L., Gharghur, Senglea A. Group 6 Pembroke A., Fgura U., Luqa SA Group 7 Dingli S., Sta. Lucia, Msida SJ. Group 8 Mgarr U., M'Xlokk, Gudja U.
• Hibernians could be awarded a walk-over in their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round matches against Polish side Amica Wronki. This is because both UEFA and FIFA are both considering the suspension of all Polish teams, both at club and at international level, because of interference by the Polish government in the Poland FA (PZPN). A final decision will be taken on the 7th August.

Wed 22

• UEFA Champions League - Preliminary Round Valletta vs Anorthosis Famagusta 0-2
• UEFA Cup - Preliminary Round Shakthar Donetsk vs Birkirkara 2-1

Sat 18

• The MFA Annual General Meeting will be held on the 25th July. President Dr Joe Mifsud will be uncontested while 5 candidates will be contesting for the post of the three vice-presidents. On the 23rd July at the MFA Headquarters, the fixtures of the Premier League, Divisions 1, 2 and 3 Leagues together with the MFA Div. 2 & 3 Knock-Out will be drawn.

Fri 17

• Lowenbrau Cup Birkirkara vs Hibernians 4-0

Thu 16

• Naxxar Lions are still without a committee. Although the club has sent the list of officials to the MFA, it was not accepted and therefore another General Meeting has to take place, this time a MFA representative will be attending the meeting.
• Magistrate Michael Mallia is investigating the alleged attempted bribery by a Sliema player prior to the Sliema-Diogsyor match. This inquiry was ordered by the MFA after a report concerning the case was sent to UEFA. The UEFA is also investigating and most probably Sliema officials will be asked to go to Switzerland to defend the case.
• Repair works on the roofing of the West Stand of the National Stadium are still taking place. Therefore for Valletta and Birkirkara's matches against Anorthosis and Shaktor Donetsk, the West Stand will remain closed.

Wed 15

• Lowenbrau Cup Birkirkara vs Valletta 1-3

Mon 13

• Lowenbrau Cup Hibernians vs Valletta 3-1

Sat 11

• Birkirkara will play their first leg of the UEFA Cup Preliminary Round against Shakthar Donetsk on the 22nd July in Ukraine and not in Malta since on the same day Valletta will be playing against Anorthosis at home.

Fri 10

• Hamrun President Victor Tedesco resigned after several years guiding the club to winning all the major honours on the island. However his resignation follows one of the most disappointing seasons for the Spartans over the last two decades, when Hamrun finished 8th just few points above relegated Xghajra.

Thu 9

• Maltese Assistant Referee Emmanuel Zammit was appointed as one of the assistant referees for the France 1998 World Cup Final for the 3rd and 4th Places between Holland and Croatia.

Wed 8

• The MFA and three local clubs will receive substantial sums of money from UEFA for their participation in the Champions League and the other European competitions. Hibernians and Birkirkara will receive Lm 21,000 each. Valletta will receive Lm59,000 while the Malta FA will receive LM152,000 as her part in last season's Champions League.

Tue 7

• The case involving the alleged bribery attempt by a Sliema player before the Sliema-Diogsyor match is likely to be discussed by UEFA's Disciplinary Board on the 3rd August. The MFA will launch an inquiry on the case. The Hungarian club lodged a protest over an alleged case of corruption involving Sliema striker Pavel Mraz and the Hungarian goalkeeper. It has been alleged that the Diosgyor goalkeeper told his coach that the night before the match in Malta he had met Mraz who tried to bribe him by offering him cash. Sliema President Robert Arrigo said that it is true that both players met for a few minutes but this was only because a Hungarian man, not involved with football, had sent a letter to Mraz and in turn Mraz had given the Hungarian goalkeeper some travel brochures. Mraz is expected to defend himself against the allegations both legally and through UEFA.

Mon 6

• The following are the draws for the Preliminary Round of the UEFA competitions which were held in Geneva. In the Champions League, Valletta will meet Anorthosis of Cyprus, with the possibility of facing Olympiakos Pireus of Greece on qualifying. In the Cup Winners' Cup, the opponents of Hibernians will be KS Amica Wronki of Poland while Birkirkara in the UEFA Cup will meet Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. Considering the opponents, Valletta will be meeting a club from Cyprus, which should be more or less on the same level of the Citizens even if recently the Cypriots obtained good results in Europe. On the other hand, the opponents from Poland and Ukraine are considered to be superior to local clubs and therefore the probability that either Hibs or B'Kara manage to qualify for the First Round is close to nil. Valletta and Birkirkara will play on the 22nd and 29 July while Hibs will play on the 13th and 27th August.

Sun 5

• Investigations are taking place regarding accusations of attempted corruption of the Diogsyor goalkeeper by a Sliema Wanderers player before the second leg fixture of the Intertoto Cup First Round. The match was won by the Hungarians 3-2, thus qualifying with a 5-2 aggregate score.