2024–25 Maltese Challenge League

Maltese Challenge League
Season2024–25
Dates14 September 2024 – April or May 2025
Matches played52
Goals scored125 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorerAndrei Ciolacu
(7 Goals)
Biggest home winValletta 6–0 Lija Athletic
(22 September 2024)
Biggest away winSanta Lucia 0–5 Marsa
(15 September 2024)
Highest scoringSanta Lucia 0–5 Marsa
(15 September 2024)
Longest winning runValletta
Pietà Hotspurs
(4 Games Each)
Longest unbeaten runMarsa
Mgarr United
(5 Games Each)
Longest winless runŻebbuġ Rangers
(6 Games)
Longest losing runŻebbuġ Rangers
(6 Games)
All statistics correct as of 23 November 2024.

The 2024–25 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the fifth season that the competition has been running in its present form.

Teams

The league consisted of sixteen teams; ten teams remaining from the previous season, two teams promoted from the 2023-24 Maltese National Amateur League, and four teams relegated from the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League.

Team changes

The following teams have changed divisions since the 2023–24 season:

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Location of teams in 2024–25 Maltese Challenge League
Team Location Manager
Fgura United Fgura Malta Kevin Vella
Gudja United Gudja Nigeria Orosco Anonam
Lija Athletic Lija Malta Joseph Galea
Marsa Marsa Malta Saviour Debono Grech
Mgarr United Mgarr Malta Brian Spiteri
Mtarfa Mtarfa Malta Ivan Casha
Pietà Hotspurs Pietà Malta Manuel Caruana
Santa Lucia Santa Luċija Malta Liam Mangion
Senglea Athletic Senglea Malta Robert Cassar
Sirens St. Paul's Bay Malta Stephen Damato
St. Andrews St. Andrew's, Malta Malta Jose` Borg
Swieqi United Swieqi Argentina Pablo Doffo
Tarxien Rainbows Tarxien Malta Jacques Scerri
Valletta Valletta Malta Thane Micallef
Żebbuġ Rangers Żebbuġ Malta Rodney Bugeja
Żurrieq Żurrieq Malta Francis Cassar

Kits

Team Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (front) Shirt sponsor (back) Shirt sponsor (sleeve)
Fgura United Adidas Fundazzjoni Sebħ, Trust Stamp, Euro Bridge, Iveco (Top Left) EuroSport (Top), Rad Auto Dealer (Bottom) Fundazzjoni Sebħ (Right), Hair Haven (Left)
Gudja United Macron Handy Man, SixSevenEight Apex Group (Top) Thomas Smith Insurance Broker (Left)
Lija Athletic Macron Falzon Group Of Companies TeamSport (Top), La Crema (Bottom)
Marsa Legea F Schembri
Mgarr Zeus Zarb Coaches, SCS Sammut Concrete Supplies, Ballut Blocks, Big Mat Frame Group (Top), GPC Concrete Solutions, Smart Transport LTD (Bottom) Blaugrana (Left), Halmann Vella (Right)
Mtarfa Givova Angelo Stores Mtarfa
Pietà Hotspurs Jartazi Famalco.net, A1 Supplies, Xuereb Installation Farstone Construction (Top)
Santa Lucia Capelli Sport Multivend, avanza Elmo (Top), Konica Minolta (Bottom) Yellow Army (Left), Levissima (Right)
Senglea Athletic Givova Palumbo, AUM, JCJuc Ltd
Sirens Macron Café del Mar Malta, Welbee's Arringo (Top), Malta National Aquarium (Bottom)
St. Andrews Macron Fiat, Frank Salt atg (Left), Marsali (Right)
Swieqi United Erima Platin P Casino, BEHR Eight Four Capital (Top)
Tarxien Rainbows Erreà Cassar, Dee Spas Cargo Nigel (Bottom) AEN (Right)
Valletta Nike Iniala Inter Sport (Top) Toyotomi, Da Mattia (Left), 5 Beans (Right)
Żebbuġ Rangers Joma The Convenience Shop, Coop Italia
Żurrieq Erima Trust Payment Xace (Top), Corendion, D£, B.home (Bottom) Tax ORB (Left), Firetech (Right)

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure 		Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Senglea Athletic Malta Liam Mangion End of Contract 5 May 2024 Pre-season Malta Robert Cassar 15 May 2024
Gudja United Malta Renzo Kerr Cumbo 5 May 2024 Nigeria Orosco Anonam 11 May 2024
Żurrieq Malta Saviour Debono Grech Resign 5 May 2024 Malta Francis Cassar 9 May 2024
Marsa Nigeria Orosco Anonym 8 May 2024 Malta Saviour Debono Grech 8 May 2024
Mtarfa Malta George Magri 16 May 2024 Malta Ivan Casha 1 July 2024
Santa Lucia Italy Alessandro Zinnari Sign For Ħamrun Spartans 17 May 2024 Malta Liam Mangion 6 June 2024
St. Andrews Montenegro Vesko Petrovic End of Contract 25 May 2024 Malta Jose` Borg 29 May 2024
Valletta Argentina Juan Cruz Gill End of Caretaker 5 July 2024 Malta Thane Micallef 5 July 2024

Venues

 Ta' Qali Hamrun
Centenary Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium
Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 1,962

Regular season

During the regular season, each team plays each other once (either at home or at away). The top eight teams qualify for the Top eight, while the bottom eight teams qualify for the Play-Out.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Valletta 9 7 1 1 20 2 +18 22 Qualification for the Top Eight
2 Marsa 9 5 3 1 17 8 +9 18
3 Swieqi United 10 5 3 2 14 11 +3 18
4 Mgarr United 10 4 4 2 13 7 +6 16
5 Żurrieq 9 5 1 3 11 7 +4 16
6 Tarxien Rainbows 10 5 1 4 13 12 +1 16
7 Pietà Hotspurs 9 5 1 3 12 14 −2 16
8 Sirens 9 4 3 2 16 11 +5 15
9 Gudja United 9 4 2 3 12 11 +1 14 Qualification for the Play-Out
10 Santa Lucia 9 4 1 4 11 14 −3 13
11 Żebbuġ Rangers 9 1 6 2 10 10 0 9
12 St. Andrews 9 2 3 4 5 9 −4 9
13 Fgura United 10 2 3 5 6 11 −5 9
14 Senglea Athletic 10 1 3 6 6 15 −9 6
15 Lija Athletic 9 1 2 6 8 20 −12 5
16 Mtarfa 10 1 1 8 7 19 −12 4
Updated to match(es) played on 21 December 2024. Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).

Results

Home \ Away FGU GUD LJA MSA MGR MTF PIE STL SEN SIR STA SWQ TAR VAL ZEB ZUR
Fgura United — 1–2 1–2 — — 1–2 14 Dec — 5 Jan — —
Gudja United — — — — — 1 Dec 1–2 21 Dec 1–3 — — 1–3
Lija Athletic 0–1 — 1–3 — 1–2 22 Dec 5 Jan 1–0 — — — —
Marsa — — — — — — 1–0 1–1 15 Dec 1–2 1 Dec
Mgarr United 21 Dec 0–1 2–2 — — 4–0 5 Jan 2–1 — — — —
Mtarfa 1–2 2–1 4 Jan 0–2 — 15 Dec 30 Nov — — — — —
Pietà Hotspurs — — 22 Dec — — — — 2–1 30 Nov — 3–1 1–2
Santa Lucia 0–0 — 0–5 — 0–1 — 15 Dec 2–0 — — — 4 Jan
Senglea Athletic — — — — 2–1 — — — 0–2 21 Dec 1–2 1–1
Sirens — — — 3–1 — — — — 3–0 0–3 2–2 22 Dec
St. Andrews — — — — — 0–0 1–1 — 30 Nov 14 Dec — 0–2
Swieqi United 0–1 1 Dec — 0–0 21 Dec 4 Jan 3–2 — — — — —
Tarxien Rainbows — — — 15 Dec 2–0 — — — 1–1 — 1–0 2–0
Valletta 3–0 4 Jan 6–0 30 Nov 3–0 — — — — — 22 Dec —
Żebbuġ Rangers 1 Dec 14 Dec 2–2 1–1 1–2 — — 5 Jan — — — —
Żurrieq — 14 Dec — 1–0 — — — — 1–2 0–1 1–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2024. Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of 23 November 2024[1]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Romania Andrei Ciolacu Valletta 7
2 United States Sulahmana Mamadu Bah Zurrieq 5
3 Malta Lydon Micallef Marsa 4
Ghana Emmanuel Bio Pieta' Hotspurs
Colombia Duvan Mosquera Torres Zebbug Rangers
6 Brazil Diego Silva Caetano Gudja United 3
Albania Erjon Beu Lija Athletic
Malta Jurgen Suda Mgarr United
Ghana Samuel Boakye Mgarr United
Brazil Gilberto Martins Leite Carrara Sirens
Ghana Blessing Brafo Swieqi United
Malta James Scicluna Valletta
Colombia Camilo Andres Diaz Arias Zebbug Rangers
Malta Sebastian Grech Zurrieq

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Stadium Date
United States Sulahmana Mamadu Bah Zurrieq Gudja United 3–1 (A) Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun 19 October 2024
Romania Andrei Ciolacu Valletta Santa Lucia 3–0 (A) 20 October 2024

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Malta Johnathan Debono Mgarr United 5
Malta Timothy Aquilina Valletta
3 Malta Jurgen Borg Żurrieq 3
4 Malta Daniel Attard Gudja United 2
Malta Ryan Caruana Marsa
Malta Jean Claude Debattista Swieqi United
Malta Jake Pisani St. Andrews
Malta Andreas Vella Tarxien Rainbows
9 Malta Yenz Cini Fgura United 1
Malta James Pisani Gudja United
Malta Luke Bonnici Lija Athletic
Malta Jake Farrugia Pieta' Hotspurs
Malta Christopher Farrugia Santa Lucia
Malta Johnathan Grech Senglea Athletic
Malta Andrea Cassar Sirens
Malta Jamie Azzopardi Zebbug Rangers

Discipline

Player

  • Most yellow cards: 5
    • Malta Dylan Agius (Marsa)
  • Most red cards: 1
    • Malta Julian Camilleri (Lija Athletic)
    • Malta Andy Gilson (Mtarfa)
    • Malta Ayrton Senna Azzopardi (Mtarfa)
    • Malta Zean Leornardi (Pieta' Hotspurs)
    • Malta Dylan Mangion (Santa Lucia)
    • Brazil Jean Carlos Cloth Goncalves (Santa Lucia)
    • Malta Andrea Cassar (Sirens)
    • Malta Sammy Elfarsi (Sirens)
    • Brazil Elizeu Espirito Santo Da Conceicao (St. Andrews)
    • Malta Andre Spiteri (Tarxien Rainbows)

Club

References

  1. ^ "Tables & Statistics". maltafootball.com. 20 September 2020.