National Amateur Cup (Malta)

National Amateur Cup
Founded2020
RegionMalta
Number of teams24
Qualifier forMaltese FA Trophy
WebsiteOfficial page on MFA website
2022–23 Maltese National Amateur Cup

The National Amateur Cup is an annual knockout football competition that takes place in Malta.

The tournament is open to all the teams that take part in the National Amateur League, the third and last level of Maltese football and some teams from the Gozo Football League.

The teams that reach the semi-final stage are allowed to take part in the Maltese FA Trophy preliminary round.[1]

Format

The tournament was created in 2020, following a general restructuring of the Maltese football system by the Malta Football Association. It was decided to create a new single-elimination competition reserved for the teams from the lower categories.[1]

The first season of the cup started in October 2020[2] and it was interrupted and later declared cancelled on 9 April 2021 due to the decision of the MFA to stop all the competitions because of COVID-19 pandemic in Malta.[3] Munxar Falcons and Żebbuġ Rovers were the first two Gozitan teams that played in the competition.[4] The first actual winner of the competition was Żabbar St. Patrick, that won the cup in 2022.[5] Zebbug Rovers were the first Gozitan team to pass through a round, when on the 8th of August 2022 they've beaten Pembroke Athleta F.C with a 6–2 scoreline, hence they were also the first Gozitan club that had beaten Maltese opposition in this competition. They made it to the round of last 16.

Winners and finalists

Season Winners Score Runners–up Venue
2020–21 Żurrieq -^ Msida Saint-Joseph Hibernians Stadium
2021–22 Żabbar St. Patrick 6–2 Marsaskala F.C. Centenary Stadium
2022–23 Senglea Athletic 1–0 Żabbar St. Patrick Victor Tedesco Stadium

^ Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

  1. ^ a b Busuttil, Antoine (10 June 2020). "CHANGES IN FORMAT FOR FA TROPHY; INTRODUCTION OF AMATEUR CUP". Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  2. ^ "First edition of National Amateur Cup kicks off on Saturday". Malta Football Association. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Sports ban forces termination of domestic competitions". Malta Football Association. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. ^ Busuttil, Antoine (26 October 2020). "NATIONAL AMATEUR CUP 2020/21 PRELIMINARY ROUND AND ROUND OF 16 DRAWS". Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. ^ Busuttil, Antoine (24 April 2022). "Zabbar St. Patrick stage brilliant comeback to claim National Amateur Cup". Retrieved 26 April 2022.


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