2011–12 Maltese Premier League

Maltese Premier League
Season	2011–12
Champions	Valletta (21st title)
Relegated	Marsaxlokk Mqabba
Champions League	Valletta
Europa League	Hibernians Birkirkara Floriana
Matches played	126
Goals scored	384 (3.05 per match)
Top goalscorer	Obinna Obiefule (34 goals)
Biggest home win	Hibernians 5–0 Birkirkara
Biggest away win	Hamrun Spartans 0–4 Birkirkara
Highest scoring	Marsaxlokk 5–3 Hamrun Spartans
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 Maltese Premier League is the 97th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began on 19 August 2011 and it ended in May 2012. Valletta are the defending champions, having won their 20th title last season.

The Premier League consists of two rounds. In the First Round, every team plays each opponent twice, once "home" and once "away" (in actuality, the designation of home and away is purely arbitrary as most of the clubs do not have their own grounds), for a total of 22 games. The league then splits into two pools. Earned points are subsequently halved. Teams that finish in positions 1–6 compete in the "Championship Pool" and teams that finish in positions 7–12 play in the "Relegation Pool".

On 13 January 2011, the Malta Football Association decided to expand the league to 12 teams starting with this season.^[1]

Teams

Vittoriosa Stars were relegated to the First Division after finishing in last place of the relegation pool last season. This ended a one-year stay in the Premier League for them. Taking their place in the competition are Balzan Youths, the champions of the Maltese First Division. Balzan are playing in the Premier League after a seven season absence.

Because of the league's expansion for this season, the second- and third-place finishers of the First Division, Mqabba and Mosta respectively, were also promoted to the Premier League for this season. Mqabba return to the top league after a three year absence while Mosta return after five years away.

Stadia and training grounds

Only a few stadia have the infrastructure needed to host Premier League matches. These are Ta' Qali National Stadium and Centenary Stadium at Ta' Qali, Attard, Victor Tedesco Stadium at Ħamrun and Hibernians Ground at Paola. Additional to that, each team has been assigned to a dedicated training ground. On a few occasions, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans play at their home ground, but otherwise all games are played on neutral ground, rendering "home" and "away" games purely symbolic.

Charles Abela Memorial StadiumHibernians

Location of teams in 2011–12 Maltese Premier Division

Team	Location of origin	Ground	Location of ground
Balzan Youths	Balzan
Birkirkara	Birkirkara	Infetti Ground	Birkirkara
Floriana	Floriana	Victor Tedesco Stadium	Ħamrun
Hibernians	Paola	Hibernians Ground	Paola
Hamrun !Hamrun Spartans	Hamrun !Ħamrun	Victor Tedesco Stadium	Ħamrun
Marsaxlokk	Marsaxlokk	Marsaxlokk Ground	Marsaxlokk
Mosta	Mosta	Mosta Ground	Mosta
Mqabba	Mqabba
Qormi	Qormi	Thomaso Grounds	Qormi
Sliema Wanderers	Sliema	Tigné Point	Sliema
Tarxien Rainbows	Tarxien	Tarxien Ground	Tarxien
Valletta	Valletta	Salinos Ground	Valletta

First phase

League table


Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Valletta !Valletta	22	17	4	1	52	17	+35	55	Qualification to championship round
2	Hibernians !Hibernians	22	15	6	1	55	16	+39	51
3	Floriana !Floriana	22	12	6	4	34	19	+15	42
4	Sliema Wanderers !Sliema Wanderers	22	8	11	3	34	24	+10	35
5	Birkirkara !Birkirkara	22	11	2	9	34	29	+5	35
6	Balzan !Balzan	22	9	4	9	28	34	−6	31
7	Qormi !Qormi	22	9	2	11	36	37	−1	29	Qualification to relegation round
8	Mosta !Mosta	22	6	5	11	23	35	−12	23
9	Mqabba !Mqabba	22	5	5	12	25	43	−18	20
10	Hamrun Spartans !Hamrun Spartans	22	5	4	13	31	52	−21	19
11	Tarxien Rainbows !Tarxien Rainbows	22	5	3	14	26	44	−18	18
12	Marsaxlokk !Marsaxlokk	22	3	2	17	25	53	−28	11

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away	Balzan !BAL	Birkirkara !BIR	Floriana !FLO	Hibernians !HIB	Hamrun Spartans !HAM	Marsaxlokk !MRS	Mosta !MOS	Mqabba !MQA	Qormi !QOR	Sliema Wanderers !SLI	Tarxien Rainbows !TAR	Valletta !VAL
Balzan !Balzan		0–4	2–2	3–2	2–0²	3–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	2–1	1–0	0–2
Birkirkara !Birkirkara	2–1		0–1	0–3	3–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	2–3	1–4
Floriana !Floriana	3–1	0–3		0–0	4–2	4–0	1–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–1
Hibernians !Hibernians	3–1	5–0	1–1		5–0	2–1	2–1	4–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1
Hamrun Spartans !Hamrun Spartans	1–2	0–4	0–1	1–1		6–2	2–2	0–2	2–3	4–2	3–1	0–2
Marsaxlokk !Marsaxlokk	0–1	1–2	0–4	0–2	5–3		5–2	0–2	1–2	0–2	2–2	0–2
Mosta !Mosta	1–0	1–3	2–3	0–2	0–1	0–0		3–0	1–0	3–2	2–1	0–3
Mqabba !Mqabba	2–2	2–2	0–1	1–6	2–3	1–0	1–1		1–4	0–2	1–1	2–4
Qormi !Qormi	3–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–0	3–1	4–1	0–1		1–3	4–1	1–4
Sliema Wanderers !Sliema Wanderers	1–1	1–0	0–0	3–3	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–3		3–0	0–0
Tarxien Rainbows !Tarxien Rainbows	1–2	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–4	1–0	3–2	2–0	1–1		1–4
Valletta !Valletta	2–0	2–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	5–2	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	4–2

Updated to games played on 4 March 2012.
Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
²This match originally ended 1-3 for Hamrun Spartans, but was awarded to Balzan Youths 2-0 following an appeal.^[2]
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second phase

Championship group

Group table


Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Valletta !Valletta (C)	32	25	5	2	75	24	+51	54	2012–13 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round
2	Hibernians !Hibernians	32	22	6	4	74	26	+48	46	2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round ¹
3	Birkirkara !Birkirkara	32	17	4	11	55	37	+18	38	2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round ¹
4	Floriana !Floriana	32	16	6	10	46	32	+14	29	2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round ¹
5	Sliema Wanderers !Sliema Wanderers	32	9	14	9	43	50	−7	23
6	Balzan !Balzan	32	9	6	17	36	64	−28	15

Updated to games played on 11 May 2012.
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹The winners of the 2011–12 Maltese FA Trophy, Hibernians, qualified for the first qualifying round of UEFA Europa League. As they finished second, the fourth-placed team of the league also qualified for the Europa League.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away	Balzan !BAL	Birkirkara !BIR	Floriana !FLO	Hibernians !HIB	Sliema Wanderers !SLI	Valletta !VAL
Balzan !Balzan		0–5	0–3	1–4	3–3	2–7
Birkirkara !Birkirkara	3–0		3–1	2–0	1–1	0–2
Floriana !Floriana	3–1	2–1		0–2	1–4	0–1
Hibernians !Hibernians	3–0	0–1	1–0		2–1	2–3
Sliema Wanderers !Sliema Wanderers	1–1	1–4	1–3	1–3		0–2
Valletta !Valletta	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	3–0

Updated to games played on 11 May 2012.
Source: Soccerway
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

Group table


Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
7	Qormi !Qormi	32	15	2	15	54	48	+6	33
8	Mosta !Mosta	32	10	8	14	45	47	−2	27
9	Tarxien Rainbows !Tarxien Rainbows	32	11	3	18	45	54	−9	27
10	Hamrun Spartans !Hamrun Spartans	32	9	7	16	47	71	−24	25
11	Mqabba !Mqabba (R)	32	9	7	16	40	55	−15	24	Relegation to 2012–13 Maltese First Division
12	Marsaxlokk !Marsaxlokk (R)	32	5	2	25	34	88	−54	08^†	Relegation to 2012–13 Maltese First Division

Updated to games played on 10 April 2012.
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
^† Marsaxlokk has 9 points deducted
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away	Hamrun Spartans !HAM	Marsaxlokk !MRS	Mosta !MOS	Mqabba !MQA	Qormi !QOR	Tarxien Rainbows !TAR
Hamrun Spartans !Hamrun Spartans		3–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–3
Marsaxlokk !Marsaxlokk	1–6		1–5	0–4	1–0	0–2
Mosta !Mosta	2–2	5–0		2–2	2–0	0–2
Mqabba !Mqabba	4–1	3–0	1–0		0–1	0–5
Qormi !Qormi	6–0	5–1	1–4	2–1		1–0
Tarxien Rainbows !Tarxien Rainbows	1–2	2–4	2–1	1–0	1–2

Updated to games played on 10 April 2012.
Source: Soccerway
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Obinna Obiefule	Marsaxlokk / Mosta	34
2	Tarabai	Hibernians	21
3	Clayton Failla	Hibernians	11
4	Moises Avila Perez	Birkirkara	10
5	Joseph Farrugia	Qormi	9
	Denni	Valletta	9
	Alfred Effiong	Valletta	9
8	Danail Mitev	Sliema Wanderers	10
8	Bojan Mamić	Mqabba	8
10	Thiago Mazzitelli	Mqabba	7

References

↑ Changes to National League, FA Trophy format approved
↑ Busuttil, Antoine. "Rainbows, Spartans share spoils in draw - Wanderers win Old Firm derby". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 13 September 2011.

External links

Maltese Premier League seasons

1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–00
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16

2011–12 in Maltese football

Domestic leagues	Premier League First Division Second Division Third Division

Domestic cups	FA Trophy

European competitions	Champions League Europa League

List of Maltese football transfers 2011–12

Football in Malta

Malta Football Association

National teams

men:	Men's National team Olympic (U-23) U-21 U-19 U-17

women:	Women's National team

League system

men:	Premier League First Division Second Division Third Division

women:	Women's 1st Division

youth:	Minors' League U-17 Championship

Domestic cups

men:	National Cup Super Cup Maltese First Division knock-out

women:	Women's Cup

Awards

Footballer of the Year

Lists

Men's Clubs
Women's Clubs
Men's Players
Women's Players
Expatriate footballers
Managers
Referees
Venues
Records

2011–12 in European football (UEFA)

« 2010–11 2012–13 »

Domestic leagues	Albania Andorra Armenia '11 '12–'13 Austria Azerbaijan Belarus '11 '12 Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia '11 '12 Faroe Islands '11 '12 Finland '11 '12 France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '11 '12 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '11 '12 Latvia '11 '12 Lithuania '11 '12 Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '11 '12 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '11 '12 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden '11 '12 Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales

Domestic cups	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands '11 '12 Finland '11 '12 France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '11 '12 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '11 '12 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '11 '12 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '11 '12 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden '11 Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales

League cups	England Finland '11 '12 France Hungary Iceland '11 '12 Israel Northern Ireland Portugal Republic of Ireland '11 '12 Scotland Turkey Wales

UEFA competitions	Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round group stage knockout phase Final Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round group stage knockout phase Final Super Cup

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.