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

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 Spartans 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 22 17 4 1 52 17+35 55 Qualification to championship round
2 Hibernians 22 15 6 1 55 16+39 51
3 Floriana 22 12 6 4 34 19+15 42
4 Sliema Wanderers 22 8 11 3 34 24+10 35
5 Birkirkara 22 11 2 9 34 29+5 35
6 Balzan 22 9 4 9 28 346 31
7 Qormi 22 9 2 11 36 371 29 Qualification to relegation round
8 Mosta 22 6 5 11 23 3512 23
9 Mqabba 22 5 5 12 25 4318 20
10 Hamrun Spartans 22 5 4 13 31 5221 19
11 Tarxien Rainbows 22 5 3 14 26 4418 18
12 Marsaxlokk 22 3 2 17 25 5328 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 BAL BIR FLOHIBHAMMRSMOSMQAQORSLITARVAL
Balzan 04 22 32 202 31 11 12 20 21 10 02
Birkirkara 21 01 03 31 10 00 10 20 01 23 14
Floriana 31 03 00 42 40 12 20 21 01 10 01
Hibernians 31 50 11 50 21 21 41 40 11 20 11
Hamrun Spartans 12 04 01 11 62 22 02 23 42 31 02
Marsaxlokk 01 12 04 02 53 52 02 12 02 22 02
Mosta 10 13 23 02 01 00 30 10 32 21 03
Mqabba 22 22 01 16 23 10 11 14 02 11 24
Qormi 30 20 11 02 30 31 41 01 13 41 14
Sliema Wanderers 11 10 00 33 11 22 20 11 33 30 00
Tarxien Rainbows 12 13 12 12 11 24 10 32 20 11 14
Valletta 20 21 11 02 40 52 10 21 31 11 42

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 (C) 32 25 5 2 75 24+51 54 2012–13 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round
2 Hibernians 32 22 6 4 74 26+48 46 2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
3 Birkirkara 32 17 4 11 55 37+18 38 2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
4 Floriana 32 16 6 10 46 32+14 29
5 Sliema Wanderers 32 9 14 9 43 507 23
6 Balzan 32 9 6 17 36 6428 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 BAL BIR FLOHIBSLIVAL
Balzan 05 03 14 33 27
Birkirkara 30 31 20 11 02
Floriana 31 21 02 14 01
Hibernians 30 01 10 21 23
Sliema Wanderers 11 14 13 13 02
Valletta 10 11 20 12 30

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 32 15 2 15 54 48+6 33
8 Mosta 32 10 8 14 45 472 27
9 Tarxien Rainbows 32 11 3 18 45 549 27
10 Hamrun Spartans 32 9 7 16 47 7124 25
11 Mqabba (R) 32 9 7 16 40 5515 24 Relegation to 2012–13 Maltese First Division
12 Marsaxlokk (R) 32 5 2 25 34 8854 08

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 HAM MRS MOSMQAQORTAR
Hamrun Spartans 31 11 00 10 03
Marsaxlokk 16 15 04 10 02
Mosta 22 50 22 20 02
Mqabba 41 30 10 01 05
Qormi 60 51 14 21 10
Tarxien Rainbows 12 24 21 10 12

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 Nigeria Obinna Obiefule Marsaxlokk / Mosta 34
2 Brazil Tarabai Hibernians 21
3 Malta Clayton Failla Hibernians 11
4 Spain Moises Avila Perez Birkirkara 10
5 Malta Joseph Farrugia Qormi 9
Brazil Denni Valletta 9
Nigeria Alfred Effiong Valletta 9
8 Bulgaria Danail Mitev Sliema Wanderers 10
Serbia Bojan Mamić Mqabba 8
10 Brazil Thiago Mazzitelli Mqabba 7

References

External links

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