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Football league season
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 September 2020 – 7 March 2021 |
| Relegated | Qormi |
| Matches played | 159 |
| Goals scored | 465 (2.92 per match) |
| ← 2019–20 2021–22 → All statistics correct as of 11 April 2021. | |
The 2020–2021 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons), is the second-level league of football in Malta. This was the first season to take place under the new Challenge League brand.
Following an announcement by Prime Minister Robert Abela, both the Premier League and Challenge League were suspended from 10 March to 11 April 2021 due to the amount of COVID-19 cases increasing in Malta. This was followed by a government decision to extend the suspension, leading to the MFA ending the season prematurely. Due to the season ending without 75% of matches having taken place, both promotion to the Premier League and relegation to the Amateur League (apart from Qormi, who had already been relegated during the season) was suspended until the following season. The following season will have 22 teams split into two groups with the top two clubs earning promotion.
Teams
Fifteen teams competed in the league which included the two teams promoted from the Second Division.
| Team | Finishing position last season | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fgura United | 9th | Fgura | Gudja Ground | 1,000 |
| Marsa | 1st in Second Division (promoted) | Marsa | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| Marsaxlokk | 3rd in Second Division (promoted) | Marsaxlokk | Marsaxlokk Ground | 1,000 |
| Mqabba | 14th | Mqabba | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Naxxar Lions | 4th | Naxxar | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
| Pembroke Athleta | 5th | Pembroke | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 8th | Pietà | ||
| Qormi | 11th | Qormi | Thomaso Ground | 500 |
| Qrendi | 3rd | Qrendi | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| San Ġwann | 2nd in Second Division (promoted) | San Ġwann | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
| St. Andrews | 6th | St. Andrew's, Malta | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| St. George's | 13th | Cospicua | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
| Swieqi United | 10th | Swieqi | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| Vittoriosa Stars | 12th | Birgu | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Żebbuġ Rangers | 7th | Żebbuġ | Żebbuġ Ground | 1,000 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marsa | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 21 | +33 | 50 | |
| 2 | Pembroke Athleta | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 18 | +23 | 47 | |
| 3 | San Ġwann | 22 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 36 | |
| 4 | Żebbuġ Rangers | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 34 | |
| 5 | Swieqi United | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 34 | |
| 6 | Naxxar Lions | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 30 | |
| 7 | Qrendi | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 29 | |
| 8 | Pietà Hotspurs | 21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 27 | |
| 9 | St. Andrews | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 27 | |
| 10 | Vittoriosa Stars | 21 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 25 | −5 | 27 | |
| 11 | Marsaxlokk | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 13 | +12 | 26 | |
| 12 | Fgura United | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 26 | |
| 13 | Mqabba | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 24 | |
| 14 | St. George's | 20 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 40 | −24 | 13 | |
| 15 | Qormi (R) | 22 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 60 | −45 | 2 | Relegation to the 2021-22 Maltese National Amateur League |
Rules for classification: 1) Points;
(R) Relegated
Notes:
- Qormi received a 5 point deduction for breaching the League's Payment Regulations.
Results
| Home \ Away | FGU | MSA | MXK | MQA | NXL | PEM | PHS | QOR | QND | SGW | STA | STG | SWU | VST | ZEB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fgura United | — | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | ||||
| Marsa | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |||
| Marsaxlokk | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | 6–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | ||||||
| Mqabba | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||
| Naxxar Lions | 0–3 | 2–0 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | ||||
| Pembroke Athleta | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | ||||
| Pietà Hotspurs | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | — | 2–3 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |||
| Qormi | 1–5 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |||
| Qrendi | 4–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–6 | ||||
| San Ġwann | 3–0 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | |||
| St. Andrews | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | |
| St. George's | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–5 | |||
| Swieqi United | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 5–4 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | |||
| Vittoriosa Stars | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | |||
| Żebbuġ Rangers | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 6–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
References
- "BOV Challenge League". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "All organised sport suspended until April 11 due to rise of COVID-19 cases". SportsDesk. 10 March 2021.
- "Żejtun, Tarxien, Lija lament MFA Exco decision over Premier League relegation". SportsDesk. 9 April 2021.
- "MFA EXCO step up fight against money laundering and bad practices in Maltese football". Times of Malta. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- "MFA Exco approve proposals to increase of number of overseas players in matchday squads". Times of Malta. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- "New format proposed by MFA EXCO for expanded Challenge League". Times of Malta. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- "2020–21 BOV Premier League set for exciting start". Malta Football Association. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "MFA Challenge League". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
External links
- Official website Archived 6 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine
| Maltese First Division/Maltese Challenge League seasons | |
|---|---|
| First Division | |
| Challenge League | |
| Clubs | |
| 2020–21 in Maltese football | |
|---|---|
| « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
| Domestic leagues | |
| Domestic cups |
|
| European competitions | |
| List of Maltese football transfers 2020–21 | |