2023–24 Maltese Challenge League

Maltese Challenge League
Season	2023–24
Dates	16 September 2023 – 28 April 2024
Matches played	40
Goals scored	102 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorer	Andre Carlos Penha Da Costa; Bledi Alla; Camilo Andres Sanchez Gonzales; (5 Goals Each)
Biggest home win	Melita 4-0 Msida Saint-Joseph; (1 October 2023)
Biggest away win	Żebbuġ Rangers 0-5 Żurrieq; (16 September 2023)
Highest scoring	Marsa 3-3 Melita; (21 October 2023)
Longest winning run	Żurrieq; (4 Games)
Longest unbeaten run	Lija Athletic; Marsa; Melita; (5 Games Each)
Longest winless run	Msida Saint-Joseph; Żebbuġ Rangers; (5 Games Each)
Longest losing run	Msida Saint-Joseph; (5 Games)
	← 2022–23 2024–25 → All statistics correct as of 27 October 2023.

The 2023–24 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the fourth season that the competition has been running in its present form.

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2022–23 season:

To Maltese Challenge League

Promoted from Maltese National Amateur League

Relegated from the Maltese Premier League

From Maltese Challenge League

Promoted to the Maltese Premier League

Relegated to Maltese National Amateur League

Teams

Location of teams in 2023–24 Maltese Challenge League

Sixteen teams will compete in the league which will include the four teams promoted from the Amateur League and two or three teams relegated from the Premier League. The top two teams will achieve automatic promotion at the end-of-season. The bottom four clubs will go automatically relegated.

Team	Location	Manager
Attard	Attard	Daniel Agius
Fgura United	Fgura	Kevin Vella
Lija Athletic	Lija	Joseph Galea
Luqa St. Andrew's	Luqa	Edmond Lufi
Marsa	Marsa	Orosco Anonam
Melita	San Ġiljan	Clive Mizzi
Msida Saint-Joseph	Msida	Neville Galea
Pietà Hotspurs	Pietà	Manuel Caruana
Senglea Athletic	Senglea	Edgar Degabriele
St. Andrews	St. Andrew's, Malta	Charles Muscat
Swieqi United	Swieqi	Pablo Doffo
Tarxien Rainbows	Tarxien	Jacques Scerri
Żabbar St. Patrick	Zabbar	Emilio Cornago San Pedro
Żebbuġ Rangers	Żebbuġ	Rodney Bugeja
Żejtun Corinthians	Zejtun	Ivan Casha
Żurrieq	Żurrieq	Saviour Debono Grech

Kits

Team	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (front)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shirt sponsor (sleeve)
Attard	Givova	Bilven Ltd, Searched		A to Z Electronics (Both)
Fgura United	Adidas	Fundazzjoni Sebħ, Trust Stamp, Euro Bridge, Iveco (Top Left)	EuroSport (Top), Rad Auto Dealer (Bottom)	Fundazzjoni Sebħ (Right), Hair Haven (Left)
Lija Athletic	Macron	Falzon Group Of Companies	TeamSport (Top), La Crema (Bottom)
Luqa St. Andrew's	Macron	Seduta Construction		Bilon Service (Right)
Marsa	Legea	F Schembri
Melita	Hummel	Atlas Insurance	Hub88 (Top), Burger King (Middle) Eurosport (Bottom)	I nouv (Right), VIBE (Left)
Msida Saint-Joseph	Legea	C.A.M.C. Security, MTZ Group (Top Left)	Sports Locker (Top), The Tub (Bottom)	Cuschieri Group (Left), KF Kebab (Right)
Pietà Hotspurs	Jartazi	Famalco.net, A1 Supplies, Xuereb Installation	Farstone Construction (Top)
Senglea Athletic	Givova	Palumbo, AUM, JCJuc Ltd
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)
Żabbar St. Patrick	Erreà	The Shoreline	DL Group (Top), Kristal (Bottom)
Żebbuġ Rangers	Joma	The Convenience Shop, Coop Italia
Żejtun Corinthians	Erreà	Inno-hit		Magic Castle (Right)
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
Melita	Saviour Debono Grech	End of Contract	24 April 2023	Pre-season	Clive Mizzi	25 May 2023
Marsa	Ryan Fenech	End of Caretaker	24 April 2023		Orosco Anonam	15 May 2023
Żurrieq	George Magri	Resign	29 April 2023		Saviour Debono Grech	10 May 2023
Żabbar St. Patrick	Emilio Cornago	End of Caretaker	2 May 2023		Joseph Spiteri	20 May 2023
Żebbuġ Rangers	Brian Spiteri	End of Contract	3 May 2023		Rodney Bugeja	19 May 2023
Pietà Hotspurs	Rodney Bugeja		6 May 2023		Manuel Caruana	26 May 2023
St. Andrews	Brian Said		7 May 2023		Ramon Zammit	13 May 2023
Żejtun Corinthians	Orosco Anonam		15 May 2023		Ivan Casha	29 May 2023
Swieqi United	Stephen Damato	Signed by Sirens	24 May 2023		Pablo Doffo	26 May 2023
St. Andrews	Ramon Zammit	Sacked	21 October 2023	13th	Charles Muscat	21 October 2023

Stadiums

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

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Żurrieq	5	4	0	1	9	3	+6	12	Qualification for the Top Six
2	Melita	5	3	2	0	13	6	+7	11
3	Lija Athletic	5	3	2	0	10	6	+4	11
4	Żabbar St. Patrick	5	3	1	1	5	1	+4	10
5	Marsa	5	2	3	0	7	5	+2	9
6	Fgura United	5	3	0	2	5	6	−1	9
7	Pietà Hotspurs	5	2	2	1	11	7	+4	8	Qualification for the Play-Out
8	Luqa St. Andrew's	5	2	2	1	10	7	+3	8
9	Swieqi United	5	2	1	2	5	4	+1	7
10	Tarxien Rainbows	5	1	2	2	5	5	0	5
11	Senglea Athletic	5	1	2	2	4	5	−1	5
12	St. Andrews	5	1	1	3	5	7	−2	4
13	Żejtun Corinthians	5	1	1	3	2	5	−3	4
14	Attard	5	1	1	3	6	13	−7	4
15	Żebbuġ Rangers	5	0	2	3	2	10	−8	2
16	Msida Saint-Joseph	5	0	0	5	3	12	−9	0

Updated to match(es) played on 25 October 2023. 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	ATT	FGU	LJA	LQA	MSA	MEL	MSI	PIE	SEN	STA	SWQ	TAR	ZAB	ZEB	ZEJ	ZUR
Attard	—	9 Dec	17 Dec	—	4 Nov	—	—	2–1		1–1		—	0–3			—
Fgura United	—	—	2 Dec	—	1–2	17 Dec	—	0–4		2–0		—	3 Nov			—
Lija Athletic	—	—	—	3–1	—	9 Dec	3–2	—		—		0–0	—			3 Nov
Luqa St. Andrew's	4–1	26 Nov	—	—		—			—	17 Dec	28 Oct		2 Dec	—	2–0	—
Marsa	—	—	28 Oct		—	3–3	—	10 Dec	2–1		—	—		25 Nov	—
Melita	2 Dec	—	—	4 Nov	—	—	4–0	—		—		2–1	—			2–0
Msida Saint-Joseph	29 Oct	0–1	—		16 Dec	—	—	—	—		1–3	10 Dec		—	25 Nov
Pietà Hotspurs	—	—	2–2		—	2–2	3 Dec	—	25 Nov		—	—		29 Oct	—
Senglea Athletic				2–2	—		1–0	—	—	—	—	5 Nov	—	—	3 Dec	0–1
St. Andrews	—	—	1–2	—		26 Nov			29 Oct	—	—		—	3–1	—	2 Dec
Swieqi United				—	0–0		—	1–2	16 Dec	4 Nov	—	—	1–0	3 Dec	—	—
Tarxien Rainbows	4–2	0–1	—		3 Dec	—	—	17 Dec	—		25 Nov	—		—	29 Oct
Żabbar St. Patrick	—	—	26 Nov	—		28 Oct			0–0	9 Dec	—		—	1–0	—	—
Żebbuġ Rangers				1–1	—		5 Nov	—	10 Dec	—	—	0–0	—	—	—	0–5
Żejtun Corinthians			—		0–0		—	5 Nov	—	1–0	10 Dec	—	0–1	16 Dec	—	—
Żurrieq	26 Nov	28 Oct	—	9 Dec		—			—	—	1–0		16 Dec	—	2–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 27 October 2023. 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

Top scorers

As of 27 October 2023[1]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Bledi Alla	Attard	5
	Andre Carlos Penha Da Costa	Melita
	Camilo Andres Sanchez Gonzales	Luqa St. Andrews
4	Erjon Beu	Lija Athletic	4
4	Pavlidis Claudio Antunes	Pieta Hotspurs	4
6	Nnamdi Ofufu Ibeh	Fgura United	3
	Ronald Makalysten Melo Costa	Lija Athletic
	Alan Abdel Rahman	Luqa St. Andrews
	Tharcysio Henrique Da Silva	Marsa
	Hibiki Mochizuki	Pieta Hotspurs
	Santiago Fabian Moracci	Tarxien Rainbows
	Ivan Sousa Flora Francisco	Zurrieq

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Stadium	Date
Andre Carlos Penha Da Costa	Melita	Msida Saint-Joseph	4-0 (H)	Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun	1 October 2023
Santiago Fabian Moracci	Tarxien Rainbows	Attard	4-2 (H)	Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali	22 October 2023

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Matthew Grech	Żabbar St. Patrick	4
2	Ryan Caruana	Zurrieq	3
3	Julian Azzopardi	Fgura United	2
	Christopher Farrugia	Marsa
	Gosef Mizzi	Melita
	Glenn Zammit	Senglea Athletic
	Jean Claude Debattista	Swieqi United
	Andreas Vella	Tarxien Rainbows
	Frederick Tabone	Zejtun Corinthians
10	Ryan Vella	Fgura United	1
	Luke Bonnici	Lija Athletic
	Edward Gatt	Luqa St. Andrew's
	Reeves Cini	Pieta Hotspurs
	Jamie Azzopardi	Zebbug Rangers

Player

Most yellow cards: 4
- Matthew Muscat (St. Andrews)
Most red cards: 1
- Thomas Francis Grech (Fgura United)
- Tensior Gusman (Marsa)
- Nick Cutajar (Melita)
- Jeremy Delmar (Msida Saint-Joseph)
- Tyrone Fenech (Senglea Athletic)
- Kieran Zarb (St. Andrews)
- Matthew Spiteri (Tarxien Rainbows)
- Gaetano Joseph Gesualdi (Żebbuġ Rangers)
- Paul Galea (Żebbuġ Rangers)
- Josmar Galea (Zejtun Corinthians)
- Xylon Portelli (Zurrieq)

Club

Most yellow cards: 19
- Swieqi United
Most red cards: 2
- Żebbuġ Rangers

References

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Tables & Statistics". maltafootball.com. 20 September 2020.

2023–24 in Maltese football
« 2022–23
Domestic leagues	Premier League Challenge League National Amateur League
Domestic cups	FA Trophy Super Cup
European competitions	Champions League Europa Conference League
List of Maltese football transfers 2023–24

Maltese First Division/Maltese Challenge League seasons
First Division	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 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
Challenge League	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Clubs	Fgura United Lija Athletic Luqa St. Andrew's Marsa Marsaxlokk Melita Mġarr United Mqabba Naxxar Lions Pembroke Athleta Pietà Hotspurs Qrendi Rabat Ajax Senglea Athletic San Ġwann St. Andrews St. George's Swieqi United Tarxien Rainbows Vittoriosa Stars Żebbuġ Rangers Żejtun Corinthians