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| Full name | Melita Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 28th April 1933 |
| Ground | Gianni Bencini Ground |
| Capacity | 500 |
| Manager | Clive Mizzi |
| League | Maltese Challenge League |
| 2023–24 | Maltese Challenge League, 1st |
Melita Football Club is a Maltese football club that represents the town of St. Julian's. Melita was recently promoted to the Maltese top flight for the fifth time in their history, and will once again be playing in the Maltese Premier League from the 2024–25 season.[1] They also play in the annual Maltese FA Trophy.[2]
History
Origins
Melita Football Club was founded on 28 April 1933 at the first general meeting by Sur Gian Bencini who was elected the first president of the club at that meeting. The cardinal points in its first statute were that the club would have its base in St. Julians, would have an "Amateur" status, that the original colours would be red and white and the motto of the club would be "Play the Game for the Game's Sake" and "The Game First and Foremost". Any or all of these points could only be changed by a unanimous vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for such a purpose.
The club has been affiliated with the Malta Football Association since 23 April 1944, representing the locality of St. Julians.
The long serving President of the club, Anton Naudi, who had been at the helm for 26 years since 1983 when Melita were also in the First Division, has stepped down from the Presidency and his place has been taken over by a younger person, Paul Zammit, who had just been elected as the new president in the club's last Annual General Meeting of June 2009 and who himself has also been attached to this club since his playing days and whose father served the club for many years in the past as its treasurer. There is also a new Secretary, Matthew Naudi, Anton's son and also a former stalwart with the club, Alfred Zammit, who has also served the club for many years and has replaced Oliver Lautier as the club's representative on the MFA Council and John Naudi as vice-president, also an ex player. The treasurer remains the same, Joseph Borg. The club also boasts of a fully fledged coaching and technical staff. All this makes our AMATEUR club being run and managed on a "professional" basis The club is still to date registered with the MFA as "Amateur" and still embraces this policy and belief to date. In fact, all the club's players, coaches and administrators give their loyal and dedicated service to the club on a voluntary basis. Our "Amateur" status had been threatened some years ago, in the beginning of the New Millennium, when UEFA decided that all football associations registered with it should have its clubs playing against a licence issued with UEFA regulations and criteria. This meant that Melita could ONLY keep its prestigious status up to Second Division level. Further up from here UEFA would have asked for a semi-professional status. So, the committee at that time prepared a well laid out and organised request to the MFA not to lose this status. After many meetings and serious considerations, MFA decided to grant the club a "ONE TIME LICENCE" allowing us to retain our "Amateur" status permanently. This could only be achieved as a result of our club's well known image and so a milestone in our history was registered.
Although the club has won many an honour since its foundation, the greatest of all still remains the famous 4–0 victory by the club over the well known Sliema Wanderers in the FA Trophy Final in 1939 and, by so doing, has inscribed its name among the many famous local clubs in this prestigious competition. The second biggest success in the club's history was precisely registered in season 2008–2009 when we won ALL the four competitions in our Senior Sector which the club was participating in, namely the Runner-up position in the Second Division which meant automatic promotion to the First Division and winners of the 11/111 Division K.O. Cup for the Senior Team and champions of Youth Section "B" which meant promotion to Section "A" and K.O. Cup Winners of Youth Sections "B", "C" and "D" for the Youth U/19 Team. This success has never been attained by the club before and has also never been achieved by any club member of the MFA competing in all the competitions at stake in one season. The third biggest success emerged in season 2012/2013 when the club will be playing Premier Division football for the first time in its history.
Early years
The club was founded in 1933 by Gianni Bencini. After only six years in the Malta Football Association, Melita FC managed to go all the way to the final of the Maltese Cup. In the final Melita faced Sliema Wanderers, winning the game 4–0 – the first and so far the only major Cup trophy Melita have won. Melita made it to the final for the second consecutive year in 1940, again playing Sliema, but this time they lost the match 3–2. Their league form was very promising having shot up the leagues to play their first season of top flight football in the 1939-1940 Maltese Premier League, finishing runner-up, their highest ever league position. They kept their position among the elite of Maltese football until their relegation from the top flight in the 1947-48 Maltese Premier League. The club managed to return to the top tier for the 1953-54 Maltese Premier League, however their stay lasted only one season.
1963-1964: Return to Premier Division
Following an absence of 10 years, Melita F.C. sealed their return to the top level of Maltese Football for the 1963-64 Maltese Premier League season.
League Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema Wanderers F.C. (C) | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 9 | +30 | 26 | Qualification for the European Cup |
| 2 | Valletta F.C. | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 8 | +36 | 22 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup[a] |
| 3 | Hibernians F.C. | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 17 | |
| 4 | Floriana F.C. | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 17 | |
| 5 | Hamrun Spartans F.C. | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 26 | −12 | 11 | |
| 6 | Rabat | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 10 | |
| 7 | Melita F.C. (R) | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 26 | −17 | 8 | Relegation |
| 8 | St. George's F.C. (R) | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 46 | −38 | 1 |
- ^ Valletta qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Maltese FA Trophy Winners
Late 1960's - Early 2010's: Life in the Lower Leagues
The club survived for one solitary season before a period of 45 years playing lower league football in the first, second and third divisions, with varying levels of success. Many titles have been won in the third and second division, while Melita's youth nursery team have also had their share of success, as well as a reputation for bringing through quality players that have gone on to play at the highest level. This period also saw inauguration of the Gianni Bencini Ground in Pembroke.
2012–13: Golden Era – Premier League
Season 2012–13 promised to be a historical season as it meant that Melita would be playing in the Premier League for the first time in their history. Following near misses for promotion from the 2nd tier, they finally managed to gain promotion by winning the 1st Division title. Melita's Premier League adventure started slowly; however, as the season went by some historical wins and results were obtained, including a 2–1 victory over reigning champions Valletta F.C. as well as a 5–3 victory over Ħamrun Spartans the final day of the season.
First phase
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Floriana | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 24 |
| 10 | Ħamrun Spartans | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 24 | 58 | −34 | 16 |
| 11 | Melita | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 56 | −38 | 14 |
| 12 | Rabat Ajax | 22 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 45 | −29 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
At the end of the first phase, Melita ended up finishing in 11th place and therefore qualifying for the relegation pool. At this point, the points would be halved and another two rounds of fixtures would be played. Melita did not fair very well in this phase, winning only their final game of the season and therefore confined to relegation.