Maltese Challenge League
Season2022–23
Dates26 August 2022 – 23 April 2023
ChampionsSliema Wanderers
PromotedSliema Wanderers
Naxxar Lions
RelegatedMarsaskala
Mqabba
Mtarfa
Qrendi
San Gwann
Vittoriosa Stars
Matches played252
Goals scored662 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorerBrazil Aroldo Da Silva Arruda (23 Goals)
Biggest home winFgura United 6-1 Vittoriosa Stars (8 December 2022)
Biggest away winMqabba 0-6 Fgura United (29 August 2022)
Vittoriosa Stars 0-6 Naxxar Lions (20 December 2022)
Highest scoringSwieqi United 5-5 Mqabba (10 December 2022)
Longest winning runSliema Wanderers
(15 Games)
Longest unbeaten runSliema Wanderers
(27 Games)
Longest winless runMtarfa
(10 Games)
Longest losing runMtarfa
(10 Games)
All statistics correct as of 23 April 2023.

The 2022–23 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the third season that the competition has been running in its present form.[1][2][3]

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2021–22 season:

Teams

Eighteen teams will compete in the league which will include the Four teams promoted from the Amateur League and one team relegated from the Premier League. This Season will be playing only one round. After the first round, the top six will play each other twice to determine whether to win the Challenge League, be promoted, or stay in Challenge League next season. And those who finish seventh till eighteenth in the first round will play once in Play-Out to determine who will stay in Challenge League or have either been relegated.

Team Location
Attard Attard
Fgura United Fgura
Lija Athletic Lija
Marsa Marsa
Marsaskala Marsaskala
Melita San Ġiljan
Mqabba Mqabba
Mtarfa Mtarfa
Naxxar Lions Naxxar
Qrendi Qrendi
San Ġwann San Ġwann
Sliema Wanderers Sliema
St. Andrews St. Andrew's, Malta
Swieqi United Swieqi
Tarxien Rainbows Tarxien
Vittoriosa Stars Birgu
Żejtun Corinthians Zejtun
Żurrieq Żurrieq

Venues

On 21 December 2022. The Malta Football Association introduce another stadium at Luxol Stadium in Pembroke due to the final fixture of the first round that played three matches at the same time. On 21 December 2022. The Malta Football Association introduce another stadium at Sirens Stadium in San Pawl il-Baħar due to the final fixture of the season that is playing four matches at the same time.

Ta' Qali Hamrun Pembroke San Pawl il-Baħar
Centenary Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium Luxol Stadium Sirens Stadium
Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 1,962 Capacity: 600 Capacity: 800

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sliema Wanderers 17 15 2 0 40 10 +30 47 Qualification for the Top Six
2 Naxxar Lions 17 13 2 2 40 15 +25 41
3 Żejtun Corinthians 17 11 0 6 35 22 +13 33
4 Tarxien Rainbows 17 9 5 3 34 19 +15 32
5 Żurrieq 17 9 2 6 33 28 +5 29
6 Melita 17 7 5 5 29 22 +7 26
7 Fgura United 17 7 4 6 41 25 +16 25 Qualification for the Play-Out
8 Marsa 17 6 6 5 27 23 +4 24
9 Swieqi United 17 6 6 5 33 31 +2 24
10 St. Andrews 17 6 4 7 23 27 −4 22
11 Lija Athletic 17 5 5 7 28 32 −4 20
12 Attard 17 5 4 8 19 30 −11 19
13 San Ġwann 17 5 3 9 20 34 −14 18
14 Marsaskala 17 4 3 10 28 39 −11 15
15 Mqabba 17 4 3 10 21 36 −15 15
16 Qrendi 17 3 5 9 19 36 −17 14
17 Mtarfa 17 4 2 11 11 28 −17 14
18 Vittoriosa Stars 17 3 1 13 14 38 −24 10
Updated to match(es) played on 8 January 2023. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).

Results

Home \ Away ATT FGU LJA MSA MRK MEL MQA MTF NXR QRE SGN SLI STA SWQ TAR VIT ZEJ ZUR
Attard — — — — — 2–4 0–1 3–1 1–3 0–0 — 0–4 1–1 3–1 1–4 — — —
Fgura United 0–0 — 2–2 0–0 2–0 — — — 2–3 — 4–0 — — — — 6–1 4–1 1–4
Lija Athletic 2–1 — — 0–2 — — — 0–0 — — 1–2 — — 2–2 1–2 2–0 2–4 —
Marsa 2–2 — — — — 0–2 2–1 2–0 — 4–0 — — — 2–0 3–3 1–1 — —
Marsaskala 2–0 — 2–4 2–2 — — — 3–1 0–3 — 1–2 — — — — 2–1 0–1 1–2
Melita — 2–4 2–2 — 2–1 — 2–1 — — 1–1 — 0–1 6–2 — — — — 3–0
Mqabba — 0–6 1–2 — 3–3 — — — — 2–0 2–3 1–2 0–1 — — — — 1–0
Mtarfa — 0–2 — — — 0–0 1–0 — 0–1 2–3 — 1–3 0–4 2–1 2–1 — — —
Naxxar Lions — — 3–2 2–0 — 2–0 1–1 — — 2–0 1–0 1–2 — 1–3 — — 3–2 —
Qrendi — 4–3 3–3 — 2–3 — — — — — 3–0 0–2 0–0 — — — 0–3 2–5
San Ġwann 0–1 — — 2–2 — 1–1 — 1–0 — — — — — 2–4 1–4 3–1 0–2 —
Sliema Wanderers — 2–1 1–0 1–0 5–1 — — — — — 3–1 — 3–0 — — — 3–0 3–0
St. Andrews — 3–2 0–2 2–3 2–2 — — — 0–3 — 1–1 — — — — 2–0 0–2 3–1
Swieqi United — 1–1 — — 4–3 2–0 5–5 — — 1–1 — 2–2 0–2 — — — — 2–2
Tarxien Rainbows — 2–1 — — 3–2 0–0 1–2 — 1–1 4–0 — 1–1 1–0 0–2 — — — —
Vittoriosa Stars 0–1 — — — — 0–4 3–0 3–0 0–6 1–0 — 1–2 — 0–3 0–2 — — —
Żejtun Corinthians 4–1 — — 2–1 — 3–0 4–0 0–1 — — — — — 3–0 1–4 2–1 — —
Żurrieq 1–2 — 5–1 3–1 — — — 1–0 1–4 — 3–1 — — — 1–1 2–1 2–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 8 January 2023. Source: [https://matchcentre.mfa.com.mt/competition/2601248/
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.

Second phase

Top Six

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation SLI NXR ZEJ TAR MEL ZUR
1 Sliema Wanderers (C) 27 24 3 0 66 15 +51 75 Promotion to the 2023–24 Maltese Premier League — 3–1 6–0 0–0 1–0 5–0
2 Naxxar Lions (P) 27 19 3 5 58 28 +30 60 0–2 — 0–0 2–1 0–5 3–0
3 Żejtun Corinthians (Q) 27 15 2 10 51 45 +6 47 Qualification for the Promotion play-offs 1–3 1–2 — 0–4 2–2 2–1
4 Tarxien Rainbows 27 13 7 7 55 32 +23 46 2–3 0–3 2–3 — 3–0 4–0
5 Melita 27 9 7 11 42 36 +6 34 0–2 1–2 2–3 0–0 — 0–1
6 Żurrieq 27 10 2 15 38 59 −21 32 0–1 0–5 1–4 2–5 0–3 —
Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or Promotion play-offs).
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Play-Out

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation SWQ FGU STA LJA ATT MSA SGN QRE MRK MQA VIT MTF
7 Swieqi United 28 14 8 6 53 38 +15 50 — 2–2 — — — 3–0 2–0 — 2–1 2–0 — 2–1
8 Fgura United 28 11 8 9 57 39 +18 41 — — 2–0 — 0–1 — 1–1 — 1–1 — — 1–1
9 St. Andrews 28 11 7 10 37 40 −3 40 0–0 — — 1–3 2–1 — 1–1 — 2–2 — — 2–1
10 Lija Athletic 28 11 6 11 51 54 −3 39 0–4 4–2 — — — 0–1 — 4–5 — 3–2 4–3 —
11 Attard 28 10 7 11 39 45 −6 37 3–0 — — 1–1 — — 1–1 1–4 2–2 — — 5–2
12 Marsa 28 9 8 11 40 42 −2 35 — 1–3 0–2 — 1–2 — 1–2 — — — — 0–0
13 San Gwann (R) 28 9 7 12 33 45 −12 34 Relegation to the 2023–24 Maltese National Amateur League — — — 2–0 — — — 0–1 1–1 — 0–1 2–1
14 Qrendi (R) 28 8 7 13 38 52 −14 31 0–1 1–2 0–2 — — 2–2 — — — 0–1 2–2 —
15 Marsaskala (R) 28 7 8 13 50 57 −7 29 — — — 1–3 — 3–1 — 1–3 — 5–0 3–1 —
16 Mqabba (R) 28 6 4 18 29 56 −27 22 — 1–2 0–1 — 1–0 1–2 1–3 — — — — —
17 Vittoriosa Stars (R) 28 6 4 18 27 57 −30 22 0–2 1–0 3–1 — 1–3 1–4 — — — 0–0 — —
18 Mtarfa (R) 28 5 6 17 21 45 −24 21 — — — 0–1 — — — 0–1 2–2 2–1 0–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 23 April 2023. Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide teams for relegation).
(R) Relegated

Promotion or Relegation play-offs

A play-offs match shall be played between the twelfth-placed team in the Premier League, Santa Lucia, and the third-placed team in the Maltese Challenge League, Żejtun Corinthians. The winner will play in the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League.

28 April 2023 Santa Lucia (1) 2–0Żejtun Corinthians (2)Ta' Qali
19:00 CEST
Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Referee: Fyodor Zammit

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 23 April 2023
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Brazil Aroldo Da Silva Arruda Fgura United 23
2 Colombia Robinson Blandon Rendon Naxxar Lions 18
3 Trinidad and Tobago Rundell Winchester Marsaskala 17
4 Colombia Duvan Mosquera Torres Lija Athletic 16
Malta Lydon Micallef Sliema Wanderers
6 Malta Adrian Carabott Marsaskala 15
Brazil Claudio Antunes Pavlidis Qrendi
8 Japan Hiroya Konno Melita 14
Brazil Joao Vitor de Oliveira Florencio Żurrieq
10 Brazil Edson Cerqueira Farias Naxxar Lions 12
Brazil Andre Carlos Penha da Costa Żejtun Corinthians

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Stadium Date
Brazil Aroldo Da Silva Arruda Fgura United Mqabba 6–0 (A) Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali 29 August 2022
Melita 4–2 (A) Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun 8 September 2022
Japan Hiroya Konno Melita Attard 4–2 (A) 11 September 2022
St. Andrews 6–2 (H) 2 October 2022
Brazil Matheus De Lucena Guariento San Gwann Vittoriosa Stars 3–0 (H)
Japan Hiroya Konno Melita 4–0 (A) Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali 9 October 2022
Malta Nicholas Schembri Attard Mtarfa 3–1 (H) 5 November 2022
Brazil Lucas Matheus Dos Santos Mqabba Swieqi United 5–5 (H) 10 December 2022
Brazil Pavlidis Claudio Antunes Qrendi Mtarfa 3–2 (H) 18 December 2022
Fgura United 4–3 (H) Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun 21 December 2022
Brazil Aroldo Da Silva Arruda Fgura United Żejtun Corinthians 4–1 (H) 7 January 2023
Brazil Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio4 Żurrieq Lija Athletic 5–1 (H) Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali 8 January 2023
Colombia Robinson Blandon Rendon Naxxar Lions Żurrieq 3–0 (H) 5 February 2023
Netherlands Suleiman Jalu Qrendi Attard 4–1 (A) Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun 25 February 2023
Colombia Duvan Mosquera Torres Lija Athletic Vittoriosa Stars 4–3 (H) 5 March 2023
Colombia Robinson Blandon Rendon Naxxar Lions Żurrieq 5–0 (A) Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali 8 April 2023
Japan Hiroya Konno Melita Naxxar Lions Luxol Stadium, Pembroke 22 April 2023
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Malta Rashed Al Tumi Sliema Wanderers 11
2 Malta Yenz Cini Naxxar 10
3 Malta Jean Claude Debattista Swieqi United 9
4 Malta Miguel Montfort St. Andrews 8
5 Malta Julian Azzopardi Fgura United 7
Malta Ryan Caruana Melita
Malta Sean Mintoff Żejtun Corinthians/Qrendi
8 Malta Zach Valletta Attard 6
9 Malta Nicholas Vella Marsa 5
Malta Jean Mattiase` Vella Mtarfa
Malta Matthias Debono Tarxien Rainbows
Malta Christian Cassar Vittoriosa Stars

Discipline

Club

References

  1. ↑ "Malta Beats San Marino 2-0 Away to Get UEFA Nations League Campaign off and Running". 5 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "San Marino vs Malta prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Nations League 2022-23".
  3. ↑ "BOV Challenge League – Malta Fixtures, Results, Tables & Scorers".
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