The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1933, to where a number of pro-British Maltese supporters travelled to support the English side. The Football Association as recognition donated a silver trophy to be played on the model of the FA Cup.
The team who wins the cup wins a place in the First qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. This competition is now played on a knock-out basis between all the senior clubs in the Maltese and Gozitan football pyramids. The cup winners play a match for the Maltese Super Cup against the league champions of the season.
Format
The ten teams from the First Division and the teams which placed from 4th to the 10th position in the previous season's league, participate in the first round. The cup holders and the top 3 teams are seeded. The eight winning teams play again in the second round, after which, four teams remain. The top three teams in the previous' year league and the cup holders enter straight in the quarter-final phase, together with the other four winning teams.
Starting with the 2009–10 competition, the reigning champions of the Gozo First Division will also be entered into the competition. This will be the case unless Gozo FC, a club based on Gozo but which plays in the Maltese leagues, are playing in either the Maltese Premier League or Maltese First Division and would take the place of the Gozo champion.
On 13 January 2011, the Malta Football Association decided to restructure the format of the trophy as from season 2011–12. Following the success of the MFA League Anniversary Cup, where the then 21 teams of the Maltese four-tiered system participated in the competition, the MFA decided to include all the clubs of Maltese leagues, together with the clubs from the Gozo First Division and the Gozo Second Division. The Gozitan clubs and those from the Maltese Third Division would take part in the First Round, joined by the Maltese Second Division and Maltese First Division clubs in the Second Round, and joined by the Maltese Premier League clubs in a Third Round, where the first six teams of the previous season and the Trophy holder would be seeded. The competition remains on a knock-out basis.
On 21 May 2016, the old silver trophy has been replaced by a new one, partially paid by the English FA. The new trophy has been presented right before the match between England and Malta for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The new trophy leans heavily on the heritage of the 1934 original and was designed and made by the Thomas Lyte, British silverware manufacturers. It is 65 cm in height, and 7 kilogrammes in weight, six of which are solid silver. The trophy will be produced with the traditional methods of silversmithing, by hand. The new Trophy will carry forward the main features of the current FA Trophy, with the player holding the ball aloft being the top part on a silver pedestal, also featured on the current trophy, containing the exact wording which symbolises the bond between the English FA and the Malta FA, the globe and the base will remain identical, with the effigy of the football match found on the current trophy also retaining its place. The new trophy has been designed in the shape of the old Cassar Cup, which was another historical competition of the MFA in which the best two British service teams used to play against the two best Maltese teams for the cup. Veterans recall the passion of these matches with the Maltese football aficionados all rooting for the Maltese teams against the British ones.
Since the restructuring of the competition in the 2011–12 season, already a major resemblance to the English F.A. Cup is evident as a lot of major teams have been suffering defeats. The best story so far has been that of S.K. Victoria Wanderers F.C. reaching the semi-finals of the 2016-17 edition, as they became the first Gozitan club that has enetered this competition.
Both the 2019–20 and the 2020–21 seasons of the trophy has been declared abandoned by the MFA due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winners and finalists
SeasonWinnersScoreRunners–upVenue1934–35Sliema Wanderers4–0FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1935–36Sliema Wanderers2–1Floriana1936–37Sliema Wanderers2–0St.George's1937–38Floriana2–1Sliema Wanderers1938–39Melita4–0Sliema Wanderers1939–40Sliema Wanderers3–2MelitaNo competitions between 1941 and 1944 due to World War II1944–45Floriana2–1Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1945–46Sliema Wanderers2–1Ħamrun SpartansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1946–47Floriana3–0VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1947–48Sliema Wanderers2–2 (a.e.t.)1–0 (rep.)HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1948–49Floriana5–1Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1949–50Floriana3–1St.George'sEmpire Stadium, Gżira1950–51Sliema Wanderers5–0HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1951–52Sliema Wanderers3–3 (a.e.t.)1–1 (rep. a.e.t.)1–0 (2nd rep.)HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1952–53Floriana1–0 (a.e.t.)Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1953–54Floriana5–1Rabat AjaxEmpire Stadium, Gżira1954–55Floriana1–0Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1955–56Sliema Wanderers1–0FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1956–57Floriana2–0VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1957–58Floriana2–0Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1958–59Sliema Wanderers1–1 (a.e.t.)1–0 (rep.)VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1959–60Valletta3–0FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1960–61Floriana2–0HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1961–62Hibernians1–0VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1962–63Sliema Wanderers2–0HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1963–64Valletta1–0Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1964–65Sliema Wanderers4–2FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1965–66Floriana2–1HiberniansManoel Island Football Ground1966–67Floriana1–0HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1967–68Sliema Wanderers3–2 (a.e.t.)HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1968–69Sliema Wanderers3–1Ħamrun SpartansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1969–70Hibernians2–1VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1970–71Hibernians3–1 (a.e.t.)Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1971–72Floriana3–1Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1972–73Gżira United0–0 (a.e.t.)2–0 (rep. a.e.t.)BirkirkaraEmpire Stadium, Gżira1973–74Sliema Wanderers1–0FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1974–75Valletta1–0HiberniansEmpire Stadium, Gżira1975–76Floriana2–0(abandoned in 86')VallettaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1976–77Valletta1–0FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1977–78Valletta3–2FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1978–79Sliema Wanderers2–1FlorianaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1979–80Hibernians2–1Sliema WanderersEmpire Stadium, Gżira1980–81Floriana2–1SengleaEmpire Stadium, Gżira1981–82Hibernians2–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1982–83Ħamrun Spartans2–0VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1983–84Ħamrun Spartans0–0 (a.e.t.)1–0 (rep. a.e.t.)ŻurrieqNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1984–85Żurrieq0–0 (a.e.t.)2–1 (rep.)VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1985–86Rabat Ajax2–0ŻurrieqNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1986–87Ħamrun Spartans2–1Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1987–88Ħamrun Spartans4–2FlorianaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1988–89Ħamrun Spartans1–0FlorianaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1989–90Sliema Wanderers1–0BirkirkaraNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1990–91Valletta2–1 (a.e.t.)Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1991–92Ħamrun Spartans3–3 (a.e.t.)2–1 (rep.)VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1992–93Floriana5–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1993–94Floriana2–1VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1994–95Valletta1–0 (a.e.t.)Ħamrun SpartansNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1995–96Valletta0–0 (a.e.t.)1–0 (rep.)Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1996–97Valletta2–0HiberniansNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1997–98Hibernians2–1VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1998–99Valletta1–0 (a.e.t.)BirkirkaraNational Stadium, Ta' Qali1999–2000Sliema Wanderers4–1BirkirkaraNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2000–01Valletta3–0BirkirkaraNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2001–02Birkirkara1–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2002–03Birkirkara1–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2003–04Sliema Wanderers2–0MarsaxlokkNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2004–05Birkirkara2–1Msida St. JosephNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2005–06Hibernians1–0FlorianaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2006–07Hibernians1–1 (a.e.t.)3–0 (pen.)Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2007–08Birkirkara2–1Ħamrun SpartansNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2008–09Sliema Wanderers3–3 (a.e.t.)7–6 (pen.)VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2009–10Valletta2–1QormiNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2010–11Floriana1–0VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2011–12Hibernians3–1QormiNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2012–13Hibernians3–1QormiNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2013–14Valletta1–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2014–15Birkirkara2–0HiberniansNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2015–16Sliema Wanderers0–0 (a.e.t.)5–4 (pen.)BalzanNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2016–17Floriana2–0Sliema WanderersNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2017–18Valletta2–1BirkirkaraNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2018–19Balzan4–4 (a.e.t.)5–4 (pen.)VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2019–20 Cancelled due to COVID-19 (4 Clubs Left)2020–21 Cancelled due to COVID-19 (8 Clubs Left)2021–22Floriana2–1 (a.e.t.)VallettaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2022–23Birkirkara 2–0MarsaxlokkNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2023–24Sliema Wanderers0–0 (a.e.t.)4–3 (pen.)FlorianaNational Stadium, Ta' Qali2024–25Hibernians2–1Birkirkara National Stadium, Ta' Qali2025–26Valletta2–1Gzira United National Stadium, Ta' Qali
Performance by club
ClubWinsFirst final wonLast final wonRunners-upLast final lostTotal final appearancesSliema Wanderers221935202421201743Floriana211938202213202434Valletta151960202615202229Hibernians111962202511201522Birkirkara6200220236202512Ħamrun Spartans6198319924200810Żurrieq119851985219863Melita119391939119402Rabat Ajax119861986119542Balzan120192019120162Gżira United119731973120262Qormi–320133St. George's–2 19502Marsaxlokk–220232Senglea Athletic–1 19811Msida St. Joseph–120051
References
External links The FA Trophy Trophy on MaltaFootball.com