Centenary Stadium

Centenary

Maltese National Amateur League

The Centenary Stadium (

.

History

Background and early years

As early as back in 1985, the Malta Football Association was already looking to develop a new small stadium. This idea started to take shape on 11 October 1998, when the then President of Malta Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici laid the first stone of the stadium.^[2] The development, which consisted in the construction of a main stand and a canopy, lasted less than a year as on 13 August 1999 the stadium was inaugurated by Dr Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister of Malta, and Dr Joe Mifsud, the President of the Malta Football Association. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Malta Football Association, the stadium was named the "Centenary Stadium". Besides a seating capacity of 3,000, the main stand also included a VIP and press area. Like the National Stadium, the Centenary Stadium replaced another stadium renowned for the gravel surface, the Pace Grasso Stadium in Tarxien.

The first competitive match held at the stadium was a group-stage encounter of the now-defunct Maltese 2nd and 3rd Knockout between

on 4 September 1999. The first goal was scored by Ghaxaq's Sandro Lapira on 34 minutes, which paved the way for a 2-1 win for his team.

In 2007, the original pitch laid back in 1999

In May 2017, the Malta Football Association announced that the stadium's pitch will be replaced by a new FIFA-quality pro pitch.[5] The project, which also included the installation of new dug-outs and estimated to cost around €400,000, will mean that the stadium should now be able to host FIFA and UEFA matches.^{[citation needed]}

• List of football stadiums in Malta

• Centenary Stadium Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine at mfa.com.mt
• Photos at cafe.daum.net/stade