Malta Football Association
UEFA | |
---|---|
Founded | 1900 |
Headquarters | Ta' Qali, Malta |
FIFA affiliation | 1959 |
UEFA affiliation | 1960 |
President | Bjorn Vassallo[1] |
Vice-President | Ludovico Micallef Dr. Matthew Paris Adrian Casha[2] |
Website | mfa.com.mt |
The Malta Football Association (MFA;
The Association organises the
The MFA manages the
The association is one of the oldest and one of the best in Europe, being founded in 1900 with the first national league being organised in season 1909–1910. There are several important landmarks in the history of Maltese football, especially since Malta played its first official international friendly match against Austria in February 1957. The result was a narrow 3–2 defeat for Malta.
It took until 1959 for the MFA to join FIFA, also joining UEFA the year after in 1960. From then onwards, Malta become an ever-present in international competitions at national teams as well as at club levels.
During 2019, the MFA has also entered into talks with the Italian Football Federation and the Lega Pro to discuss the possibility for the MFA to field a professional team within the Italian football league system.[4]
The MFA is structured by having 53 member clubs, as well as 10 member associations. The clubs compete in four divisions; the premier, first, second and third. The member associations are specialised football associations who organise competitions for clubs affiliated to them. The member associations include:
- the Gozo
- Inter Amateur Soccer Competition
- Employees Sports Association
- Malta Hotels and Restaurants Sports Association
- Industries Soccer Association
- District Football Association
- Malta Youth Football Association – for players under 16
- Malta Amateur Football Association
- Malta Football Coaches Association
- Malta Football Referees Association
References
- ^ "Vassallo elected President of the Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Malta FA top officials hold first meeting following 2019 AGM". Malta Football Association. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "What can Malta learn from Iceland's football success?". timesofmalta.com. 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ^ "Positive talks between Malta FA and Lega Pro officials". Malta Football Association. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.