| Organiser(s) | Malta Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1933; 93 years ago (1933) |
| Region | |
| Teams | 67 |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Conference League |
| Domestic cup | Maltese Super Cup |
| Current champions | Hibernians (11th title) |
| Most championships | Sliema Wanderers (22nd title) |
| Broadcaster | TVMSports+ (live matches) |
| Website | matchcentre.mfa.com.mt |
TheFA Trophy, currently known as theMeridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annualfootball cup competition that takes place inMalta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match betweenEngland andItaly, played inRome 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 theFA Cup.
The team who wins the cup wins a place in the First qualifying round of theUEFA Conference League. This competition is now played on a knock-out basis between all the senior clubs in theMaltese and Gozitan football pyramids. The cup winners play a match for theMaltese Super Cup against theleague champions of the season.


The ten teams from theFirst 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 the2009–10 competition, the reigning champions of theGozo First Division will also be entered into the competition. This will be the case unlessGozo 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, theMalta 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 theGozo First Division and theGozo Second Division. The Gozitan clubs and those from theMaltese Third Division would take part in the First Round, joined by theMaltese Second Division andMaltese First Division clubs in the Second Round, and joined by theMaltese 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.[1]
On 21 May 2016, the old silver trophy has been replaced by a new one, partially paid by the EnglishFA. The new trophy has been presented right before the match betweenEngland andMalta for the2018 World Cup qualifiers.[2] The new trophy leans heavily on the heritage of the 1934 original and was designed and made by the Thomas Lyte, British silverware manufacturers.[3] 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.[4] 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 this new 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 giant-killings have already taken place. The best story so far has been that ofS.K. Victoria Wanderers F.C. reaching the semi-finals of the2016-17 edition,[5] as they became the first Gozitan club has reached in this competition.
Both the2019–20 and the2020–21 seasons of the trophy has been declared abandoned by the MFA due to the spread of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6][7]
| Club | Wins | First final won | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliema Wanderers | 22 | 1935 | 2024 | 21 | 2017 | 43 |
| Floriana | 21 | 1938 | 2022 | 13 | 2024 | 34 |
| Valletta | 14 | 1960 | 2018 | 15 | 2022 | 29 |
| Hibernians | 11 | 1962 | 2025 | 11 | 2015 | 22 |
| Birkirkara | 6 | 2002 | 2023 | 6 | 2025 | 12 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 6 | 1983 | 1992 | 4 | 2008 | 10 |
| Melita | 1 | 1939 | 1939 | 1 | 1940 | 2 |
| Żurrieq | 1 | 1985 | 1985 | 2 | 1986 | 3 |
| Gżira | 1 | 1973 | 1973 | 0 | 1 | |
| Rabat Ajax | 1 | 1986 | 1986 | 1 | 1954 | 2 |
| Balzan | 1 | 2019 | 2019 | 1 | 2016 | 2 |
| Msida St. Joseph | 0 | 1 | 2005 | 1 | ||
| Marsaxlokk | 0 | 2 | 2023 | 2 | ||
| Senglea Athletic | 0 | 1 | 1981 | 1 | ||
| St. George's | 0 | 2 | 1950 | 2 | ||
| Qormi | 0 | 3 | 2013 | 3 |