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| Season | 2012–13 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Birkirkara (4th title) |
| Relegated | Hamrun Spartans Melita |
| Champions League | Birkirkara |
| Europa League | Hibernians Valletta Sliema Wanderers |
| Top goalscorer | Negrin (22 goals) |
2013–14 → | |
The2012–13 Maltese Premier League was the 98th season of theMaltese Premier League, the top-tierfootball league inMalta. It began in August 2012 and ended in May 2013.Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 21st titlelast season.
The Premier League consisted of two rounds. In the First Round, every team played each opponent twice, once "home" and once "away" (in actuality, the designation of home and away were purely arbitrary as most of the clubs did not have their own grounds), for a total of 22 games. The league was then split into two pools. Earned points were subsequently halved. Teams that finished in the positions 1–6 compete in the "Top Six" and teams that finished in positions 7–12 play in the "Play-Out".
Marsaxlokk were relegated to theFirst Division after finishing in last place of thePlay-Out last season. This ended a three-year stay in the Premier League for them.
Promoted to the top flight wereRabat Ajax, who returned to the Premier League after an eleven-season absence, andMelita, who became the first amateur club to reach the Premier League as well as being the only amateur club in the world taking part in the top tier of a professional league.
| Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola | Hamrun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium | Victor Tedesco Stadium | |
| Capacity:16,997 | Capacity:3,000 | Capacity:2,968 | Capacity:1,962 | |
Only a few stadia have the infrastructure needed to host Premier League matches. These areTa' Qali National Stadium andCentenary Stadium atTa' Qali,Victor Tedesco Stadium atĦamrun andHibernians Ground atPaola. Additional to that, each team has been assigned to a dedicated training ground. On a few occasions, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans play at their home ground, but otherwise all games are played on neutral ground, rendering "home" and "away" games purely symbolic.
| Team | Location of origin | Ground | Location of ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balzan | Balzan | ||
| Birkirkara | Birkirkara | Infetti Ground | Birkirkara |
| Floriana | Floriana | Independence Parade Ground | Floriana |
| Hibernians | Paola | Hibernians Ground | Paola |
| Hamrun Spartans | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | Ħamrun |
| Mosta | Mosta | Charles Abela Stadium | Mosta |
| Melita | St. Julian's | Gianni Bencini Ground | St. Julian's |
| Qormi | Qormi | Thomaso Grounds | Qormi |
| Rabat Ajax | Rabat | Rabat Ajax Football Ground | Mtarfa |
| Sliema Wanderers | Sliema | Tigné Point | Sliema |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Tarxien | Tarxien Ground | Tarxien |
| Valletta | Valletta | Zebbug Rovers FC Ground / Melita Ground | Zebbug or St Julians |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valletta | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 49 | 15 | +34 | 46 | Qualification for theTop Six |
| 2 | Hibernians | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 45 | |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 43 | |
| 4 | Tarxien Rainbows | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 38 | |
| 5 | Sliema Wanderers | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 37 | |
| 6 | Mosta | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 34 | |
| 7 | Qormi | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 30 | Qualification for thePlay-Out |
| 8 | Balzan | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 27 | |
| 9 | Floriana | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 24 | |
| 10 | Hamrun Spartans | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 24 | 58 | −34 | 16 | |
| 11 | Melita | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 56 | −38 | 14 | |
| 12 | Rabat Ajax | 22 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 45 | −29 | 11 |
| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | HAM | HIB | MEL | MOS | QOR | RAB | SLI | TAR | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balzan | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 |
| Birkirkara | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 7–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Floriana | 3–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 |
| Hamrun Spartans | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–6 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–8 |
| Hibernians | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Melita | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | — | 0–5 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–5 |
| Mosta | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Qormi | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Rabat Ajax | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 |
| Valletta | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BIR | HIB | VAL | SLI | TAR | MOS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birkirkara[a](C) | 32 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 45 | Qualification for the2013–14 UEFA Champions League | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 7–1 | |
| 2 | Hibernians[b] | 32 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 70 | 33 | +37 | 45 | Qualification for the2013–14 UEFA Europa League | 1–1 | — | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 6–0 | |
| 3 | Valletta | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 69 | 27 | +42 | 36 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 36 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 4–1 | ||
| 5 | Tarxien Rainbows | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 29 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 3–4 | — | 4–2 | ||
| 6 | Mosta | 32 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 45 | 72 | −27 | 18 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation | FLO | QOR | BAL | RAB | HAM | MEL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Floriana | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 40 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 8 | Qormi | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 61 | 50 | +11 | 34 | 2–4 | — | 5–2 | 4–0 | 6–2 | 2–0 | ||
| 9 | Balzan | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 23 | 0–2 | 4–4 | — | 0–5 | 3–1 | 0–0 | ||
| 10 | Rabat Ajax | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 22 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–2 | ||
| 11 | Hamrun Spartans(R) | 32 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 39 | 88 | −49 | 15 | Relegation to the2013–14 Maltese First Division | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | — | 3–5 | |
| 12 | Melita(R) | 32 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 13 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | — |
At the end of the season, Birkirkara and Hibernians finished off equal by 45 points. On the Final Matchday of the season, on 3 May 2013, Birkirkara beatTarxien Rainbows 1–0. And on 5 May 2013, Hibernians beatValletta 2–1. Both teams ended with the same points. A play-off decided the title.[1]
| Birkirkara | 3–1 | Hibernians |
|---|---|---|
| Herrera Vukanac Muscat | Failla |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabat Ajax /Melita | 22 | |
| 2 | Tarxien Rainbows | 19 | |
| 3 | Valletta | 18 | |
| 4 | Balzan | 14 | |
| Balzan | 14 | ||
| Birkirkara | 14 | ||
| Floriana | 14 | ||
| 8 | Hibernians | 13 | |
| 9 | Mosta | 12 | |
| Mosta /Hibernians | 12 |