Malta Premier League to split in opening and closing rounds: new format explained

Malta Premier League officials laid out the details of a new Premier league format for the upcoming 2024/25 season.

The explanation was given by Joseph Muscat, the former prime minister now presidengt of the Malta Premier League Association, which groups the teams in Maltese top-flight football league.

The format will see the traditional league split into two rounds: an opening and closing rounds. During phase one of the opening round, all 12 teams will play each other once. In the second phase, the 12 teams split into the top and bottom six. The teams will each play five matches, and a ranking would be set at the end of the opening round.

After the opening round is completed, all team’s points are reset to zero.

In phase three of the season, the league enters the closing round, with all 12 teams once again playing each other once. Teams once again are then split into the bottom six and bottom six for a second time, or the fourth phase of the new league.

Champions permutations

• Should the same team be declared winner of both rounds, the team is automatically declared champion and qualifies to the UEFA Champions League. In that case if two different teams place second, both qualify. If the same team places runner up in both rounds, a playoff between third place teams will decide the third spot, granting qualification to the UEFA Conference League.
   
• If two different teams place in the top 2 places, a final is played between them, with the winner declared champions. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, the runner up qualifies for the UEFA Conference League and the third place team qualifies for the UEFA Conference League. A playoff would be required if different teams finish in third place in order to decide qualification to the UEFA Conference League.
   
• If four different teams place in the top 2 positions during both rounds, the final four will be played. After semi-final, the winner of the final will be declared champion. The final winner would qualify for the UEFA Champions League as Maltese champion, the final runner up would qualify for the UEFA Conference League, and the third-place playoff winner would qualify for the UEFA Conference League. In case only three team place in the top two places, the best third place team will qualify for the final four, based on a season aggregate.

Relegation permutations

• If two teams place 11th and 12th in both rounds, the two teams are relegated.
   
• If a single team places 11th or 12th in both rounds, that team is relegated. A playoff between the remaining teams (who have only placed 11th or 12th once, and have placed higher in the other round) is played, and the loser is relegated.
   
• If four different teams place in the last two positions during both rounds, playoffs are needed to decide relegation.