‘A season of transition’: BOV Premier League returns on 15 September

The BOV Premier League will return on 15 September in a new era for the country’s top-tier football competition.

This season will for the first time see the active involvement of the Malta Premier League (MPL).

The association, formed in 2021, represents premier league clubs and is autonomous from the Malta Football Association. It comprises of 14 clubs.

Addressing the media, MFA President Bjorn Vassallo said this is a season of “transition”, and will see a number of changes to the league’s format.

Malta Football Association President Bjorn Vassallo (Photo: James Bianchi/mediatoday)

“This is a journey which started months ago, and will lead to the Maltese football advancing to the next level,” he said.

The MFA also announced changes to the league’s format, with the main change being that this year, four teams will be relegated, up from two last year.

The association also announced incentives to help develop local footballers including financial incentives for clubs to play Maltese-born goalkeepers.

Clubs will also be awarded funding if a player born before 2003 for 90 minutes.

Present during the press conference was also Malta Premier League Chairman Joseph Muscat, who said the organisation is passing through a “learning curve”.

“There are targets which we want to hit, which might not necessarily benefit clubs on an individual level, but rather league as a whole,” he said.

Malta Premier League Chairman Joseph Muscat (Photo: James Bianchi/mediatoday)

Muscat insisted clubs are committed to reform, and will make the league more attractive, competitive and entertaining.

He said it’s not just the Premier League which will benefit, but see a trickle-down effect on lower leagues.

The former PM also said the organisation looked at other leagues to learn on how best to apply the new format.

“For example, a format which was scrapped was one similar to the Cypriot league, but we realised it would not make sense in Malta, as it would create a larger gap between the top half and bottom half of the league,” he said.

He said the format being adopted is more similar to that in Latvia.

But Muscat warned that one should not expect immediate results. “We will start seeing results two, three years down the line.”

This season the BOV Premier League will see 14 clubs compete over the span of 26 matchday. It will be played over two rounds, and will see 182 matches played throughout the season.