Ħamrun Spartans squad valued at €4.8 million

Malta’s reigning football champions Ħamrun Spartans has a squad value of around €4.8 million, club CEO Marcel Bonnici has confirmed in an interview with MaltaToday.

The amount based on the value of the players signed up with the club may be the highest in the domestic league but pales into insignificance at European level. And yet, Ħamrun this year have managed the historic feat of being the first Maltese club to make it to the league stage of a European competition.

“If you look at the clubs who qualified across Europe, only a handful managed to do so with the budget that we had,” Bonnici said, adding this was a source of pride. “Even the clubs we played on our way—RFS’s squad is valued at €10 million, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s squad at around €30 million and we kept fighting till the last minute; Ħamrun’s squad value stands at around €4.75 million.”

Ħamrun will be playing their first league game in the Conference League on 2 October, away to Polish side Jagiellonia. The Polish club has a squad value of almost €32 million.

But Bonnici insisted Ħamrun’s philosophy is to never stop dreaming. He also refuted suggestions the team’s European success is all down to the club’s financial standing.

Bonnici said success was also achieved through the way it has organised itself with a proper management structure. But a crucial factor, he added, was the choice for coach.

“We brought a football philosophy to the club, and someone with international experience who has learnt under Zdeněk Zeman,” Bonnici said of coach Giacomo Modica.

“He has brought a football philosophy of hard work and intense training. We did this to ensure the team is in tiptop shape. […] If you play against Barcelona, you will never reach their level of technical ability, no matter how much you train. But if you train hard, you can come close to their fitness ability. The four rounds we played this season showed this,” Bonnici said, praising the players for giving their all on the pitch.

Ħamrun will play their first home game in the Conference League on 23 October when they host Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport. They will then travel to Turkey to play against Samsunspor FC on 6 November.

A crunch match, and one Ħamrun could hope to win, will be the home match against Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar on 27 November. In the 2024-2025 season, Ħamrun lost on penalties to the Red Imps in the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League, making this year’s appointment a chance to get sporting revenge.

The Spartans will then host Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk on 11 December before playing their final away game against Shamrock Rovers of Ireland on 18 December.

Ħamrun’s qualification to the league phase has already earned the club €3,170,000 from UEFA. The club could earn an additional €400,000 for every game it wins at this stage and €133,000 for every drawn match.

Ħamrun would also earn an additional €400,000 if they place between the 1st and 8th in the league table, and €200,000 if they place between 9th and 24th.