Founded 1933 Current champions Sliema Website MaltaFootball.com Number of teams 65 | Region Malta Most successful club(s) Sliema (21 titles) Current champion Sliema Wanderers F.C. | |
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The FA Trophy, formerly known as the U*Bet FA Trophy or Rothman's Trophy, is a football competition that takes place in Malta.
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Widely known as the F.A. Trophy, it was a gift from the British by The Football Association in 1933. This followed a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1933, to where a number of pro-British Maltese supporters travelled to support the English side. In recognition, the Football Association donated a silver trophy to be played on the model of the F.A. Cup.
The team who wins the cup, wins a place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. This competition is now played on a knock-out basis between the clubs in the Premier and First Division.
The cup winners' play a match for the Maltese Super Cup against the champions of the season.
Format
The 10 teams from the First Division and the teams which placed from 4th to the 10th position in the previous season's league, participate in the 1st round. The cup holders and the top 3 teams are seeded. The 8 winning teams play again in the 2nd round, after which, 4 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 the 2009–10 competition, the reigning champions of the Gozo First Division will also be entered into the competition. This will be the case unless Gozo 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, the Malta 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 4-tiered system participated in the competition, the MFA decided to include all the clubs of Maltese leagues, together with the clubs from the Gozo First Division and the Gozo Second Division. The Gozitan clubs and those from the Maltese Third Division would take part in the First Round, joined by the Maltese Second Division and Maltese First Division clubs in the Second Round, and joined by the Maltese Premier League clubs in a Third Round, where the first 6 teams of the previous season and the Trophy holder would be seeded. The competition remains on a knock-out basis. The inclusion of Gozitan clubs would probably see the exclusion of Gozo F.C. from Maltese competitions, while the inclusion of Maltese lower league clubs would make the Second & Third Division Knock-Out only open if 8 teams apply in a given season.
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 of Zebbug Rangers reaching the quarter finals of the 2012/13 edition, the farthest any team from the third tier or lower of Maltese football has reached in this competition. Hopes are that further upsets may occur in the future, with one day possibly having a champion from Gozo who could end up representing Malta in the Europa League.
Winners by year
Previous winners are: ~